Walking Arts & Local Communities (WALC) is an artistic cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union, Creative Europe, starting in January 2024 for four years. With seven partners from five countries, WALC establishes an International Center for Artistic Research and Practice of Walking Arts, in Prespa, Greece, at the border with Albania and North Macedonia, backed up by an online counterpart in the format of a digital platform for walking arts.
WALC builds on the previous work of hundreds of artists and researchers already practicing Walking Arts as a collaborative medium, and having met at the significant previous walking arts events and encounters in Greece, Portugal, Spain, France and during online activities at walk · listen · create.
The project leans strongly on involving local inhabitants, and on engaging with local activists and nature workers, young artists, and curators, open for an international public.
The partners are: Visual March to Prespes, University of Western Macedonia (leader, Πανεπιστήμιο Δυτικής Μακεδονίας, UOWM, Greece), walk · listen · create (WLC, Belgium), Walk.Lab2.PT at the University of Minho (UMINHO, Universidade do Minho, Portugal), Contemporary Art Center Nau Côclea. (Centre de Creació Contemporània Nau Côclea, Catalonia, Spain), Association Temps Reel (Gigacircus, France), Action Synergy SA (AS, Greece), School of Gaasbeek (De School van Gaasbeek, SvG, Belgium), extending the network to other and new players in the field of walking arts during the coming years.
WALC will realize two international walking arts encounters in the natural reserve of Prespa and simultaneously organize important events and ten walking arts residencies in Greece, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, complemented by activities in other countries, after an open call. WALC will conclude in 2027 with a major exhibition in Greece and a happening Belgium.
Physical events go along with horizontal online events, such as training, meetups, talks, workshops, and collaborative artistic processes, through an online platform gathering all the partners, and also the artists, audience, and communities. The whole process is backed by a digital and online platform and a digital archive/database for walking arts as a base for the future international center for walking arts. .
Join the Inaugural Walking Arts & Local Communities online Café event at 8pm CET on Tuesday 27 February – tickets are free, but booking is required.
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