One million euros from the European Union for the KotorArta project
The Don Branko Sbutega Foundation, one of the producers of the KotorArt International Festival, has received official confirmation from the European Commission that the project Synergy Amplified: Innovating the Classical Music Ecosystem (SynAmp) has been selected for funding under the Creative Europe programme in the amount of €999.588, the festival announced.
"With a high score of 91 points in the European Commission's evaluation, the SynAmp project confirms the relevance of KotorArt on the cultural map of Europe, ranking among the most successful European cooperation projects in the field of culture. Among more than 1.600 applications from across Europe, in the medium-sized project category, only 23 out of 550 applications were supported, which places the result of KotorArt among the most significant successes of the European cultural sector. The Commission emphasized in its report that the project 'represents an innovative framework for strengthening the classical music ecosystem through digital transition, sustainability and inclusion', as well as its strong European dimension that connects nine countries and contributes to strengthening cultural cooperation in the Western Balkans and across Europe," the statement reads.
The SynAmp project, whose total value is 1.334.565 euros, brings together partners from nine countries, including, in addition to Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Sweden, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"The aim of the project is to connect composers, multimedia artists, performers and cultural managers through innovative models of cooperation, residency programs, workshops and an international tour, and strengthen their capacities for sustainable and contemporary development of the classical music sector. The project will last 34 months, during which more than 100 artists and cultural professionals from Europe will collaborate on new musical and multimedia creations, concerts and publications available to the general public," KotorArt says.
They said that the SynAmp project continues the successful path of that festival, which began with the #synergy project, implemented from 2021 to 2024, through which KotorArt, with a grant of almost half a million euros, became the first and so far the only organization from Montenegro to be the lead partner of a project supported through the EU Creative Europe program.
"This success confirms the continuity and reputation of KotorArt as a European cultural brand, but also the capacity of the Montenegrin cultural sector to actively contribute to European processes. We are proud that together with partners from the region and Europe we are building a modern space for the development of classical music and strengthening the network of artists, managers and organizations that share the values of cooperation, creativity and innovation," said the KotorArt PR service.
They say that Kotor Art and its partners through SynAmp continue to build bridges between art, innovation and community, positioning Montenegro as an active participant in the European cultural space and a relevant partner of European institutions in the field of cultural cooperation.