Open Call | Roberto Cimetta Fund ǀ Valletta 2018 Mobility Funding

The Roberto Cimetta Fund and the Valletta 2018 Foundation, responsible for the implementation of Valletta’s title of European Capital of Culture 2018 are collaborating on an initiative to improve and increase mobility of artists in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

This initiative will see a series of open calls for travel grants being offered from 2015 to 2018; artists and cultural operators living and working in the Euro-Arab region who wish to undertake collaborative projects satisfying the criteria below are invited to apply.

Both the Roberto Cimetta Fund and Valletta 2018 see freedom of mobility as essential to the development of the arts and strongly support the right of the artist to travel freely. In the context of Valletta’s title of European Capital of Culture 2018, where Valletta is physically and culturally a crossroads and meeting point in the centre of the Mediterranean, this fund aims to aid mobility, communication, collaboration and exchange between diverse cultures and to contribute to local, community participation in the arts in the broader context of the Euro-Arab zone.

The second open call 2016 will be opened on 1st July 2016 for one month; the Cimetta Fund will programme a series of calls up until December 2018.

Applications can be made in Maltese, Arabic, English or French.

The following general criteria apply to the fund:

i. The aim of the travel must show potential for a constructive and long-term impact on the arts sector in a concrete, localised context in the Euro-arab geographical region;

ii This means that travel must contribute to the applicant’s professional development, which in turn can be shared in a “networking” fashion that will benefit connecting artists and operators in the applicant’s own country or region so as to maintain, renew and develop contemporary arts practise;

iii. Travel can take place as soon as the call opens but in this case the applicant runs the risk of paying for travel without guarantee of the success of the application;

iv. No nationality or age criteria apply to the fund; however the applicant must live or work in the Euro-Arab geographical region;

v. The applicant’s profession must be one of the following; administrator in the cultural field, artist, creator, cultural organiser, performer, project leader in the cultural field, or teacher;

vi. The call aims to give financial support to applicants who do not have the financial resources to engage in the mobility being funded;

vii. Applications must be made by individuals, rather than organisations. Only three members of a group can apply for a grant concerning the same project;

viii. The fund will only be granted to any one individual three times in total;

ix.  Applicants must choose the cheapest form of transport and can only apply for one international return travel ticket and visa costs per application;

x.    Local transport, per diems and accommodation costs are not covered by the fund.

xi.   When selected the beneficiary should notify the Valletta 2018 Foundation at least one month prior to arrival by sending an email with relevant contact details and project description to info@valletta2018.org.   The beneficiary should make him/herself available during his/her residence in Malta to speak to the press if so requested by the Foundation.

xii.  The Roberto Cimeta Fund and Valletta 2018 Foundation ask the beneficiary to send 5 to 10 high-resolution photographs, within 3 weeks of his/her return in the country of origin.  The photographs, which will be used by the Fund or the Foundation for publicity purposes, should be free of any licensing requirements and/or copyright restrictions.

The following specific criteria apply to the fund:

i) The application for mobility must directly address one of the four themes of Valletta 2018’s European Capital of Culture Cultural Programme, these being Generations, Islands, Routes and Cities as described below.

ii) Applicants must be either

a. living or working in Malta, and developing projects specific to the Euro-Arab Region;

b.  living or working in Europe and/or the Mediterranean Region, and wishing to travel to Malta to make an artistic intervention in the wider Euro-Arab context;

c.  living or working in Europe and/or the Arab Region, and wishing to travel within the Euro-Arab Region for collaborative work specific to Malta’s context in that region (for example, travelling to a third country to collaborate on a project that has a tangible link with Malta, or with a Maltese artist).

The open call will operate on a quarterly basis, where applications are reviewed every three months. Applicants will be advised of the results of their applications no later than two months following the close of the respective call.

This second call will open on 1^st July 2016 and will remain open until 31st July 2016. Applicants will be advised of the results of this call by 1^st Octobre 2016.

Any funds left unused following the results of a round of the call will be passed on to the next round, however funds will not be passed on from year to year.

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The call will be administered by the Roberto Cimetta Fund, however evaluation will be carried out jointly by the Fund and the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

Funds will be released to successful applicants after travel and upon submission of proof of travel and written report.

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The following rules apply to the fund:

i)      The decision of the evaluation board shall be final;

ii)     The Roberto Cimetta Fund and the Valletta 2018 Foundation reserve the right to reject all applications submitted if the quality of the applications in not seen to be sufficiently high;

iii)   Dates in the schedule must be respected and complied with in full; failure to do so may result in disqualification.

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More details on the call can be found on www.cimettafund.org and www.valletta2018.org.

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Valletta cannot exist as a re-enactment of its past. To empower all Valletta’s present generations is to give Valletta, and all Malta, a future. Through engaging with younger generations, V.18 creates what is possibly its greatest and most lasting legacy as ECoC: that of giving our children and young people the right tools in order to live a life of inclusion and fulfilment by being direct players in culturally enriching activities. Through interaction, play, imagination, and passion, V.18 includes all generations and all sections of the community in its Cultural Programme.

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V.18 is a cultural laboratory for society to pose self-reflective questions about the role of the past and the challenges of the future, about borders, extremities, differences and similarities within a European and Mediterranean context. Similarly, we look to those aspects of Maltese society - such as close family ties, small urban communities and a strong culture of volunteering that anchor life on the Islands.

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Unlike many cities that are allowed to grow and sprawl randomly, the city of Valletta was planned right down to the detail of the embellishments of its corner buildings. How can citizens, designers, artists, urban planners, architects and residents collaborate and contribute to this rethinking of Valletta as a creative city, as an ECoC? We seek inspiration in our built environment that can serve us into the future; conserving the past by giving it a contemporary calling.

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We are citizens of the Mediterranean, and Valletta is a unique vantage point to focus on the issues relating to this sea-cum-region bordering Europe’s south. The sea has shaped our culture, manipulated our trades and industries, and influenced almost every part of our lives. Valletta exists solely because of the sea; its peninsula a strategic location fashioning the city as both defensive fortress and safe haven thanks to the natural harbours flanking it.