Basque industries and creators at the fall-term fairs

With the aim of creating new networks for the distribution and marketing of the Basque culture abroad, the Etxepare Basque Institute takes part in the most important international professional fairs and markets, and provides help to Basque artists and companies to join those forums. The Institute participates in the fairs well with its own stand or in collaboration with other agents: they create spaces to arrange appointments, presentations and different events, while disclosing the brand Basque Country.

Before the end of the year the Etxepare Basque Institute will participate in 17 international fairs – a language market, 8 book fairs, 3 of the field of performing arts, 2 of music and 3 of audiovisuals-. Moreover, as every year, the Institute offers grants to companies and Basque artists so they can go to be promoted in those fairs: this year 31 audiovisual enterprises, 10 musical ones, 12 companies of performing arts and 3 art galleries will receive those grants; each of those companies will thus have the opportunity to attend the professional forums. As most of those international fairs take place in autumn, the agenda for the next few weeks is full of events.

With the aim of creating new networks for the distribution and marketing of the Basque culture abroad, the Etxepare Basque Institute takes part in the most important international professional fairs and markets, and provides help to Basque artists and companies to join those forums. The Institute participates in the fairs well with its own stand or in collaboration with other agents: they create spaces to arrange appointments, presentations and different events, while disclosing the brand Basque Country.

Before the end of the year the Etxepare Basque Institute will participate in 17 international fairs – a language market, 8 book fairs, 3 of the field of performing arts, 2 of music and 3 of audiovisuals-. Moreover, as every year, the Institute offers grants to companies and Basque artists so they can go to be promoted in those fairs: this year 31 audiovisual enterprises, 10 musical ones, 12 companies of performing arts and 3 art galleries will receive those grants; each of those companies will thus have the opportunity to attend the professional forums. As most of those international fairs take place in autumn, the agenda for the next few weeks is full of events.

Kirmen Uribe at The London Language Show

Once again, The Institute will install the stand dedicated to Basque culture in The London Language Show (17-19 October), an important annual event for the dissemination of the languages and language industries. Langune, the Association of Linguistic Industries of the Basque Country, will also work in that space. In addition, the Institute has organized three activities at the fair. On October 17, the Professor at the University of Liverpool Juan Arana Cobos will offer a course about Basque language, Euskera (Language Taster). On October 18, the writer Kirmen Uribe will join the fair -in the context of a wider tour held in the United Kingdom- and will offer a poetry reading from his book "Bitartean heldu eskutik"; the video "Urrezko eraztuna" will also be screened. And on October 19 the reader of Basque Language and Culture at the University of Liverpool, Gorka Mercero, will talk about the current situation of the Basque language in the conference "Normalization Anxieties and the Need for Post-identity".

Six International Book Fairs

The Institute will be at the six most important book fairs of this fall: recently the Etxepare attended the Gotteborg Book Fair (25-28 September), where opened the door for the participation of Basque publishers in the next edition. It has also work in favour of the Basque culture at the Fair Liber of Barcelona (1-5 October), in collaboration with the “Gremio de Editores de Euskadi”  (Editors Guild of the Basque Country). This week the Institute will be at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 8-12), where the director for the Promotion and Dissemination of Basque language, Mari Jose Olaziregi, will tal about the internationalization of Basque literature in the roundtable "National Literatures Revisited ", organized by the Department of Education, Culture and Language Policy of the Basque Government and the “Gremio de Editores de Euskadi” together with various Finnish and Swiss cultural organizations

The Institute will then bring the illustrator Elena Odriozola to FILBITA Buenos Aires Fair (12-16 November), dedicated to children´s literature: in addition to showing her work, the artist will offer an illustration workshop. The writer Harkaitz Cano will go with The Etxepare to the Miami Book Fair (16-23 November), where he will present his work and participate in various activities. The Institute will then return to the FIL Guadalajara, Mexico (November 29-December 7) together with the “Gremio de Escritores Vascos”, where the protagonist will be Bernardo Atxaga. The writer will present "Nevadako egunak" and will give several lectures on December 1 and 2. The tour will continue with a series of activities in Mexico City, within a cultural program organized by the Institute.

Performing Arts and music

Markeliñe, Kukai, Mursego, Oreka TX, Kepa Junkera, Korrontzi, Lasala…

The Institute attends fairs targeting these two disciplines with shared stands with the Basque Government and the Euskadiko Soinuak program. Besides the informative work that in held in the stands, they also organize concerts and performances aimed at professional and international programmers. They were held recently the fair Fira Tárrega (11-14 September), with performances by Kukai and Markeliñe companies, and the Mercat de Música Viva de Vic (18-21 September), with concerts by Mursego, Oreka TX and Kepa Junkera. The Fira Mediterrània Manresa will be organized soon (October 9-12), which has scheduled concerts by Korrontzi, Kepa Junkera and Lasala. And then comes the International World Music Fair, WOMEX (October 22-26), that this year stops in Santiago de Compostela; the groups Oreka TX and Korrontzi  will have the opportunity to showcase their latest works beyond to professionals worldwide.

MIPCOM Audiovisual Fair: 12 Basque companies

In order that the Basque audiovisual enterprises get the most return on their presence at fairs, the Etxepare Basque Institute works with the cluster EIKEN under the name Basque Audiovisual. After attending MIPTV and  Sunny Side of the Doc, now comes the turn of MIPCOM (October 13-16) in Cannes. A total of 12 companies will participate in the fair, together with the Film Commission of Bilbao, which has organized an event within this important forum.