The Eurokleis self-assessment tool for FUTURES artists
FUTURES annual events this year was organized both online and on site called HYBRIDS: Forging New Realities as Counter-Narrative. The event took place on the 16th and 17th of September 2021 at Melkweg Expo (Amsterdam).
Eleven emerging artists presented their works, participated in the talks regarding contemporary photography and shared their ideas in different workshops organised by FUTURES. The Festival brought together the creativity of more than 70 artists and the expertise of the 13 European photography institutions that are part of the FUTURES platform.
About FUTURES
Futures is a photography platform that pools the resources and talent programmes of cultural institutions across Europe in order to support new talents, nurture the professional development of emerging artists across the world.
Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, the project is composed of 14 FUTURES members (art institutions) located in different part of Europe.
The members of consortium are prominent institutions operating in art sector and have a great impact and influence in the world of photography. We are honoured to support the consortium as the research partner that monitors and evaluates the growth of both the project and the artists’ career.
The project goal is to add long-term value in empowering early and mid-career photographers – launching initiatives to promote their work and granting them access to an unprecedented network of professionals, markets and audiences.
How it works ?
Every year, the FUTURES members nominate a group of artists to join the platform. The platform aims to stimulate the photographic economy from the bottom up by expanding the market. By bringing together a wealth of resources and curatorial expertise, each talent gains access to an unprecedented network of professionals, markets and audiences. FUTURES project organizes annually a meeting to bring all together artists and their professional mentors, providing the opportunity to meet each other physically, share experiences and knowledge, opinions as well as expand their network in the field of photography. In the annual event, Futures also offers workshops, portfolio reviews, coaching sessions, exhibitions and more.
Futures 2021 annual event HYBRID
This year’s programme unfolds the main theme HYBRIDS: Forging New Realities as Counter-Narrative by investigating how our reality is challenged by artistic experimentation and counter-narratives. At Melkweg Expo, we met the artists who joined FUTURES platform this year and we had the possibility to explore the theme throught the artist’s projects presented in the main exhibition. The co-organiser of the HYBRID event Marina Paulenka together with 13 FUTURES members has organised a series of talks with artists and other relevant voices in photography.
Eurokleis task within the project
We are involved in the FUTURES project providing our strong expertise in impact assessment and supporting actions to the artist careers’ growth. Eurokleis analyses different aspects of the artist’ professional life path like visibility, network, education, showcasing, and the ability to generate profits from the work activity. During the HYBRIDS festival, our innovation managers Iana Dulskaia and Diana Martinescu presented the methodology for the career growth assessment namely “Self-Assessment Tool”.
The tool helps the artists in maximizing their impact on society, so generating as much as possible different effects, improving the connections between the contemporary photography and the communities, monitoring and evaluating their professional path. The Self-Assessment Tool collects information through anonymous surveys and not only it provides an evaluation of the artist’s progress, but at the same time it helps the FUTURES platform to continuously improve its activities. After the self-assessment processing the artist gets an overview of his/her progress through a friendly infographic report. Each artist can monitor her/his professional growth, evaluate her/his strength and weaknesses, and organise an action plan for the future improvement.
We are glad to report our presentation caught the attention of artists who were excited to try and considered using the tool for their career development.
We also interviewed the artists and collected information like their base of knowledge, their needs, and of course their expectations from the FUTURES program. In doing so, the FUTURES project gathered the information for improving their activities and cover the artist’s needs.
Autore dell’articolo
Diana Martinescu
Junior Consultant - EU Projects
Photo Credits:
- Maarten Nauw
- Martinescu Diana