The organisers of the programme Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 are announcing the second call for the organisations in Lithuania to apply with proposals of artistic projects which would add strength to the programme of 2022. We are open for project proposals involving performers, artists, exhibitions, performances of exclusive importance and relevance in the European and wider international field, which could be implemented with the Lithuanian and foreign partners and would have potential for becoming the focus of international communication, staying attractive for the guests from Lithuania and abroad.

The applicants – future partners of the programme – will be fully responsible for the locations, productions, implementation and communication of their projects. It is expected that the proposed projects would help to support the values and themes of the programme Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022, also being fully accessible for both Lithuanian spectators and foreign guests.

During the preparation phase (2017–2021), we already implement numerous community-oriented and educational activities, cooperation projects, artistic residencies – we do this in joint effort with the partner organisations already taking part in the project. With this second open call we invite our future partners to propose finalised artistic projects which would serve as highlights of the main programme of Kaunas – European Capital of Culture in the year 2022.

The selected projects will be implemented from the budget of the programme Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 (up to 80 % of the project’s budget). The experts representing Kaunas 2022 together with external experts will select the projects from all the submitted proposals. The amount of possible funding for a project could reach 20 000–50 000 Eur (around 15 projects), 100 000 Eur and more (1 to 3 projects). After this open call, the European Capital of Culture programme will be complemented with up to 20 new projects. The capacity of an organisation to implement the project of the proposed size and complexity should be supported with the examples of experience in the field of production. During the process of evaluation of proposals and at the stage of project planning jointly with the submitting operators, significant attention will be paid to the risk management plan, plans for ensuring safety of the participants of the project activities, as well as back-up scenarios for the project.

Partnership projects are to be implemented based on the principle of cooperation, thus, applicants are kindly invited to consult the curators and heads of Kaunas 2022 on all questions (best timeframe, location, budget, communication, etc.) before submission of their project proposals. After completion of the selection of partners and their projects for the initial list, before the signing of the Partnership Agreement, the consulting process and the process of coordination for integration of the selected projects into the general programme of events of the year 2022 will take place. We kindly advise the applicants to consult the conditions of the Partnership Agreement before preparation of their project proposals.

According to Ana Kočegarova, Head of Programme at Kaunas 2022, “with this open call we intend to enrich the Kaunas 2022 programme with the events of exclusive artistic quality as well as programme highlights which would be marked with the names of the globally outstanding creatives and artists, unique artistic solutions, international productions. We would like the selected projects to boost the attractiveness of the Kaunas 2022 programme for the city guests and to motivate the Lithuanian and foreign guests for visiting Kaunas city and Kaunas district in 2022.

We do understand that the announcement of this open call is happening at the time when it is difficult to plan grand cultural projects, as there are different types of risks involved, however, we invite operators to look for flexible, creative solutions in cooperation with us, duly taking into account different currently relevant risks. Despite the restrictive conditions caused by the pandemic, which create difficulties for realisation of the programme, our team is determined to implement the European Capital of Culture programme and we know that numerous situations can be solved and adapted to, this way protecting the opportunity of enjoying a unique festival for the Kaunasians and the entire Europe“.

Application deadline is December 15^th, 2020

Projects evaluation deadline is Janurary 19^th, 2021

Documents to download:

Rules of the Partnership

Partnership Agreement

Questionnaire

Form for Estimated Costs (example)

Applicants are kindly recommended to register for consultation regarding filling of the application form. The consulting will be offered by the staff of VšĮ “Kaunas 2022” during the entire period of the open call at the address Laisvės al. 36, Kaunas. Registration can be done by e-mail [email protected]. When registering, please submit a brief description of the project and your questions for consultation.