The Medinea Method

Based on the experience of the Medinea network (Mediterranean Incubator for Emerging Artists), four cultural institutions from Portugal, Italy, Malta and Turkey have joined forces with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence to create a strategic partnership around a project of collective musical creation in Europe and the Mediterranean.

The project aimed at experimenting, implementing and disseminating an innovative creative process of intercultural collective composition in the specific field of improvised music from the Mediterranean heritage.Far from the formal education circuits, these experiences are open to young musicians from all over the Euro-Mediterranean area.Far from the formal education circuits, these experiences are open to young musicians from all over the Euro-Mediterranean area. This process is based on the notions of diversity, intercultural dialogue and the reappropriation of a common cultural heritage.

Indeed, since 2011, the Euro-Mediterranean area is facing new geopolitical challenges, in addition to the challenges related to migration crises, which urgently require the recognition of the different cultures present on our territory and the construction of an intercultural dialogue. The experience of the Medinea network allows us to take a decisive step in the music sector towards this ambition, while accompanying young musicians in their professional integration by equipping them with key skills for their career: social, human, creative and entrepreneurial skills.

Between 2018 and 2021, sixty-nine young people benefited from the mentorship of Fabrizio Cassol, composer and saxophonist, his guest artists, and the career development coaching of Christiane Louis, head of the Resources Department at the Philharmonie de Paris. Seven Medinea sessions took place in five different countries, all spaces of dialogue and creation open to a great diversity of musical aesthetics and Mediterranean expressions, offering a true intercultural ensemble experience. The Medinea series documents the creative process as well as the career development tools transmitted during the sessions to share key notions with the Medinea community of artists and beyond through videos available on the Medinea website.

Led by the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (France), this project was jointly realised by ARC Research & Consultancy (Malta), Ente Musicale di Nuoro (Italy), Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa (Portugal) and Istanbul Technical University (Turkey) and has laid the groundwork for further cooperation.