Arts - ALMOSTREAL
ALMOSTREAL
Open artistic exchange is the main goal of the ECF's arts project, ALMOSTREAL. Online and offline, the project supports collaboration between artists and cultural actors who operate in diverse, often troubled environments.
ALMOSTREAL deals with issues of art's engagement with society. In this respect, it builds on its predecessor programme, Art for Social Change. Activities are chosen and supported by the ECF and the partners involved, e.g. cultural organisations, collectives, networks.
Five themes drive ALMOSTREAL, and each of these is represented by a different stage of the project. The themes are:
Begun in 2005 as an experimental 3-year project, ALMOSTREAL has unfolded as follows:
CONFRONTATION: between history and utopia
Summer 2005 - Winter 2007
The Western Balkans were the focus here, as four independent media and art organisations worked together on some of the less visible confrontations affecting people's lives in the region.
STORYTELLING: between politics and identity
Spring 2006 - Spring 2008
Personal narratives not found in mainstream media are showcased in a video art project involving young artists in Lebanon. A second Lebanese project uncovers new ways of telling visual narratives using digital media.
REFLECTION: between practice and research
Summer 2006 - Winter 2007
This stage saw several collaborative projects between theoreticians and artists of many disciplines who worked together, researching and experimenting with different forms of collective participation and production. One project focused on shaping the future use of a public art space in Lisbon.
HOSPITALITY: between public and private spheres
Spring 2007 - Spring 2008
Here, a sequence of artistic actions will show how art can offer alternative examples of hospitality and contribute to the debate about migration. An Amsterdam-based project questions the assumed roles of host and guest and the status of public and private spaces within Europe's borders today.
INTIMACY: exploring the schmooze factor
Winter 2007 -
The fifth and final stage of ALMOSTREAL will explore the cultural funding climate of Europe today. Two Stockholm-based artists team up with illustrators and a writer for a fictionalised travel expedition across Europe. Stay tuned for more!