European Commission paves way for new scheme enabling European artists to work abroad

The Commission has successfully tested a new scheme to promote the mobility of artists and cultural professionals. i-Portunus, a pilot funded through the EU’s Creative Europe programme, is a concrete result of the New European Agenda for Culture adopted in 2018. With a budget of €1 million in 2019, i-Portunus funded 343 artists and cultural professionals in the performing or visual arts from 36 countries to spend a period of 15 to 85 days working abroad.

To qualify for support from i-Portunus, applicants had to demonstrate a specific and well-defined objective, such as developing an international collaboration, engaging in a production-oriented residency or in professional development in the destination country. Between April and September 2019, more than 3,200 applications for support were submitted by artists and cultural professionals.

Feedback from the participants and the cultural sectors has been very positive. i-Portunus resonated most with young and emerging artists. A conference in Brussels on 15 and 16 October brought together some of the artists taking part as well as major stakeholders representing sectors such as music, theatre, dance, festivals and literature, and national and international cultural institutes like the European Cultural Foundation to discuss how to improve the scheme. The discussions will feed into the recommendations that stakeholders will present to the Commission at the end of the project.

In 2020, the Commission will invest another €1.5 million in two similar trials. The results and recommendations from all pilots will then define the permanent action proposed for the next Creative Europe programme 2021-2027.