Small Size, Performing Arts for Early Years

Small size, performing arts for early years (SSPAfEY) has turned its attention to children aged 0-6 years, a real “current non-audience”, especially thinking of children under 36 months. The project was conceived and implemented after three other projects aimed at creating a network dedicated to performing arts and early childhood: Small size (2005-2006), Small size, big citizens (2009-2014), Small size, the net (2006-2009).

The partnership that carried it out is a solid and balanced one, made of theatres, institutions and artists who have been building a continuous, deep artistic relationship with early childhood, willing to bring their specific know-how to the research. A partnership spread throughout Europe: 17 partners from 15 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom) with different cultural and social identities, different educational models for early childhood, different ways of supporting artistic production. European cooperation has given the partners, all of whom are widely recognised by national, regional and local institutions in their countries, a valuable opportunity to share know-how that can be transferred in daily artistic work, and to improve institutional acknowledgement, with the consequent increase in resources and opportunities. At the same time, the strength of a project like SSPAfEY, that intertwined artistic research aimed at a specific segment of the European population with concrete cooperation methods, originates in the solidity of territorial institutional relations, which allow the partners to want and be able to invest in research and development.

Small size projects, focused first on the creation, then on the rooting and finally on the enlargement of a Network for performing arts for early childhood in Europe and in the world, allowed the Network to reach 72 members in 30 countries, and to continue to grow self-reliantly.

SSPAfEY culminated in the final event held in Galway (Ireland) 1-4 February 2018. More than 130 among artists, technicians and professionals belonging to all partner organisations were able to share the 15 productions created by the partners within the co-production process Wide Eyes, as well as workshops, conversations and other moments of reflection with the audience of Galway and with many other delegates, and had as well the opportunity to live directly a valuable encounter.

In addition, from October 2014 to September 2018, 48 new theatre and dance productions were set up during the project, as well as 45 festivals of performing arts for early childhood (or 0-6 sections in theatre festivals for children and young people), 9 showcases and 11 Mentoring projects with theatres and artists outside the partnership.
Every year, in the last weekend of January, partners and Network members planned Small size days (“The arts are not a matter of age but of curiosity”): an event taking place at the same time in many places around the world. An event that grew year by year, and that in January 2018 presented 160 activities in 20 countries over the three days. This event, born within the project, will be carried on by the Network from 2019.

The project was also accompanied and enriched by many common activities such as the 6 Common Meetings and 4 Artistic Directors Meetings, dissemination and documentation activities.

Finally, we believe that it should be highlighted how the project, has encouraged a wide mobility of artists, with almost 800 journeys accounted for. (Source: EC)

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre

(Partner)

All projects of Slovenian producer

Foreign producers in the supported project

La Baracca società cooperativa sociale ONLUS (leader)

Italy (EU)
Asociación Educativa (partner)

Spain (EU)
Baboro Galway International Children’s Festival Limited (partner)

Ireland (EU)
Centrum Sztuki Dziecka W Poznaniu (partner)

Poland (EU)
Commune De Limoges (partner)

France (EU)
Helios 6 live art produktion ev (partner)

Germany (EU)
Kolibri Gyermek (partner)

Hungary (EU)
Kuukulkurit Ry (partner)

Finland (EU)
O’navio Theatre (partner)

France (EU)
Polka Childrens Theatre Limited (partner)

United Kingdom (EU)
Teater Tre Stockholm Ekonomisk Förening (partner)

Sweden (EU)
Teaterværkstedet Madam Bach (partner)

Denmark (EU)
Teatro Paraíso Sal (partner)

Spain (EU)
Teatrul Ion Creanga (partner)

Romania (EU)
Théâtre de La Guimbarde (partner)

Belgium (EU)
Toihaus Theater (partner)

Austria (EU)

Funded projects

ACT: Art, Climate, Transition

Baths, gothic churches and miners’ houses

Fake Lies

THE FILM CORNER RELOADED - A CULTURAL APPROACH

CINEMINI EUROPE

FC Freedom

Body

Movies in Motion

Voix de la Poesie Europeenne

Trust me, I'm an artist

The Faces Behind the Nose - Promoting Hospital Clowning as a Recognized Genre of Performing Arts

SYMBOLS - Culture of Death& Cultural Life: New audiences and creations around European Cemeteries!

SWICH - Sharing a World of Inclusion, Creativity and Heritage

SPECTRUM 14|15

Small Size, Performing Arts for Early Years

Performing the Museum

Masters & Servers: Networked Culture in the Post-Digital Age

HEROES WE LOVE. Ideology, Identity and Socialist Art in New Europe

European Digital Art and Science Network

European Artizen Initiative

Ephemeral Heritage of the European Carnival Rituals

Sustainability is in the AiR

BeSpectACTive!

Artecitya

Advancing Light-driven Public Interactions

Quantum Music

Litterae Slovenicae - Small Literature Crossing Borders

CEE Animation Workshop (CEE AW)

Young Programmers for Young Audiences! European Film Festival Network

European Network of Film Discourse

Network of the Festivals in the Adriatic Region

Animation Festival Network

YoCoJoin

GELATOn the ROAD

reDiscover

PS4Her

ARTAS - Art Archives Study.

Sense (of) sharing

Inspiration Forum LAB – Interdisciplinary art co-production program

Youth Art for the Earth (YAFE)

OUT OF THE BOX

MUSICVILLE – Green European Opera

Slavic Soundwalking (SSW)

European Itineraries of Roma Cultural Heritage (ROMHERIATGE)

Pariahs - Performing Europe's Historical Memory

TOBIES FRIENDS

Forest Encounters

Books on the Beach (BOB)

Made In 2.0 - Platform for Contemporary Crafts & Design

ARCH-E, European platform for architectural competitions

SEARCHER - The Art of Associative Searching

FASIH - Future Art and Science Industrial Heritage

Performing Landscape

Beyond Front@: Bridging Periphery

Puppet Nomad Academy IV

CulturalDeTour - Sustainable Cultural Tourism by Design Driven Innovation

Other Words – Literary Circuit for Small and Minority Languages

Open House Europe (OHEu)

The Pulse of European Literature (UEL)

One Space

VigeVageKnjige - The Next Generation (VVK NextGen)

IMAGINE 2020 (2.0) – Art, ecology & possible futures

NTY - Your're never too young to change the world

Her Story Is Your Story, Too – universal values of European women's literature

Testing Ground: Reparative Practices for New Cultural Ecosystem

CW - Connecting the Worlds

Developing archaeological audiences along the Roman route Aquileia-Emona-Sirmium-Viminacium

CARAVAN NEXT – Feed the Future: Art moving cities

Augmented City – The Space for Digital Creative Citizenship

an Orchestra Network for Europe - ONE® is more

All Strings Attached: Pioneers of the European Puppetry Behind the Scenes

RECOVERING FREEDOM (RE-FREE)

Neither Voice

Future DiverCities: The School of Feral Grounds

DECONFINING: Deconfining arts, culture and policies in Europe and Africa

16th Kino Otok - Isola Cinema International Film Festival

Little Trouble Girls, The Jungle Film Project, The Doppelganger

Fantasy, Confirmation and Bunker

CEE Animation Support Industry Programme (CEEA SIP)