São Paulo – The Brazilian Ministry of Culture released this Thursday (31st) an open call aimed at making Brazilian culture more global. Financial resources will be given so that Brazilian artists and creative entrepreneurs can attend courses and events abroad. The open call provides for the investment of US$ 1.785 million (or R$ 4 million) and should benefit 400 people. As regards courses, the interested party should get in touch with the educational institute and be pre-approved.
According to information from the Ministry of Culture, the goal is to expand the presence of Brazilian professionals in training activities of internationally renowned institutes, besides cultural events and business. The grants may be spent between November this year and March next. The Ministry plans to make a total of 357,100 (or R$ 800,000) available per month.
Areas benefiting from the stimulus are music, performing arts, circus, visual arts, cinema, animation, game production, software and mobile applications programming, literature, television, radio, editorial market, fashion, design, architecture, advertisement, gastronomy, cultural management, cultural industry, cultural event production, audiovisual production, audiovisual equipment operation, screenplay writing, sound design, costume design, set construction, light design, graphic and visual edition, restoration, handcraft, popular culture and heritage, museum and memory and cultural tourism, as well as others.
Applicants may travel in order to present their own work, training activities, artistic residency or matchmaking in creative economy. Application may be done by individuals, born or naturalized Brazilian or by groups which are not legally established as entities and whose members are born or naturalized Brazilian. As a counterpart, the selected parties need to spread the knowledge acquired when they return to Brazil, by presenting what they learned, either with spectacles, workshops, or other forms.
The programme is an unprecedented partnership of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Relations. The funding encompasses the tickets, accommodation and transport of the benefited. Though it was not highlighted by the Ministry of Culture in the presentation of the project, the open call also says activities in Brazil may be envisaged.
Also this Thursday (31st) the Ministry of Culture launched another open call to take Brazilian cultural delegations to three specific international events: the music festival Womex 2014, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, from October 22nd to 26th, Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival, in Chile, from January 3rd to 18th 2015, and the International Contemporary Art Fair ARCO Madrid, from February 25th to March 1st 2015. This project provides for US$ 178,550 (or R$ 400,000) Worth of investments in a first phase. The two were open calls were introduced by the minister of Culture, Marta Suplicy.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
