An initiative of the European Festivals Association that offers emerging artists a platform to develop their careers on an international level through festivals.
What is EFFEA?
Festivals act as fertile ground for tapping into and expanding talents. They are spaces of exchange between artists and the public, facilitate connections among artists themselves and with other professionals. Festivals are alchemists of innovation, curators of risk-taking endeavours, both guardians and intermediary springboards for artists across artistic disciplines. The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA), an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA), is a system built to empower festivals and offer emerging artists a platform to establish themselves on the international stage. EFFEA extends an open invitation for festivals to work across borders and create a network of colleagues with shared goals. It recognises that the future lies in the synergy of diverse perspectives and collective efforts. Through EFFEA, festivals join hands to foster the success of emerging artists. EFFEA is the next step in a movement of festivals in Europe that recognise themselves and commit to working together at a European level. It builds on the preparatory action called EFFE: Europe for Festivals Festivals for Europe.
Main Objectives
- To offer emerging artists more opportunities to present their work and develop their career on an international level
- To offer festivals cross-border co-operation opportunities on the topic of emerging artists
- To offer audiences new and surprising encounters with emerging artists in their towns and cities through the platforms of their festivals
Who will benefit from this Fund?
Festivals
How? Expanded network of festivals; Collaboration with peers; New programmes and new artists; Financial support to promote the work of emerging artists at a European level.
Emerging Artists proposed by the Festivals
How? Time and space to develop ideas; Network of programmers and local artists in different countries; Residencies, seminars and workshops/ masterclasses; European visibility; Capacity-building; New presentation contexts.
Audiences
How? Access to new talents and repertoire; Access to diverse and interdisciplinary works.
The next EFFEA Call will be launched on 1 September 2025 and will support residencies taking place throughout 2026.
To stay updated, please visit the website news section and Facebook page regularly. We also encourage you to join the EFFEA Facebook Community, a platform where you can connect with fellow artists and festival makers, and explore new collaborations through FestivalFinder.eu.
News
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19-08-25 EFFEA Story: Polina Piddubna
Residency of Polina Piddubna hosted by Ukrainian Film Festival Berlin in partnership with Linoleum Contemporary Animation and Media Art F... -
08-08-25 EFFEA Story: Isabel Costa
Residency of Isabel Costa hosted by Fast Forward in partnership with POLIS Teatro Festival, Festival TNB, euro-scene Leipzig and Walk&... -
05-08-25 EFFEA Story: Marija Dejanović
Residency of Marija Dejanović hosted by Den Poezie in partnership with Thessalian Poetry Festival and Gwyl Arall Festival -
16-07-25 EFFEA Story: Karla da Silva
Residency of Karla da Silva hosted by La Panza in partnership with Percusounds and Ten Samba Festival -
07-07-25 EFFEA Story: Margherita Berlanda
Residency of Margherita Berlanda hosted by Signal To Noise in partnership with Festival A Estrada -
20-06-25 EFFEA Call #4: Get Ready
Call for festivals to support emerging artists: Applications for EFFEA Call #4 open on 1 September 2025 and will supporting 50 residencie... -
17-06-25 EFFEA After Three Calls
Three years, three calls, and 150 residencies later, the European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists (EFFEA) became a key platform for c... -
04-06-25 EFFEA Story: Georgia Tsangaraki
Residency of Georgia Tsangaraki hosted by Buzau International Arts Festival in partnership with Festival Antivaro