UNESCO Transcultura Call To Young Caribbean Musicians

The Programme “Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity” is inviting young Caribbean musicians to apply for the opportunity to perform at one of Belgium’s premier alternative music events.

The programme was implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office in Havana and funded by the European Union. It has partnered with Fifty Lab Music Festival  to provide young, emerging Caribbean musicians with an opportunity to perform and engage for the first time in an artistic exchange at one of Belgium’s alternative music events.

The Caribbean creators selected will be from the 17 countries covered by the Transcultura programme: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Musicians who play a saxophone, trumpet, percussion set (Batá drums, miscellanea, shakers, botija, conga drums, cymbals, bembe/bemba drums) or piano and keyboard are encouraged to apply. They will be chosen from at least two of the three linguistic zones covered by the Transcultura programme (English, French, and Spanish).

Selected young musicians will form a new Caribbean band. This group will be assembled specifically to perform at the 2024 Fifty Lab Music Festival that will take place from November 13 to 15, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.

The UNESCO Transcultura programme will cover costs for international travel to Brussels, Belgium, from November 8 to 16 (eight nights), for a maximum of four musicians.

Applications must be submitted by 23:59 hours Havana time (GMT – 4 hours) on Friday, September 27, 2024. For more information, interested persons should click here.