The third edition of the call “Alliances for a cultural democracy” begins

The call “Alliances for a cultural democracy” seeks to support projects that arise from alliances between various agents and that promote the full participation of citizens in cultural life. This biennial call is part of the line of “Mediation and Cultural Democracy” of the Citizen Art axis of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation.

Art stands as a powerful lever for change in our society. More than an aesthetic expression, it is an engine of citizen participation and social transformation in the face of the challenges we face. In this sense, the term “Citizen Art”, which gives its name to our axis dedicated to culture, encompasses all artistic disciplines and seeks to create and strengthen social links, imagine other possible worlds and develop our sensitivity and critical thinking.

At the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, we are aware of the inequalities present in the practice of art and its access, enjoyment and citizen participation in cultural programs, institutions and policies. At the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, we strive to blur the traditional boundaries between society and cultural administrations, entities and institutions. We seek to make them more open and participatory, thus enabling the involvement and real appropriation of art by people. To this end, cultural mediation plays a fundamental role in this paradigm shift towards a “new institutionality”.

We believe that mediation and cultural education are essential to build an empathetic, emancipated and participatory society. For this reason, this call inspired by SDG number 17, Alliances, seeks cohesion between the different agents that make up this ecosystem. These are multiple and diverse, due to the absence of resources and the lack of awareness of the real needs, ranging from small independent collectives that work with communities, to educational departments or public activities of cultural institutions.

The “Alliances for a Cultural Democracy” call is aimed at initiatives carried out between two or more of the following agents: public or private cultural institutions, organisations and professionals in the field of cultural/artistic mediation, public administrations and third sector entities. The projects presented must, through transformative practices of cultural/artistic mediation, promote greater cultural democracy, generating lasting links to facilitate the full participation of citizens and all articulated around a specific social challenge. In this way, entities will be allowed to carry out collective work that guarantees the cultural rights of all individuals.

The selected projects, as in previous calls, must be developed mainly in Spanish territory and demonstrate an innovative potential for their reality, as well as promote citizen participation and cohesion. The involvement of artists in the project will also be positively valued, as we consider that their point of view, ways of doing things and experience can be a very valuable contribution to initiatives of this type.

In the same way, the projects that we hope to be able to accompany with this new edition of ‘Alliances for a cultural democracy’ must be able to produce a lasting transformation in the context in which they are inscribed, demonstrate an innovative potential for their reality, promote citizen participation and cohesion in all its phases and propose a horizontal governance model. at the same time that they face a specific social challenge for the community or the context in which they are inscribed.

It is intended that these alliances will result in innovative and committed practices so that citizen participation in cultural institutions and cultural life becomes a consolidated reality. We started Alliances for a Cultural Democracy 2024 with the hope of being able to address the challenges of our present and our future from a paradigm based on empathy, collective action and common interest.

Alliances for a Cultural Democracy 2024

• Call open until May 16, 2024
• Aimed at projects involving cultural institutions, public administrations, organisations and professionals specialised in the field of cultural/artistic mediation, as well as third sector organisations
• Initiatives that are articulated around a specific social challenge and face it through participatory design through greater cultural democracy
• Accompaniment from 12 months to 3 years.
• €500,000 to support the development of between 6 and 12 initiatives.
• Recording of the Virtual Informative Meeting

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