PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Bring opera and music into more childrens’ lives! We are looking for partners across the Europe to join us for a project developing a common approach to new formats and arts projects for children. If you are keen to create innovation in this field and are willing to explore and bring new visions and ideas to the table, partner with us! 

The suggested project is in the strand of Innovation and audience development - within the Creative Europe framework. We seek to meet potential partners to further develop the project and if possible prepare an application for the next round of Creative Europe, by the end of 2023. 

WHAT 

We seek innovative and creative new approaches to how children can be engaged in the rich heritage and new works of opera.  

The partners have a common interest in developing cultural engagement of children aged from 6 month to 12 years. We envision a project, that takes its cue from the child, The child’s perception of the world and its needs to interact with culture through engagement, involvement and playfulness. 

We want to create new works or reworks of art – and do it on the terms of the children. It can be anywhere, in homes,​​ music halls, virtual places, parks and games. It can be concerts, events, happenings, animations, films, you name it – but it’s about making music and bringing opera into the world of children.  

The partners will shape this idea through: 

• Deep research on children’s use of opera/art and how they can value it by taking part 
• Innovation lab, where the partners develop their approach to create new works of art and concepts to meet the children’s needs. 
• Artistic work – write, rewrite, filmmaking, audio, digital (immersive, animation, virtual, augmented etc) 
• Test – of how the partners artistic projects work for children through interviews 
• Learning – sharing experiences and insights to a broader community
  

WHY 

New generations have their own approach when engaging with culture and heritage. And it may not be in the shape of classical settings of operas, so if opera is going to be a substantial artform in the future, it has to learn from new participants – like children. And maybe innovation comes from this approach, daring to look at an artform from a whole new angle and with a new purpose. 

We know ​​from our research that many of the classical artforms are hard for parents to introduce to children, simply because these artforms do not take into account that children use and perceive art in very different ways than adults. And since parents are very attentive to their children’s positive engagement in cultural experiences, they will opt out of singing experiences like opera, if they are not aimed at accommodating children.  

We also see a growing commercial experience industry, where music heritage is combined with animations and immersive experiences for children, leaving the professional field on the analogue platform with fewer audiences in the future. 

Entrepreneurs and artistic organisations need to develop new approaches if this artform is going to have a place in the future. 

The objectives are to stir and sustain children’s appetite for a lifelong interest in opera. 

If the children need playfulness when meeting culture, then perhaps we as culture institutions need to start being playful ourselves and try something new. 

HOW 

We suggest building a partnership across the EU (and possibly beyond), with entrepreneurs in arts, cultural institutions and knowledge partners to help one another. 

Through the suggested activities, the outcomes of the project are new works of art, formats for concerts/experiences, teaching and interactions with children, that will further a positive development through a design-thinking method – where the children are in the centre of development efforts. 

The means of the project is focused on music, audio, video, animations, games, concerts etc. 

The partners learn from research, labs, experiences, encounters with children. 

Most partners will be working with children and arts and opera, coming from a variety of fields such as arts entrepreneurs, composers, concert halls, orchestras, filmmakers/animators, stage professionals etc.  

The partners who participate will enter on the terms of the objectives and outcomes above. 

Partners must have an innovative approach and be willing to enter new fields of understanding and to leave their mindset of the past behind. 

Partners are probably already probing new ideas they can bring into this community and must be willing to create extra external funding to realise their projects or find partners during the project who can help realise their projects to the full potential. 

ORGANISATION DESCRIPTION

Vocalini: is working to rewrite familiar pieces from operas (Verdi, Mozart etc) to songs for children (12 songs have already been written), where they can sing along and participate in the concerts. These concerts are viewed as new opera formats to be developed (some have already been performed).​The songs are also valuable didactic materials to be used by primary teachers in the classroom​ 

These songs are to be performed in special arrangements for children, at all kinds of venues and schools. Vocalini needs to develop the concerts/meetings with children and to enhance participation through digital presence with elements such as video, audio, animations, graphics etc. And they need funding for recording of the songs. 

RasmussenNordic: is a research and innovation development company in the arts. It is working in the cultural and media industry with development and strategy, research, testing and conceptualization. RN is also lead on the project and will run the project management and the innovation processes.