Roots&Routes
URBAN ART IN MODERN EUROPE
Europe is becoming more and more culturally diverse, at a continental level resulting from the expansion of the European Union and at a local level resulting from the migration brought about by the global mobility of workers, migrants and asylum seekers. Nonetheless, this cultural diversity remains invisible to the established creative industry. Luckily, numerous urban young people are not discouraged by this lack of recognition. They learn their skills on the street and in small community centres where they perform, practice and compete with one another, often using new technology to produce what is termed ‘urban art’. In the process they generate a huge quantity of positive energy and boost their hopes for future opportunities. Unfortunately, most of them never make it on to the mainstream performance circuit and remain unknown to the rest of the population.
R&R INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
An increasing number of initiatives empower these urban youths by helping and coaching them to use their singing, dancing and media skills as an economic weapon and a tool for social integration and citizenship. At the European level a number of these initiatives are united in the Roots & Routes International network, with members in already ten EU - member states. These projects turn out to be very successful and are mainly centred around the production of large-scale performances where urban talents work alongside professionals. As a result quite a few of the urban young people, who participated in these projects, want to continue to develop a professional career as an artist or in a related profession. However the present Roots & Routes International projects are too short in time to be able to facilitate this wish. Apart from this, many of these talents do not have the sufficient educational background to enter into an art school or into another vocational training. However even if the talents have the necessary requirements, most of these institutes are not attractive to and suitable for these young people as their curricula are still exclusively based on the western culture and do not have special attention for fusion between the migrant and western cultures and do not have special interest for urban music and dance styles.
R&R SUMMER COURSES
In order to facilitate the urban talents in realising their professional career and to support art schools and other educational institutes in diversifying their curriculum, the Leonardo project “Roots Routes Summer courses" was developed. In five countries Roots & Routes partners will develop and execute national summer courses where motivated urban talents, who took part in one of the local projects, will be able to follow training modules in diverse urban music and dance styles, theory and practice of the creative industry and light, sound and media technique. They will also receive individual and band coaching, while special attention will be given to European co-operation and co production. The experiences gained at the summer courses will lead to a proposal of an Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) system, which may be used to gain competence and eligibility to apply for entry into an art school. Talents, who do not succeed in passing the entry auditions or do not want to enter an educational institute, will be coached towards a professional career facilitated by a special R&R agency.
