UpCreate Erasmus Project

Project Title

UpCreate

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Creativity and culture; Social entrepreneurship / social innovation

Project Summary

The ongoing COVID-19 situation has and will continue to have, a huge impact on people of all age groups, social classes, and cultural backgrounds. However, among the most challenged from the pandemic, are young people and cultural institutions (European Commission 2020). Educational, cultural and social activities everywhere are severely limited or under lockdown and, consequentially, social exclusion among young people is rising. Among these young people are future artists, entrepreneurs, writers, innovators, craftsmen and women, who have a huge potential to contribute to European society and culture (European Commission 2020). The situation also severely affects the cultural and creative sectors, and as a consequence, many of them are threatened on their livelihood with museums also generally struggling to attract young people (European Commission 2020; Kulturstyrelsen 2012). There is therefore a great need for cultural institutions to renegotiate their identity by interacting with their audience through new innovative approaches.

This is why UpCreate will create a new interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral partnership between 7 partners from 5 European Countries that will provide new, innovative solutions and opportunities for young people in Europe, and for the European cultural and creative sectors.

UpCreate will consist of 5 cultural institutions representing 5 different disciplines of art, 1 culinary actor, and a 1 higher educational institution. UpCreate will be led by Aalborg University, Denmark and will be joined by Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana (SL), Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatrali (I), Art Museums Skagen (DK), Einar Jónsson Museum (IS), ARGE Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach, and Alchemist Taste Lab (DK).

The objectives of UpCreate are:

● To create a new interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral and creative partnership that will create an innovative framework to enhance innovation within the creative and cultural sectors and stimulate and strengthen our European cultural awareness and social inclusion through the arts.

● To educate, support and nurture young people through formal, informal and non-formal education, the UpCreate Framework, thereby fostering the creative potential and employability of youth.

● To enhance the skills and competencies of the participating young people to become future cultural entrepreneurs through the innovative participatory approaches of the UpCreate Competitions.

● To realise new synergies between different fields of education, training and youth through innovative digital and virtual solutions with the aim of supporting the recovery resilience of the cultural and creative sectors.

The unique approach of UpCreate is to build on the synergy opportunities between Food and Arts. Food is a dynamic living, concrete focal point, through which we create social bonds and we establish and maintain cultural differences. Food creates transparency between religions, age, gender, and it allows us to cross borders, and develop a sense of community. Based on this, UpCreate will focus on creating new and innovative ways to include participatory approaches in the project with an understanding that the COVID-19 situation necessitates increased digital and virtual solutions. UpCreate will invite young people of all backgrounds across Europe to contribute to the project by participating digitally in the UpCreate Competitions. Here, they will engage with the UpCreate Digital Educational Material which will include virtual lectures, workshops and materials.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration and Problem-Based Learning, UpCreate will develop 9 Intellectual Outputs. The results and outputs will be formulated into instructional manuals collected in the UpCreate Handbook, 3 Scientific articles and the UpCreate Booklet to ensure that the results can be disseminated to and exploited by all target groups and stakeholders. Thereby, UpCreate will secure the overall impact and long-term benefits of the project.

UpCreate will furthermore conduct 6 Learning/Teaching/Training Activities giving participants the opportunity to workshop, give feedback, and develop new innovative material, methods and approaches. UpCreate will also facilitate 7 Multiplier Events, including one at the International Art Biennale 2022 in Venice; all essential activities to target stakeholders and the general public.

UpCreate will create new, innovative participatory approaches to how young people can engage with, develop and innovate the creative and cultural sectors. Doing so, it is the expectation that UpCreate will realise new synergies between fields of education, training and youth. Furthermore, by combining two essential cultural fields – Food and Art – in new, innovative ways, UpCreate will foster the creation of innovative solutions young people can use to face the current societal challenges, and which will support the recovery resilience of the cultural and creative sectors.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 296695 Eur

Project Coordinator

AALBORG UNIVERSITET & Country: DK

Project Partners

• Skagens Kunstmuseer S/I
• Taste Lab
• Listasafn Einars Jónssonar
• MUZEJ IN GALERIJE MESTA LJUBLJANE
• ARGE Gustav Mahler Festival Steinbach am
• ASSOCIAZIONE MARCHIGIANA ATTIVITA TEATRALI – AMAT