Tracks4Crafts

Project name: Transforming crafts knowledge for a sustainable, inclusive and economically viable heritage in Europe

Project acronym: Tracks4Crafts

Call: HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01 (Grant agreement No. 101094507)

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Project implementation period: 01.03.2023.-28.02.2027.

Project duration: 48 months

Total budget: 3 984 711.25 EUR

Project coordinator: Universiteit Antwerpen (Belgium)

Web page: https://tracks4crafts.eu/

Project partners:

Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France)

Stichting Waag Society (Netherlands)

Ortega Nuere Maria Cristina (Spain)

World Crafts Council Europe Company Ltd. (Ireland)

Centro studi Cultura Sviluppo (Italy)

Latvijas Kultūras akadēmija (Latvia)

Politecnico di Milano (Italy)

Textilmiðstöð Íslands og Þekkingarsetur á Blönduósi (Iceland)

Het Domein Bokrijk vzw (Belgium)

Asociatia Semne Cusute (Romania)

Mouseio Technis Metaxiou (Greece)

MX3D bv (Netherlands)

Artex S. Cons.R.L (Italy)

Onl'fait (Switzerland)

The aim of the project:

Tracks4Crafts examines and transforms the transmission of traditional crafts knowledge (TCK) to enhance the societal and economic valuation of crafts and align them with a future-oriented heritage approach in Europe. As intangible cultural heritage (ICH), crafts and TCK can be seen as resources for competitiveness, innovation, sustainable development and quality of life. Yet the tools, formats and instruments needed to foster the transmission and employment of TCK are lagging behind, which hampers the full development of its potential. Our objectives are to enhance and transform the transmission of TCK for a more effective economic as well as societal valuation of crafts. This is achieved in 4 Tracks, in which we (1) transform learning processes in physical spaces in which craftspeople collaborate (in hi-tech environments, including fab-labs and maker spaces etc.), (2) develop new digital technologies that enhance and transform transmission of TCK, (3) produce tools and instruments which enable capturing and optimizing the value of the produced TCK (business modeling, certification, and property protection), and (4) create networks to foster and disseminate the societal and economic value of TCK (e.g. through the CHARTER alliance (European Cultural Heritage Skills Alliance)). The output is based on experiments in 8 craft ecosystems in which we develop and test formats for learning and tools for certification and validation in which (1) the economic and cultural barriers related to traditional TCK-transmission are addressed (i.a. the lengthy nature of learning, the fear of the craft getting lost…) and (2) the full potential of technology is tapped (i.a. for turning embodied TCK in open-source knowledge). To ensure that the solutions bridge the heritage perspective and the economic and societal needs and that our solutions are shared and transferable, our approach is deeply interdisciplinary and based on processes of multi-stakeholder co creation (including action research).

Additional information:

project coordinator at the Latvian Academy of Culture Anita Vaivade (anita.vaivade@lka.edu.lv)

Tracks4Crafts Latvia TEAM

News

The Tracks4Crafts Project Webinars Begin

26.09.2023

On September 29, 2023, the Tracks4Crafts project launches a series of international webinars (duration – one and a half hours, working language – English). These webinars will feature insights from project consortium partners as well as invited specialists from various fields, and everyone interested is welcome to participate. Each webinar will focus on a specific topic related to crafts in Europe:

1) Craft knowledge transmission – September 29 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/99745646095?pwd=OW4ycDBZY1g3Q1duLzhtRzdCUDJHUT09;

2) Crafts: Sustainability, Social and Ecological Transition – October 18 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/96958828933?pwd=UnFRWUgxd0xoVVk4eldQTVphNHBkUT09;

3) Crafts: History and Territory – October 26 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/96960685803?pwd=UFZWdCszZGJXQmFscDMxL1NnM24xUT09;

4) Craft Markets and Business Models –November 7 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/99670696295?pwd=UEx2cllPTC94NEZVKzkzMkQrODFidz09;

5) Crafts: Innovation, Creativity and New Technologies – November 29 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/92365318653?pwd=QjROZVB4MHZPOFlwUjNGY1lIZHpIZz09;

6) Craft policies and tools – December 14 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/99168062354?pwd=b2JRdFNyRzVnQjdKanNRVGwvalF2UT09;

7) Crafts: Heritage Safeguarding – December 21 https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/91548766722?pwd=eVNiWXN0bWFQNXF6dllJcHoySFlLUT09;

8) Legal Frameworks and Intellectual Property Protection – January 23, 2024

We invite you to follow the updates about each upcoming webinar's program on the Facebook page of the LAC Institute of Culture and Arts https://www.facebook.com/lkakmi.

The first face-to-face meeting of the Tracks4Crafts project

18.04.2023

On March 23, 2023, at the University of Antwerp, and on March 24 at the Bokrijk Museum (one of the project partners), located about an hour’s drive from Antwerp, the first joint meeting of all participants in the Tracks4Crafts project took place. The focus of the meeting was on getting to know one another and engaging in in-depth discussions about the project’s deliverables, methodology, and communication. Over the course of two days, each participating organization presented itself, the project’s goals and the division of work packages were discussed, and the planned experimental/pilot projects were introduced. Additionally, a remote Zoom meeting was organized with the European Commission’s representative overseeing the project.

The meeting included separate discussions with various colleagues from the organizations involved in the project, providing insights into their experiences and motivations for participating in the project. There was also an opportunity to meet in person and talk with the work package leaders responsible for several deliverables involving the Latvian Academy of Culture – Francesca Cominelli from Sorbonne University and Cristina Ortega Nuere from the Spanish consulting firm 3W Cultural Research, Training and Knowledge Transfer.

Overall, the meeting provided a valuable opportunity to meet the project partners and leaders in person and to discuss the future course of the project in greater detail.