The 2018 figures for Creative Europe have been published today, showing a total of €15.9 million has been invested through the EU programme.
The Creative Europe in the UK report focuses on 2018 results for the Culture and MEDIA sub-programmes as well as the Cross-Sector strand, looking in detail at the funds the UK has received through Creative Europe. The €15.9 million includes €3.5 million through the Culture sub-programme and €12.2 million through the MEDIA sub-programme, €5.9 million of which supported distributors of UK films in other European countries.
Launching today ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, MEDIA highlights from 2018 include six supported films competing for the coveted Palme d’Or, including two UK titles, Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You and Jessica Hausner’s Little Joe.
Cultural highlights in 2018 include Europe Beyond Access, supporting disabled artists to break the glass ceilings of the contemporary theatre and dance sectors and to internationalise their artistic innovations and their careers. In Literary Translation, Wales-based publisher Parthian received €25,000, to help to translate European works of fiction from across Europe into English.
Director of Creative Europe Desk UK, Agnieszka Moody said: “The 2018 report shows that UK producers, arts organisations, festivals and projects have been able to maintain their commitment to working with Europe during what has been a challenging time for cross-border collaboration. During a year of uncertainty, Creative Europe’s funding of €15.9 million has strengthened continued engagement, supported project delivery and developed ongoing European relations.”
The 2018 results bring the total to €89.5 million since the inception of Creative Europe in 2014 for UK sectors. The programme has supported over 338 UK cultural and creative organisations and audiovisual companies to date. This includes €30.4 million which supported the distribution of 190 UK films in other European countries.
Key findings from the Creative Europe in the UK 2018 report
Culture projects
In 2018, 42 UK creative, cultural and heritage organisations received grants totalling €3.5 million for transnational collaborative projects through Creative Europe’s Culture sub-programme.
Cooperation Projects continued to be the Culture sub-programme’s largest funding opportunity in 2018. This strand encourages organisations across Europe to work collaboratively with the aim of developing capacity, innovating and reaching new audiences in the cultural sector. The report found that:
42 UK organisations received €2.8 million with 12 as lead applicants of Cooperation Projects. This represents a 26 per cent increase in the number of successful UK organisations from 2017 - the previous year
UK organisations continue to have a strong presence in Cooperation Projects; 31 per cent of all Cooperation Projects awarded in 2018 have at least one UK partner.
- Eclipse Theatre received €155,000 funding for Slate: Black. Arts. World., a Cooperation Project addressing the common need between partners in the UK, Portugal and Netherlands to increase the visibility and mobility of Black and Ethnic Minority artists.
- Scottish organisations had a significant increase in success and funding from 2017, with 7 awards going to projects with Scottish partners including, Leith Theatre Trust, Imaginate, Edinburgh’s International Children’s Festival and the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland.
- UK beneficiaries with collaborative project partners in other European countries range from small creative organisations to universities, including the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the University of Southampton.
- The 42 UK supported organisations include The Albany, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Shubbak Festival, National Theatre of Wales and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
MEDIA projects
The UK’s film, TV and video game industries benefitted from Creative Europe's MEDIA sub-programme in 2018. Grants totalling €12.2 million were awarded to 35 UK companies, 42 UK cinemas in the Europa Cinemas network and the distribution of 63 UK films elsewhere in Europe.
- 63 UK films including Beast, On Chesil Beach and Aardman’s Early Man had their distribution supported in other European countries with €6 million of investment. Likewise, films from elsewhere in Europe received support for their release in the UK such as Girl (Belgium), and The Apparition (France) as well as the co-production Cold War (Poland/UK/France).
- 10 UK production companies received €600,000 for the development of film, TV, digital platforms. Among the supported companies are Wildgaze Films, Origin Pictures, Kindle Entertainment and Banyak Films.
- 42 UK cinemas across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are members of the Europa Cinemas network and received a total of €262,964 from Creative Europe for bringing European cinema to their local audiences.
- Online audiences were also catered for with VoD services MUBI, Walter Presents and BFI Player receiving grants totalling €1.8 million to champion European film and TV on their platforms.
- Over 180 UK audiovisual professionals attended Creative Europe-funded training courses. Over 60 courses are supported, three of which are led by UK training organisations.
Cross-sector projects
In addition to MEDIA and Culture sub-programmes, Creative Europe’s Cross-Sector strand offers support for the creative sector as a whole with one-off funding calls and a Guarantee Facility.
- Birmingham City University leads on the Student Open Innovation Lab, to support MA Modules in Arts and Science. SOIL takes an interdisciplinary approach in Masters and university courses, combining technology with art across curricula.
Read the full 2018 report on Creative Europe support in the UK