ArtReach embarks on major international arts project

16 Jul 2019 04:24 PM

Leicester’s ArtReach has been awarded €1.3 million by Creative Europe to deliver the Europe-wide arts project, LIBERTY.

ArtReach, supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation, will be the lead partner for the project and are the only UK organisation to receive funding in the latest round from Creative Europe. They will be teaming up with 11 other arts organisations representing 10 EU countries, including the Altonale GmbH in Hamburg and the Museo dei Bambini in Rome.

Borderline – Night of Festivals London 2018 (VOICES PROJECT) AimVee Photography

LIBERTY aims to provoke discussion around issues of community cohesion, migration, local identity and European cultural identity, with a focus on young artists and young people’s perceptions of the future of Europe. Young people will be involved throughout, from creative development to delivery, and the project will enable young artists, curators and audiences from different countries to meet, collaborate and share inspiration across all artforms.

Peter Knott, Area Director at Arts Council England, said: “Congratulations to ArtReach as they embark on this Europe-wide project. Investing in opportunities for young people is a key part of what the Arts Council does to nurture the next generation of creative talent, and LIBERTY is a really exciting project, giving hundreds of young people and emerging artists a voice and the chance to create work and forge partnerships on a truly international scale.”

Night of Festivals Night Time Lit Carnival - ArtReach (c) David Hill

LIBERTY is the fourth and largest ArtReach project to be funded by Creative Europe, and will run from September 2019 until December 2022, with a major pan-European LIBERTYfestival running from May to October 2022. The festival will feature events in Leicester with a programme of associated activity in each partner country, much of which will be streamed and shared digitally.

Find out more here.