ALMOSTREAL is an ECF initiated funding project for the arts, which both supports and researches art and the practice of collaboration between different cultural contexts throughout Europe.
While supporting different cultural collaborations, ALMOSTREAL is trying to engage with what’s really at stake in the practice of art and collaboration - not only between artists but also between the ‘culture’ of artists and the ‘culture’ of funders.
To be effective, though, ALMOSTREAL is attempting to establish communication between different artistic practices and different instances of collaboration: to share know-what and know-how between different values, cultural geographies, disciplinary practices and discourses that could address and positively influence the future of art funding.
ALMOSTREAL does not call for proposals. Activities are chosen and supported through a process of communication and engagement between the ECF and a larger number of collaborators and individuals ranging from external organisations or collectives and interest groups such as cultural operators, networks and practitioners.
Over the period of 4 years (2005-2008), ALMOSTREAL is supporting 5 distinct stages each with an interpretative thematic focus. These themes are: CONFRONTATION, STORY TELLING, RESEARCH, HOSPITALITY and INTIMACY.
ALMOSTREAL is not only determined by planned activities, but is also open to unforeseen circumstances and side-effects of collaboration. To be able to correspond and reflect on the dynamic quality of ALMOSTREAL, ALMOSTweb will be a work in progress until the project ends in 2008.
Development: Igor Dobricic (ECF programme officer), Ana Dzokic and Marc Neelen (concept & main editors), Wietske Maas (editor), Auke Touwslager (information designer) and Ivan Lazarevic (web-developer).
Occasional advisors: Sher Doruff, Therese Kaufmann, Maria Lind and Kyong Park.