(Re)Connect with the UK: get to know art professionals and organisations
Since December 2022, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt has been undertaking research – funded by the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund (BAR) – into the relationship between Flanders and the UK after Brexit. The aim is to re-establish relationships between the two area’s, with a specific focus on inclusion and multi-voicedness.
The next step of the trajectory is aimed at you: artists, art workers and organisations in Flanders. During the next few months, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt will offer opportunities to initiate, strengthen and continue dialogue with partners in the UK.
We can help you with:
- contacts and information
- a budget for working visits to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
- digital meeting sessions
Interested? Let us know!
Let us know if you are interested in:
- getting to know players and establishing contacts with art professionals and organisations in the UK
- meeting and exchanging knowledge with arts professionals and organisations in the UK working around sustainability, disability arts, cross-sectoral working (arts and health/welfare) and participation
- meeting art professionals and organisations during short working visits in the UK
Timing
- Our budget has to be allocated by 31 December 2023 at the latest.
- But we advise you to contact us before 30 September so we have enough time to help you work out your plans.
- Trips to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are to be made in March 2024 at the latest.
Fill out this form and we will contact you.
Get to know players from the UK through a working visit or a digital meeting session
➞ Working visits to the UK
In order to continue to promote dialogue between the Flemish and UK cultural sectors, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt will offer between 15 and 25 individuals from Flanders the opportunity to visit the UK to (re)connect with peers.
Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt is keen to promote professional development; mutual learning; development of new and existing partnerships; opportunities for presentation, co-production or touring, so please think carefully about how your visit will align with these aims.
Trips to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are to be made in March 2024 the latest. Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt will cover the cost of your travel (preferably by train) and accommodation. Art professionals working on a freelance basis and organisations with project funding or structural funding under 300.000 euros will receive a per diem of 60 euros. You will be responsible for making these travel arrangements and Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt will reimburse the costs.
The preliminary research conducted by Kunstenpunt revealed interesting areas of arts practice in the UK, but your own visit or project does not need to address these themes to be considered.
➞ Thematic digital meeting sessions
Following research and working visits in the UK, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt has identified areas of strength in the UK cultural sector that are also current in Flanders: sustainability, disability arts, cross-sectoral working (arts and health/welfare) and participation.
For each theme, we will organise digital meeting and exchange sessions of 2 hours which are open to all: art professionals, organisations and platforms from Flanders and UK.
During these sessions, players from Flanders and the UK explain briefly how the theme is approached in terms of content and policy in their region, followed by a Q&A.
In breakout rooms there is a chance to meet peers who are interested in opening a dialogue. We ask participants to send their bio and mention their expectations in advance to put together the subgroups in a focused way.
| Session 1: Sustainability Date to be confirmed: please register and we will keep you informed. | The arts contribute to a sustainable living environment on a local and global level, and create a caring working environment that is sustainable for everyone. Session in collaboration with Pulse, Greentrack and RAB/BKO from Flanders and Creative Carbon Scotland and Climate Justice Wales from the UK. – Part 1: an overview of complementary and inspiring visions, resources, tools and events. – Part 2: art professionals, organisations and platforms meet in breakout rooms to explore possibilities for exchange and concrete actions. |
| Session 2: Disability arts Date to be confirmed: please register and we will keep you informed. | The topic of conversation will be disability arts. In particular the strategies that are being developed to go beyond mere accessibility towards access to the arts for disabled people as artists, audiences, and arts professionals. Session in collaboration with Cripping the space from Flanders and British Council, Disability Arts Wales and Creative Scotland in the UK. – Part 1: Presentation of the existing platforms arts and disability in Flanders and the UK. – Part 2: art professionals, organisations and platforms meet in breakout rooms about strategies for change. |
| Session 3: Arts and health/wellbeing Date to be confirmed: please register and we will keep you informed. | Art plays an important role in health and wellbeing, by reconnecting vulnerable people with themselves and society, and countering exclusionary mechanisms. In this session, we discuss (possible) frameworks and policies that facilitate collaboration between arts and care sectors in both Flanders and the UK, and Wales in particular, using the Wales Arts Health & Wellbeing Network and the legislation in Wales that supports this collaboration as a starting point for an open discussion. |
| Session 4: Participation Sessions to meet peers will be organised based on request: please register and mention your wishes. | Public engagement in the arts: participation in the creative process, co-production of programs, communication and governance. |
Questions? Join our digital Afternoon Tea
Join our Afternoon Tea to discuss what connections you would like to make in the UK. We can suggest and arrange introductions for you.
- Every other week on Wednesday at 3 to 4 PM CET (13 September, 27 September, 11 October, 25 October, 8 November, 22 November)
- Click on the Zoom-link and ask your questions directly to our colleagues (just drop by, no appointment needed).
FAQs
No. The terms of the funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve only allow for people to travel from Flanders to the UK.
Yes, you can go as a group or as an individual. Only one person per organisation will be supported. If Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt receives several applications with similar proposals then the visits may be grouped together to maximise the networking and matchmaking opportunities for people with similar interests.
Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt aims to respond to applications as soon as possible, with applications received by 30th September receiving a response by 6th October.
Yes, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt would like to share the connections made from the initial period of research with the Flemish arts community.
Below is a list of festivals that might be interesting to attend, but we are open to other suggestions or itineraries.
- Sonica, Glasgow, 28 – 29 September (visual & sound art)
- Dance Umbrella, London, 6 – 31 October (dance)
- Frieze Art Fair, London, 11 – 15 October (visual arts)
- Transform, Leeds, 11 – 22 October (performance)
- Artes Mundi, across Wales, 24 October 2023 – February 2024 (visual arts)
- Belfast International Arts Festival, Belfast, 12 October – 5 November (multidisciplinair)
- Spill Festival, Ipswich, 13 – 29 October (performance)
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival, York, 8 – 12 November (film)
- Outburst Arts, Belfast, 9 -18 November (queer arts)
- Homotopia Festival, Liverpool, 11 November – 1 December (queer arts)
- The Welcome at the Factory, Manchester, 11 – 18 November (multidisciplinair)
- Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Huddersfield, 17 – 26 November (new music)
- The Night With…, Glasgow, 14 – 15 December (new music)
- Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, 1- 3 March 2024 (film)
- Counterflows, Glasgow, spring 2024 (new and experimental music)
- Yorkshire Sculpture International, Wakefield & Leeds, Yorkshire (visual arts)
Yes, Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt encourages you to use the most ecologically sustainable method of transport accessible and available.
No, the fund is designed to strengthen collaboration between Flemish and UK colleagues by supporting meaningful meetings and encounters.
No, you can apply to the fund to visit the UK based on a topic of your own interest. The four topics listed by Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt will be the subject of digital meetings later in the autumn, which we welcome you to attend.
Info & Contact
If you have any questions or need further information or advice to plan your visit to the UK you can contact our colleague Phoebe Roberts: phoebe.roberts@kunsten.be(in English).
Accessibility
In line with accessibility principles, if you would like to speak to our team about alternative ways of completing the form (e.g. self-recorded video) or if you require support for access during a trip, or if you need specific requirements for the digital meetings (e.g. captions, sign language), please contact phoebe.roberts@kunsten.be.
Terms and conditions
Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt is keen to strengthen collaboration with the UK cultural sector, therefore we would like to share the connections gained or enhanced by these funded visits with the sector. We will therefore ask that you make a short report of your visit, either in writing, by photo or video or via a telephone debrief with a member of Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt’s team or at a sharing day organised by us.
For further information, please contact phoebe.roberts@kunsten.be or attend one of our Afternoon Teas.
