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.
This year, MEDS is going to Gyumri with the theme "Archquake." The workshop, taking place in August, will feature eight physical and two visual projects. One of these projects is "HAY," designed by Kris Drieghe, Tinne Beirinckx, and Pieter Daenen, sponsored by AGBU's Katapult Creative Accelerator Program. "HAY" seeks to connect young designers with the agricultural landscape and traditional crafts.
Join Katapult Talks for an online conversation on Arts Grants with representatives from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Creative Armenia. Panelists will dive into the topics of how to submit better applications, and why grant giving to the arts is fundamental to any cultural ecosystem. Panel discussion in English with simultaneous translation into Armenian. It is implemented by AGBU, with the support of EU and ArtNexus Sweden.
To commemorate the one-year anniversary of AGBU’s Katapult Creative Accelerator Program, we shared the results of our nationwide research on Armenia’s Creative and Cultural Industries with the project’s stakeholders. The presentation highlighted the achievements accomplished in the first year and presented key findings from our economic research, desk study, national survey, and focus group discussions.
"Association of Intellectual Property Lawyers” (www.aipr.am) together with AGBU Katapult Creative Acceleration Program conducts a series of training and consultations for authors and individuals dealing with intellectual property. During the training sessions, authors and creative individuals will gain valuable insights into the provisions of intellectual property legislation that are directly relevant to their activities.
On the 12th of July, 2022 AGBU launched the Katapult Creative Accelerator Program, an EU funded project co-implemented with Creative Armenia to catalyze Armenia’s creative economy. The launch event started with the official signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the RA, Ministry of Economy of the RA, Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the RA, the Delegation of the EU to Armenia and the AGBU.
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.
