Among 240 nominations from 21 countries, Vamvakou Revival with its annual program of cultural events and activities, managed to qualify for the 19 finalists of the European Art Explora Awards – Académie des Beaux-Arts 2023 and to earn two awards. Vamvakou Revival was at the Institut de France in Paris on December 12, to attend the Award Ceremony and the annual meeting of cultural institutions and organizations, which offers the opportunity to exchange ideas and good practices in various fields and focuses on innovative forms of participation and interaction with Arts and Culture.
Our team participated in a discussion on Youth Empowerment through the Arts, by presenting the Vamvakou Revival project, emphasizing points from the cultural & educational activities of the organization and having the opportunity to talk with cultural professionals, including Maria Bojanowska, National Partnerships Manager of the British Museum. Julien Beurms, Head of Jeunesses Musicales Belgium and Magali Brazil, Director of Maison de la poésie de Nantes. In addition, we had the opportunity to attend a round table discussion led by News Tank Culture, where the role of arts and cultural heritage in creating social cohesion was explored. Vamvakou Revival may not have won an award in the two nominated categories, but treasures the experience, images and prospects of collaborations developed with remarkable organizations in Europe. In addition, the team expresses their gratitude to all friends who supported the project through their digital votes in the “Audience Award” category, as well as their partners from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) who strongly supported their candidacy.
Finally, we would like to congratulate this year’s award winners, who were:
· Hirundo, Associação para o Pensamento Crítico, Cultura e Desenvolvimento (Portugal) for the project “Open Camp—A new narrative from children in refugee camps” which empowers refugee children with storytelling and animated cinema to document their stories.
· Hospital Rooms (United Kingdom) for the project “Digital Art School” which aims at nurturing culture and creativity in mental health hospitals through accessible programming for patients, carers, and health workers.
· Sèvres—Manufacture et Musée nationaux (France) for the project “The Manifacture at the hospital” which enables the Sèvres Manufacture to reveal its secrets and expertise to patients, carers and visitors at the heart of care facilities.
· Théâtre National de Wallonie-Bruxelles (Belgium) for the project “An art centre in a care home” which combines art and care to reveal the beauty of a place where you least expect it.
A few words about the awards:
The Académie des beaux-arts (Academy of Fine Arts) is one of the five academies that are part of the Institut de France (Institut de France). They promote artistic creation through all forms of expression, especially by organizing competitions, awarding annual prizes, funding art residences, distributing scholarships and safeguarding France’s cultural heritage.
Art Explora is a non-profit arts organization founded in 2019 with offices in France and the UK and brings together many partners and volunteers. The European Art Explora—Académie des beaux-arts Prize is open to all cultural organizations from all fields of art, from museums to theatres, operas to community organizations, festivals to art centers across Europe. They inspire new forms of interaction with audiences and encourage their participation in arts and culture by supporting innovative projects, that can be replicated across Europe.
