EFFEA

EFFEA: The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists is part of the European Festivals Association’s mission to support and promote festivals. Since its establishment in 1952, the European Festivals Association has been supporting art festivals, cities and regions in Europe and beyond. It advocates for Cultural and Creative Sectors policies by supporting local initiatives on international platforms. Thanks to this collaborative and bottom-up interaction, festival managers can maintain their visibility and competitiveness and be effective in shaping Europe’s cultural landscape.

Between 2021 and 2024, EFFEA supported over 150 young artists and artist groups at 470 festivals covering 18 art disciplines in 36 countries. Beyond the numbers, EFFEA provided the time, space and support that young artists need to develop their creative work. Through artist-in-residence programs, lasting relationships were established between artists, festivals and audiences, creating opportunities for sustainable collaboration beyond individual presentations. EFFEA artists introduced audiences to contemporary and important topics with their unique perspectives.

To learn about the work carried out during the first three-year period, you can review the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists – EFFEA Autumn Newsletter.

In this issue of the newsletter, we are proud to present the EFFEA Duty of Care Protocol Generation #1 booklet, in which we have compiled responsible behaviors regarding working principles between art festivals and artists. In the booklet, the experiences of festivals as hosts and young artists as guests during the EFFEA Call 1 are compiled under 10 key thematic headings. These headings include topics such as fair remuneration, inclusive attitude and sustainable travel.

EFFEA Call 1 Films

While completing the work related to Call 1, we invite you to watch examples reflecting the experiences and achievements of artists and festivals during this period through the YouTube playlist. Here you will find not only films related to the EFFEA Call, but also a compilation of “EFFEA Films” that summarize the work carried out over a year within the framework of each artist-in-residence program. This compilation will not only showcase the behind-the-scenes of the artistic process but also preserve these moments as a digital treasure for the future.

EFFEA Stories

Festivals and artists selected through EFFEA Calls share their diaries about news and thoughts related to presentations, workshop activities, master classes, and other activities within the scope of the artist-in-residence program. In EFFEA stories you can find what they think and do, and what happens behind the scenes.

When each cycle of EFFEA grants is completed, the Protocol will offer innovative strategies that will improve the conditions of artists and strengthen the European Festivals Association by providing experience-based knowledge to the sector and decision-makers at both local and European levels. We recommend that you review this first document, which we hope will lead to more sustainable ideas for the future of the arts sector.

EFFEA continues to offer opportunities to young artists to build their international careers as guests at festivals.

EFFEA will continue this work for another four years between 2025-2028! Each year, 50 projects will be supported within the framework of joint programs of 150 festivals for 50 young artists for artist-in-residence programs.

EFFEA Call will be announced in the second half of 2025 and will support artist-in-residence programs to be implemented in 2026. We will continue to share details with you. To stay updated, please regularly visit the news section on our website and our Facebook page. You can also connect with the EFFEA Facebook Community as a platform where you can connect with our artist colleagues and festival managers.

For more information, see Discover more.

We have a question;
What is the role of festivals in promoting diversity, equity, inclusive approaches, accessibility and sense of belonging? How do you address representation, social justice and power inequalities?

EFA recently launched a campaign. Count me in! is a tool to celebrate and raise awareness about festivals that embrace supporting diversity, equity, inclusive approaches, accessibility and sense of belonging. Beyond just highlighting successes, the campaign also aims to draw attention to the points that make it difficult for festivals to include these features in their work.

Complete the attached survey and share your stories with us by October 31 to share your festival’s approach to promoting diversity, equity, inclusive approaches, accessibility and sense of belonging. We will share your festival experiences on Festival Finder.eu, EFA newsletters and our social media channels. Let’s get to your keyboards!

Survey & Call for Stories

For more information: Donika Rudi Berishaj, EFFEA Project Coordinator: donika@efa-aef.eu and Luana Santos, Communication and Administrative Affairs Assistant: luana@efa-aef.eu

The European Festivals Association (EFA) is the umbrella organization for art festivals in Europe and beyond.

The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists – EFFEA is an EFA initiative partially funded by the European Union. It is implemented in partnership with 14 EFFE Hubs: Croatian Composers Society (Croatia), Culture Matters (Czech Republic), PLMF Arts Management (Estonia), France Festivals (France), Festival Friends (Germany), Stichting Caucasus Foundation (Georgia), Summa Artium Kultúra Támogató Nonprofit Kft. (Hungary), Association of Irish Festival Events (Ireland), ItaliaFestival (Italy), ARC Research and Consultancy Ltd. (Malta), Asociația Centrul Cultural Clujean (Romania), ArtLink (Serbia), Sweden Festivals (Sweden), and Development Centre “Democracy through Culture” (Ukraine).