EFFEA launches grants for festivals supporting emerging artists

The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA) has opened its first call for festivals to support emerging artists. The fund has announced its intention to support 50 festivals with grants assisting emerging artists attending residency programmes between 1 February and 31 December 2023.

Grants will be available to support 50 festival residencies for emerging artists of all kinds. Applicants will need to register their festival with the European Festivals Association, choose an emerging artist to support, then contact at least two potential partner festivals.

The fund will supply two types of grants. A ‘discovery’ grant of €8,000 available for 40 festivals to support an early career artist in residence through initiatives including mentorships and a ‘springboard’ grant €15,000 available for 10 festivals to support a mid-career artist, who may be established in their own country, to develop their career internationally by performing with the host festival and with two partner festivals chosen by the host.

The host festival can apply for one ‘discovery’ and one ‘springboard’ grant and can also apply for multiple grants as a partner for other projects. The artist can be an individual, collective, company, or ensemble and can be of any age or gender. They should have a nationality of or a residence address in one of the EU member states, Creative Europe countries or additional countries including Armenia, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK.

Applications must be made via the EFFEA website by 15 November 2022, with selected artists and festivals announced in January 2023.