MERITA – where chamber music, cultural heritage and talent meet
We are thrilled to announce that the new European project MERITA – where chamber Music, cultural hERItage and TAlent meet has won the European call Creative Europe – European Platforms 2021 and obtained a co-financing from the European Union, amounting to 2.100.000 euro!
MERITA is an offline and online platform born with the purpose to help young professional European string quartets gain more visibility and circulate more in Europe and worldwide. At the same time, it promotes European cultural heritage in a circular economy perspective.
The project started the past 13 September 2022 with the kick-off event held in Milan (Italy) and will last 3 years. It involves 17 organizations coming from 12 different countries and is led by the Italian Le Dimore del Quartetto. It sees the participation of 38 string quartets for a total of 152 artists who will perform 156 concerts in 30 historic houses.
AIMS
MERITA acts in the three areas of training, production and research, and is founded on the principles of innovation, training and development, promotion and sustainability, so that:
- it innovates the chamber music industry and creates new employment opportunities for emerging artists by matching their skills with the demands of the music institutions;
- it strengthens the capabilities of young artists on how to effectively expand, internationalize and consolidate their careers;
- it promotes the production and diffusion of chamber music in Europe;
- it promotes a sustainable business model that unites emerging chamber music artists, audiences, and cultural heritage, fostering the exchange of best practices and competitiveness for artists, audience engagement and development, and environmental sustainability and awareness.
In order to do so MERITA will work through a digital platform, which is the main instrument where to share information about the artists, the cultural sites and historic houses, the educational and training materials, networking, online activities and on-site programs. These activities involve training, artist residencies, transnational and international circulation of young artists, studies and research.
TARGETS
- Professional string quartets
- Audience
- Music Institutions
- Europe’s historic houses and cultural sites
ORGANISATIONS
Le Dimore del Quartetto, Milan (Italy) – Leader
Comitato AMUR, Milan (Italy)
European Historic Houses, Brussels (Belgium)
EuAbout Lab ASBL – European Association for Research, Educational, Cultural and Social Innovation, Brussels (Belgium)
ProQuartet – Centre européen de musique de chambre, Paris (France)
Theocharakis Foundation, Athene (Greece)
Stichting Strijkkwartet Biennale Amsterdam, Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Europa Nostra, The Hague (The Netherlands)
Traces&Dreams, Stockholm (Sweden)
Lofoten Internasjonale Kammermusikkfest, Oslo (Norway)
University of Arts of Tirana (Albania)
QEndra Event, Tirana (Albania)
Julian Cochran Foundation, Warsaw (Poland)
Beogradska Umetnička Nova Teritorija – Belgrade Artistic New Territory, Belgrade (Serbia)
Kolarac – Zadužbina Ilije M. Kolarca, Belgrade (Serbia)
Cadenza Arts Management Ltd, Budapest (Hungary)
Experimenta – Associação para a Promoção do Design e Cultura de Projecto, Lisbon (Portugal)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
The deadline for applying is Thursday 15th December 11.59 pm (GMT+1 time)!
If you are string quartet professionals who wish to take part in this innovative project, check here for further information on the call!
