The Basque Country and Scotland forge bonds through culture

Basque artists and creators showcase their talent in over 20 events slated throughout 2019. The initiative, supported by Basque institutions, seeks to create bonds through culture, art and language. Within the purview of Euskadi-Basque Country 2020 Strategy, the programme shines a spotlight on Basque language and culture both in Scotland and around the world.

Basque artists and creators showcase their talent in over 20 events slated throughout 2019. The initiative, supported by Basque institutions, seeks to create bonds through culture, art and language. Within the purview of Euskadi-Basque Country 2020 Strategy, the programme shines a spotlight on Basque language and culture both in Scotland and around the world.

From literature to the performing arts, to music and cinema, the Basque cultural season in Scotland, #ScotlandGoesBasque, kicks off next Thursday, January 24th, at the international music festival, Celtic Connections. Four Basque groups, Kalakan, Huntza, Korrontzi and Oreka TX will headline the event. Joining them will be Tosta Banda, a project that emphasizes minority languages and brings together musicians from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Friesland, Galicia and Euskadi.

Within the framework of the festival, there will also be space exchanging ideas and building business relationships. On January 24th and 25th professionals from the Basque Country´s music sector, festival organizers and other professionals from the Scottish music sector will meet to discuss efforts to promote collaboration and dissemination of the cultural industries in the two regions.

This event is part of Etxepare Basque Institute’s artistic and cultural programme for 2019, which includes activities in Scotland’s most important cities. The goal is to raise the profile of Basque contemporary creation and strengthen ties with Scotland through culture, art and language.

Over 20 activities, forums and meetings in Scotland will enable the Scottish public and audiences from around the world, including professionals from the creative, cultural and academic sectors, to discover the variety and wealth of Basque contemporary culture and creation. From January to October, around a hundred Basque artists will showcase their talent and creativity at some of the country´s most important festivals.

The #ScotlandGoesBasque programme lineup will include Basque artists and artistic manifestations at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Fringe-Dance Base, as well as academic events at the universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Skye.

The Etxepare Basque Institute trusts that these cultural events will lead to a better understanding of the Basque culture, and help generate new conversations, intensify exchange, create new networks and synergies, and open doors to future collaboration. Indeed, channels for collaboration have already been established between Scottish entities and Basque cultural stakeholder in the area of literature and dance.

Scotland: a key region for sharing Basque culture

The initiative is part of the Euskadi-Basque Country (EBC) 2020 Internationalization Strategy, which places culture as one of its focal points. EBC 2020 identifies a set of countries and regions as strategic geographical areas for the internationalization of the Basque Country. These are regions that attract a substantial part of Basque interests abroad, and which will be the subject of priority attention in 2018-2020.

Among other countries and regions, EBC 2020 considers the current and potential members of the Strategic Alliance Network of Basque Country as priorities, either due to geographical proximity and historical and multisectoral ties, such as Aquitaine, or because of their strong sense of identity, such as Flanders, Wales, Scotland, Bavaria and Quebec, the latter of which will be the Institute’s focus in 2020.

What is the Etxepare Basque Institute?

Etxepare Basque Institute is a public institution whose main role is to raise the international profile of Basque culture, art and language In other words, it is the global ambassador of Basque culture, promoting the Basque language (Euskara) and Basque artists working in all cultural disciplines and expressions. 

The Institute also seeks to establish dialogue, generate new conversations and intensify exchange with other cultures.

To achieve these objectives, the Basque Institute has two lines of action. It handles grant proposals for various artistic disciplines, such as audiovisual, dance, theatre, music, literature and visual arts. The purpose of this assistance is to facilitate the presence of Basque artists on the world stage.

The Institute also develops activities geared to opening doors to Basque culture in each discipline by organizing and financing different kinds of cultural events such as exhibitions, festivals, fairs, conferences and shows.

More information: Scotland goes Basque - press kit