Creative Europe
Desk UK
for Culture

THIRD COUNTRY COOPERATION PROJECTS

OPENCO is a European Cultural Co-operation with Third Countries Project (2008-2010), linking five cultural institutions: the University of Leeds, England; Opera North, England; Bregenzer Festspiele, Austria; Sibelius Academ, Finland and Shanghai Theatre Academy, China. It originated in the DARE partnership between the University of Leeds and Opera. Its aim was to explore points of contact through the medium of opera, forming long lasting partnerships and promoting cultural understanding between Europe and China through workshops, and research in Shanghai, Leeds and Bregenz. The Central Artistic Team brought together artists to explore intercultural exchange and new work. The Cultural Contexts Group explored the social role and organisation of the art form. The project opened new thinking on how cultural collaboration in the opera-related arts can take place between traditions and across types of organisation; enabled the partners to gain a much greater understanding of the context and point of departure for such artistic collaborations, and a deeper understanding of the cultural issues and differences involved in the professional and artistic working practices of the partners and how to resolve these. The partner institutions and their individual participants are all key players in their fields and so were many of those with whom the project engaged in the events. Thus these exchanges are of considerable impact. There has been: engagement of the participants with a range of significant others – students, fellow professionals, policy makers, general public; innovative artistic creation, presented both live across three countries and on a DVD; development of inter/trans cultural knowledge in music ethnography, management, arts/cultural education and performance practice; institutional staff/student visits, exchanges and residencies; an artist determining to engage in related PhD study; publications; website; presentation at EXPO 2010 Shanghai. And there is more to come, including a symposium in February which will have interlocked strands of performance and papers. For individuals, the impact of the project per se is nearly impossible to gauge, but there is no doubt that they will continue to explore the cultural collaboration opportunities the project opened up – including risk taking.