EU Funding in Culture and Creativity

In episode I’m joined by Paolo Montemurro, EU Project Manager of Materahub, for a long-overdue introduction to EU funding in culture and creativity. Paolo brings more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of European cooperation, cultural development and local transformation from Matera in southern Italy — a city with a strong symbolic place in Europe’s cultural landscape as a UNESCO World Heritage site and former European Capital of Culture. Together, we use that experience to map the broader funding landscape for the creative and cultural sectors: why the European Union invests in this field, what role culture and creativity play in European society and economy, and where organisations in the sector can actually find opportunities.

We of course spend time on Creative Europe as the main dedicated programme, but Paolo also shows how culture and creativity can fit into Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Interreg, the single market programme, social economy actions and other parts of the European funding system. The bigger point is clear: culture is not a niche or decorative add-on in the EU project landscape. It is increasingly recognised as an economic ecosystem, a driver of innovation, a tool for social inclusion and democracy, and a sector with its own needs for mobility, skills, experimentation and long-term support.

Time codes:

01:47 Guest introduction and fly in

05:11 Why Does the EU Invest in Culture and Creativity?

18:57 The Funding Landscape

50:28 Looking Ahead

56:50 Materahub's Experience Across Programmes

01:15:21 Reflections and advice

01:19:15 The Toughest Challenge