MERITA - a new European project is presented

MERITA – where chamber Music, cultural hERItage and TAlent meet is the new project conceived and promoted by Le Dimore del Quartetto that won the Europa Creativa – European Platforms 2021 call for proposals and was co-funded by the European Union.

„MERITA is the crowning of a European dream, music as a universal language capable of giving new life to places and spaces waiting to be rediscovered. A dialogue between cultures, arts, communities and territories for the creation of a circular economy and sustainable culture to support simple and proximity-based tourism”. – says Francesca Moncada, Founder and President of Le Dimore del Quartetto and the Comitato AMUR – “All this is MERITA and much more, with this project wins beauty for all.„

“Le Dimore del Quartetto continue in their aim to support and spread musical culture with a project with a European scope, capable of strengthening the connections between the many different cultures that make it up”- states Culture Councillor Tommaso Sacchi. – „A project that not only promotes the circulation and dissemination of string quartets, but also supports the activity of young artists, helping to strengthen in them, under the sign of music, that sense of identity that unites all European culture.”

On September 13 2022 in Milan, MERITA, the new European project of Le Dimore del Quartetto, was presented in the Sala delle Otto Colonne of the Royal Palace. Milan welcomed the 17 European cultural organizations from 12 countries who gathered for the debut of the European MERITA project in the Milanese city, home of the lead organization, the Creative Cultural Enterprise Le Dimore del Quartetto.The first stage of a visionary project that puts the Lombard capital at the center of Europe for the development of sustainable culture to support the new generation of artists and territories at risk of abandonment.

MERITA is a digital and real circuiting platform whose main objective is to increase the visibility and circulation of emerging European string quartets through a dedicated platform (https://www.meritaplatform.eu/). MERITA aims to thus improve the sustainability of the music industry, increase access and participation in cultural activities even outside major cities, promoting European cultural heritage and strengthening connections between local and European culture and between online and offline engagement. The project development will last 3 years and involve 38 quartets, totaling 152 artists. The digital platform will be the nerve

center from which all activities will unfold. Indeed, the platform will become the promotional showcase for artists, the presentation of cultural sites and historic houses, educational materials, networking and content for the public, and the panel of online and on-site activities, namely trainings, artistic residencies, transnational and international circulation of young artists, studies, research and mapping. The platform will also enable bringing new audiences closer to classical music and to places of cultural interest that are identifiable with European heritage. MERITA intends to become a point of reference for (young) chamber music for musicians, practitioners and audiences, with the ambitious goal of creating the basis for a new lasting and replicable business model.

The goals of MERITA are:

Promote a sustainable business model that unites emerging chamber music artists, audiences, and cultural heritage (European mansions and historic sites), fostering the exchange of best practices and competitiveness for artists, audience engagement and development, environmental sustainability, and increased awareness.
Innovate the operation of the chamber music industry by matching the demands of musical institutions with the aptitudes of quartets, thus creating new job opportunities for young musicians.
To improve the training and capacity building of emerging chamber music artists on how to effectively expand, internationalize and consolidate their careers.
To promote the production and dissemination of chamber music, in Europe, through original and special projects.
Activating heritage and lesser-known territories through music and networking of European countries.

To achieve these goals from the MERITA digital platform, a rich set of online and on-site activities will be implemented, such as trainings, artistic residencies, transnational and international circulation of young artists, studies and research, and mapping; all with a focus on ‘eco-sustainability, gender balance, inclusion and diversity.

Le Dimore del Quartetto will coordinate the work of 16 organizations from 12 European countries:

Comitato AMUR, Milan (Italy)

European Historic Houses, Bruxelles (Belgium)

EuAbout Lab ASBL – European Association for Research, Educational, Cultural and Social Innovation, Bruxelles (Belgium)
ProQuartet – Centre européen de musique de chambre, Paris (France)
Theocharakis Foundation, Athens (Greece)

Stichting Strijkkwartet Biennale Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Europa Nostra, The Hague (Netherlands)

Traces&Dreams, Stockholom (Sweden)

Lofoten Internasjonale Kammermusikkfest, Oslo (Norway)

University of Arts of Tirana (Albania)

QEndra Event, Tirana (Albania)

Julian Cochran Foundation, Warsaw (Poland)

Beogradska Umetnička Nova Teritorija (Belgrade Artistic New Territory), Belgrado (Serbia)

Kolarac – Zadužbina Ilije M. Kolarca, Belgrade (Serbia)

Cadenza Arts Management Ltd., Budapest (Hungary)
Experimenta – Associação para a Promoção do Design e Cultura de Projecto, Lisbon (Portugal)

MERITA is:

17 organizations from 12 countries involved;
38 quartets involved in the project;
7 online formations available on-demand for quartets (each quartet chooses a formation on a specific theme);
38 on-site training/artistic residencies;
38 innovative projects developed by the quartets;
156 concerts;
114 offered by member concert societies and festivals (3 per participating quartet);
38 „rehearsal concerts” performed during the residencies;
4 concerts outside the EU;
About 30 European historic houses involved;
About 135 professionals and experts mapped;
Specific training for quartets on event sustainability;