Armenia boasts some of the most sophisticated artists and culture shapers in the world. To maximize the potential of human capital and talent, AGBU Armenia is working in partnership with Creative Armenia and with the funding of the European Union to invest in a new and critical program: Katapult Creative Accelerator Program.
With the aim of vitalizing the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) ecosystem in Armenia, Katapult empowers creative professionals with education, entrepreneurial skills and visibility, and bridges gaps in existing support services, technology, institutions and infrastructure to ensure a sustainable and thriving cultural industry.
The Katapult network works with all stakeholders and contributors looking to elevate Armenia's culture industry. Whether you are an artist or art entrepreneur, work in support industries like IT, law and commerce or have expertise in the development of a sustainable and supportive cultural ecosystem in Armenia, we are ready to work with you.
Promoting creative products and talents is critical to opening new opportunities and markets. Katapult Pavilion, will launch annual expos in and outside of Armenia attracting international audiences. In addition, Katapult Talks, a bi-annual one week virtual summit, will invite a global network of creative experts to share experience and insights on how to build up a sustainable and thriving creative industry in Armenia.
Katapult will support up to 135 culture creators by investing and developing in at least 60 business ideas through the Artbox cultural incubator designed and implemented by Creative Armenia. Offering expert feedback in business design, project management, marketing and more, grantees will have the opportunity to introduce and sustain concepts as cultural businesses.
Infrastructure investments to support the technical and operational upgrade of cultural institutions in Armenia will be supported through Katapult's Innovation Grants. In addition, 3 Artbox Hubs across Shirak, Yerevan and Syunik will transform local institutions into cultural hotspots. Finally, Katapult will introduce the first FabLab in Armenia to facilitate digital prototyping and innovation for arts capacity building.
Through roundtable discussions and the establishment of a Creative and Cultural Industries Council (CCI Council), Katapult will create public-private dialogue platforms to advocate for the sector and legislative change, with a target of proposing 4 concrete reforms to parliament for improving sector sustainability. The CCI Council will take shape as an online platform for direct democracy.
Yerevan 2023: Scenius Edition
March 31 - April 30, 2023
Katapult Pavilion is a creative industries expo produced by AGBU’s Katapult Creative Accelerator Program in partnership with Hay-Art Cultural Center and the ARé Performing Arts Festival with funding from the European Union.
This is Katapult’s flagship annual event and marketplace in Armenia to showcase products and projects spanning the creative sectors of visual arts, creative technologies, design, architecture, fashion, print, and the performing arts.
Throughout the venue, visitors will encounter independently curated exhibits, projects, and special commissions that embody the theme of “Scenius”, a term coined by musician and sound artist Brian Eno to convey, “the intelligence and intuition of a whole culture scene..the communal form of the concept of genius.” In the spirit of collectivity, Katapult Pavilion is showing group projects by 10 curatorial teams. Partnerships with two significant festivals - the ARé Performing Arts Festival and the URVAKAN Festival - offer a rich cultural program spanning music and performing arts, while also showcasing a major component of industry development in culture - international festivals.
In this first hall, a special exhibit dedicated to the history of our host venue - its social, political, cultural and architectural significance - aims to set the stage for Pavilion projects ahead. While the expo highlights contemporaneity, we do so on the foundations of a rich and complicated past, and within the walls of a venue who’s original vision was a utopian symbol of collectivity, equity, and “Scenius”.
We invite guests and viewers to browse the exhibits, engage expo participants, and purchase unique art and design items that are all for sale by the authors themselves.
Site-specific commissions by the Katapult Pavilion organizing team that enhance the event’s place-making and community building mission.
Illusive Island: A specially commissioned text by architectural historian Ruben Arevshatyan on the history and transformations of the Hay Art Cultural Center. An accompanying exhibit showcases a selection of archival images, floorplans, and video footage tracing Hay Art’s journey in the arts (and not only) from 1985 until today.
Scenius by Futurly: A site-specific installation and suspended sculpture by Arek Keshishian and Hakob Mansuryan that uses parametric design and laser cutting techniques to embody the Expo’s theme, “Scenius”. The installation and accompanying bar are made possible thanks to the generous support of GIZ Armenia, Wines of Armenia, and Vines and Wine Foundation.
Katapult Courtyard: In this rich program of music, live performance, and sonic experiments hosted at the entrance of Hay Art Cultural Center, the URVAKAN Festival curatorial team invites multiple communities of music makers to join a dynamic and amorphic program. Made possible thanks to the support of Astronomer Gin, All-in-one, and Décante.
AGBU has spent the last century funding Armenian creativity and cultural heritage preservation, from supporting cultural institutions like the Matendaran, the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Artsakh Chamber Orchestra to supporting individual artists through scholarships, performance opportunities and the Creative Armenia-AGBU Fellowship program.
Today, we are building on this legacy with Katapult to further impact our impressive cultural talents and vitalize Armenia’s creative economy.
For additional information about the program, please email katapult@agbu.am.
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