The i-Portunus programme – named after the Roman god of keys and doors, protector of seas and ports, associated with the i of “Individual Mobilities” – which was launched in April 2019, seeks to meet the needs of artists and cultural professionals, in a contemporary approach to mobility, residence and travelling. Applications can be made as an individual or in a group (up to five people), for periods of 15 to 85 days. The only conditions required are: to be an artist or cultural professional, regardless of degree or level of experience, to be aged 18 or over, and to reside in one of the 41 countries of the Creative Europe programme.

International collaboration, production, professional development

Two artistic fields were selected for this pilot edition: visual and performing arts. Mobility can take place at any stage of a project and can involve international collaboration, a production phase or a period of professional development. The objective of the programme? To support artistic encounters, encourage new collaborations, and offer opportunities to embark on new fields of expression.

2,500 artists and professionals responded to the three calls for applications launched between April and September. Mobility projects mainly focus on Western Europe – Germany, Italy, France, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, followed by Austria and Greece – and also Poland and Norway. But all the countries of the Creative Europe programme will have been the subject of at least one request for mobility. In the majority of cases, only one country is requested for short stays, from 15 to 29 days.

Research and creation

In the end, nearly 350 artists and professionals were supported by the programme for 2019 and carried out - or are still carrying out, until 31 December 2019 - their mobility project. Among them was Martina Stella, who took part in the See Djerba Biennale in Tunisia: she, like the other guest artists, was able to express herself in situ and bring her own perspective to the city through her favourite medium, video mapping. And Gilles Toutevoix, who took part in a research workshop in Burdąg, Poland, around the famous American dancer and choreographer Meg Stuart. These 15 days of work have enabled him to exchange with other artists, and to collect documents and video material to feed his next film. Another example is Araks Sahakyan Gasparyan’s stay in Talin, Armenia – which preceded another residence, this time in Yerevan – to carry out an Eco Art project, creating large mosaic mats in line with the “recycled archaeologies” that form the bulk of his work.

At the end of this first year, the first lessons will be learned from the programme, enabling it to expand to other artistic disciplines and lead to a form that will be continued to 2021 as part of the Creative Europe programme.

Find all the information for this first edition as well as the experiences of the i-Portunus winners in the "stories " section of the i-Portunus website.