Legitimacy of Art Nouveau Today: Cross-Disciplinary Dialogues in the Arts and Crafts

This forum’s theme:
Cross-sectoral Dialogue in Music, Comics, Fine Art, and Fashion Design

The third ECHO Academies online forum is not only the closing event of the ECHO Academies artist residency program; it is also a platform where experts and creators from various artistic fields can meet and share their experiences!

The forum’s theme, “Legitimacy of Art Nouveau Today: Cross-Disciplinary Dialogues in the Arts and Crafts,” is inspired by the Art Nouveau movement— a movement, which sought to dissolve the boundaries between fine and decorative arts, integrating art into everyday life by applying aesthetic principles to practical and decorative objects. It emphasized harmony, organic forms, and curvilinear shapes, promoting a seamless flow between nature and design, and erasing hierarchical distinctions between art forms.

A key question to be addressed is how interactions between different art forms can foster artistic innovation while addressing modern sustainability challenges. Although the concept of sustainability, as we understand it today, did not exist during the Art Nouveau period, the movement was already a response to issues such as the rise of mass production and the loss of craftsmanship—challenges that have become more pronounced in our contemporary, even more, industrialised world.

Participants will engage in discussions and presentations, highlighting projects developed through ECHO Academies. This will showcase how cross-disciplinary dialogue can create new opportunities and perspectives in the creative sector.

If you’d like to join us, please, >>>register here

Detailed programme:

Part 1: Interdisciplinary Conversation (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
*Introduction
*Panel discussion on artistic intersections and contemporary challenges
*Audience Q&A

Introduction of the panel:
Aristaios Tsousis, Anastazia, Saso Popovski, Francisco Afonso, Jorge Pedro Narciso Lucian

Part 2: Project Presentations and Discussions (7:00 PM – 7:45 PM)
*Presentations by 12 selected artists in four subgroups, followed by discussions.

a. Music (Facilitated by SFERA International)
***Carlos Hurtado Múnera: >>>LINK TO THE RECORDINGS – RECORDING ONE // RECORDING TWO
***Nikola Andrejić: >>>LINK TO THE PRESENTATION
***Emil Ejupi

b. Comics (Facilitated by Inter Alia)
Ralitsa Aleksieva, Evi Magavetsos, Gus Moystad
>> LINK TO THE RECORDING

c. Fine Art (Facilitated by Pro Progressione)
Jacopo Brunello, Diogo Pereira, Oleksandra Khalepa
>>>LINK TO THE RECORDING

d. Fashion Design (Facilitated by Open Space Foundation)
Yllka Haxhiu, Yordan Mihalev, Jose Marie Sta Iglesia
>>>LINK TO THE RECORDING

For more information about the project, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/echo.academies

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The ECHO Academies program is an innovative initiative supporting emerging European talents in the cultural and creative sectors (CCS). Focusing on fields like music, comics, architecture, fashion design, and photography, the program aims to enhance resilience and employability by exploring European cultural heritage. It facilitates exchange between the Balkan region and the EU, promoting cross-cultural collaboration and increasing artists’ international visibility and impact.

The ECHO Academies project is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the EU. Views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) can be held responsible for them.

Project partners:
Inter Alia (GR)
Sfera International (MK)
Open Space Foundation (BG)
CUMEDIAE (BE)
Pro Progressione (HU)