Description
In recent years, the number of people who engage in new ways of producing music has rapidly increased, including new types of musical instruments, playing machines, and also using recycled and unusual materials or improved electronic musical accessories. The audience no longer wants to be just a listener. The project aims to strengthen cultural dialogue and European identity through deeper understanding of cultural diversity and strengthening of bilateral relations. The project will also help mitigate the economic and social disparities between cultural agents of both partners. The particular outcome of the project is organizing a unique music festival. Specifically, it means the main festival and a "mini-festival". These will include concerts, a series (at least 8) of workshops that will be thematically targeted to meet the interest of a wide spectrum of recipients, including children. Another project activity is "Festival Echoes" which will provide continuity of the project after the main activities of the festival are over. "Festival Echoes" will present follow-up actions which will e.g. provide access to a part of or the whole “play park” for the public at various locations. The main target group consists of young adults, students and children and their families, as well as other groups of general public. The Donor project partner is Tou Scene AS and will contribute to production of the main festival programme, as well as the mini-festival programme. The huge contribution of the partnership lies mainly in connecting the cultural institutions for mutual creative collaboration not only within this current project, but also in future work activities of both parties.
Summary of project results
The project "Touch the Music - Music The Art of the Soul" was focused on the organization of the a international music festival in co-production with Norwegian partner Tou Scene AS. The festival took place in České Budějovice (Czech Republic) in August 2015 and a mini-festival came after in Stavanger (Norway) in November 2015. These main project activities were followed by accompanying events such as "Festival Echoes" in České Budějovice and Písek in February and March 2016. The festival with a well composed program and a wide range of workshops managed to reach a wide range of audience and transmit the idea that you can play on anything and that music is the universal language of mankind. These ideas were additionally supported by the associated activity "play park" where visitors could try that it is possible to play on anything and musical instrument can come of common objects. The section with “Virtual windows” was an example of how music can serve as a communication tool and a universal language. Both festivals fulfilled a fundamental project idea that music knows no boundaries and it has an enormous potential to connect. The Festival was very well received both by visitors in the Czech Republic and as well as by visitors in Norway.
Summary of bilateral results
The Norwegian project partner (Tou Scene AS - non profit organization from Stavanger) was actively involved in the main program of the festival with the installation of the ”virtual window” in České Budějovice. The virtual window represented a symbolic bridge between the two partners from different countries, empowering one of the main festival ideas “music connects people”. Partner also contributed with production of the main festival programme and cooperated with artists selection for the festival. Tou Scene AS in addition to the main summer festival in the Czech Republic organized a 'mini-festival "(1-day event) in Stavanger. The event included performances consisting of local artists and Czech guests. Both partners worked together on the festival program and the final form of the event was developed in co-production with both partners` teams. The project had also 4 partners from the Czech Republic that participated in festivals.