In an international organisation, there is the factor that not everyone celebrates the new year at the same moment. Nonetheless, it is with pleasure that I wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful new year – regardless of whether your celebration has already happened or is still coming up.   

 

A big highlight this month has been the deadline for the submissions for the ELIA Biennial at NABA in Milan in November 2024. For the ELIA Team, this is always an exciting moment, because the volume of submissions give us a sense of how well the chosen theme resonates with the community. The day before the deadline, we are always a bit worried because we feel that the numbers are still a bit low, and this was also the case this year. Our Conference Manager, Janja Škerget, just said: ‘Don’t worry, they will come in!’ And indeed, on the day of the deadline we had a record number of submissions, almost doubling what we received for the ELIA Biennial Conference 2022 in Helsinki! We would like to thank everyone who sent in their submission. It will be quite a job for the ELIA Biennial steering group to make the final decision. I want to thank everyone who agreed to be a jury member for their diligence in assessing them one by one in the upcoming weeks. Our theme, Arts Plural, does seem to resonate with you, and for that we are very grateful.  

 

In the months preceding the ELIA Biennial Conference, there will be several events, both online and in-person, that you can take part in. For instance, the EDI Platform Meeting 2024 hosted by the Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts in Lithuania in April and the PIE Annual Meeting 2024 hosted by the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in June in Prague. Both events will have a limited capacity due to the size of the venues, therefore we recommend that you book early. Another interesting event is the second edition of Creative Skills Week, which will be held in autumn 2024. The location and host are yet to be announced. ELIA is part of the SACCORD consortium which has been awarded the task of organising this year's Creative Skills Week, which will connect many initiatives across Europe around upskilling, reskilling and the multiple dimensions and challenges dealing with skills training in the cultural and creative sectors. Many sectoral organisations are working on this topic across Europe, but also in collaboration with the local regional spaces. SACCORD also coordinates the creation of a network that brings these initiatives together, to learn from each other rather than re-invent the wheel. Stay tuned for updates coming very soon! 

 

And on a final note: don’t miss ELIA’s online events. You can still sign up for our second EDI Online Session on Wednesday, 25 January 2024 titled Teaching in Different Gears, exploring inclusive teaching practices. 

 

Wishing you all good and productive weeks ahead!