100 young artists from across Europe will gather in Tallinn to realise 20 cross-border projects and uncover the institutional politics of art

De Structura is a unique, pan-European initiative that, through research, discourse as well as creative work, aims to unearth and rethink the dominant paradigms and structures of European art worlds. The forum is organised under the patronage of the European Parliament and under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić. 

The international arts forum is gathering 100 young artists from across Europe in Estonia from the 17th until the 26th of July 2022 to improve the institutional structure of the art sector, and create 20 real artistic projects. 

Culture is a bridge to connect people and societies, yet the cultural and creative sectors have been significantly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many young professionals, 1facing difficult financial situations along with the closure of cultural venues, cancellations of exhibitions, performances, have or will leave the sector, profoundly undermining its resilience and future potential. 

De Structura has selected 100 young aspiring professionals in the fields of visual and performing arts to gather in Tallinn. During the forum, participants will interact with experts and peers in order to develop 20 cross-border projects and uncover the institutional politics of art, with the support of our 50 partners from across 23 countries. The overarching goal of De Structura is to provide young creative people with tools, through workshops, networking opportunities, guidance and structured knowledge to help them successfully overcome the problems of low employability, and structural and systemic issues in the arts. 

“De Structura wants to bring innovation and change to the art world to make it a thriving environment for young professionals. We will look into these systems in collaboration with young artists and art professionals, and suggest ways to make them more accessible for all of us. We have engaged over 50 art institutions, educational establishments, and politicians to share expertise and provide support.” - Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova, the founder of De Structura and Head Organiser of the forum.

The project consists of 3 stages, beginning a few months before and continuing after the forum, which is the focal point of the project. More detailed description of the project's stages is available here.

Stage 1 (March-July 22): participants research the topics that explore institutional structures, legal frameworks, international cooperation and financing of cultural initiatives; and partake in workshops/lectures given by our partners.

Stage 2 (17th-26th of July 202, Tallinn/Narva): The forum consists of two parts: The first part of the forum will be held in Narva where participants will examine their research, identify the problems and propose solutions that will be disseminated among institutions and decision makers. The first part of the forum will also include additional parts of the program open to the public: participants will create 5 floor paintings and 2 murals at the Vassilli Gerassimov culture palace in Narva; workshops and panel discussion involving participants and young people living in the local area. 

During the second half of the forum, participants will split into collectives of 3-6 people and work on their projects in order to realise a plan for fundraising, production and exhibition. Additional programs will include presentations of individual practice in Alternative Reality [AR] in partnership with ArtLink - a group from Romania that is facilitating art through Alternative Reality technology.

Stage 3 (November 2022 - November 2023, the Netherlands): The De Structura organising team will collect feedback from the participants about the challenges of carrying out these artistic projects. The feedback will be compiled into a report to be, once again, disseminated among institutions and decision makers.

Our partners network comprises art galleries, non-profit foundations, online platforms, art spaces, artists’ collectives, museums and magazines, located in different countries of Europe, such as The Wrong, Tanzfabrik-Berlin, ART CITY NDSM, Easttopics, Kogo Gallery, CAA Contemporary Art Archipelago, ART TRANSPARENT, Improper Walls, OTHERWISE, The Glucksman, SomoS. A full list is available on the official website of De Structura.

For more information please contact Yuliya Kralevska, PR Manager, at [email protected], or +32472988023.

About De Structura

De Structura forum is a unique initiative to bring together art and policy making to propose real changes to the art sector. The research will serve as an important tool for De Structura and its partner organisations to build similar, future initiatives. It will be developed and carried out by De Structura team members with formal education and experience in sociological research. The results will be made available online and will be sent directly to arts and culture decision makers and presented on relevant advocacy platforms.