Mission

Art is an effective language of communication for cultural engagement.
Art reduces physical, intellectual, emotional, mental and social distances between human beings.
Art generates common spaces for original individuality and social encounter.
Art is a form of experience that creates new sensations and reveals new subjectivities.
Art influences change and has the potential to transform the way in which we see and act in the world.
Art is a human need for its existence.
The Mediterranean, the inland sea, has witnessed the birth of human civilizations.
A mosaic of tribes, first settlements, and first cities surrounds it.
It is more than a crossroads. It is where “everything flows”. It is the sixth continent.
Through the Mediterranean people move, travel, navigate, and transmit knowledge, culture, philosophical thoughts, trades of goods, tastes, savoir vivre, arts, beliefs, traditions…
Anew, it is a region of strategic geopolitical importance for multilateral and national interests.
The Mediterranean is a community that extends beyond its borders and Europe incorporates the Mediterranean.
In 1985, BJCEM set out to support the creativity and professionalisation of young artists and creators in and around the Mediterranean, to strengthen the relations between all the actors active in the contemporary cultural and artistic landscape of the region, to encourage peace dialogue, collaborative practice beyond the existing boundaries.
BJCEM brings together 45 partners from 15 countries, including local and national private organisations and public administrations as well as higher education institutions.
BJCEM is a cultural network that develops research, education and multi sector cooperation projects.
BJCEM is a continuous research project targeting young artists. It initiates cultural, social, political, artistic dialogue and scrutinizes the Mediterranean’s multiple horizons.
BJCEM believes that artists and creators must be enabled to experiment with innovative, critical and conceptual content.
BJCEM supports young artists and creators as agents that foster social transformation and critical political thinking.
BCJEM is convinced that cultural exchange and dialogue are a prerequisite to develop new forms of sharing economy, social inclusion and human development.

History

BJCEM,Biennale des jeunes créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée was founded in Sarajevo in 2001.
BJCEM believes that art and culture play a fundamental role in our societies by fostering respect and understanding for diversity through the discovery of the values of different cultures that enrich our own. Art is a universal language and, as such, it contributes to bridge borders and resolve conflicts. Initially created to oversee the Biennale, today BJCEM is a solid network with 47 members, ranging from cultural institutions to independent organizations, with partnerships throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, also with organizations and projects focused on the Mediterranean Diaspora. We are present in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Republic of San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. We also cooperate with an external partner in Austria. BJCEM aims at fostering mutual understanding, intercultural dialogue and collaboration in the arts among young creators, around the Mediterranean. Our projects and activities provide training, mobility, and exchange opportunities that, in turn, support artists’ creative processes, through personal and professional growth. Registered as an international association in Belgium with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and an executive office in Turin, Italy, BJCEM is an independent organization, open to all those who shares its aims and interests without cultural, religious, political, social or moral distinction. It is a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation and of Culture Action Europe. BJCEM acknowledges the support of the City of Turin. The Biennale of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean was held for the first time in Barcelona in 1985, from an original idea of ​​ARCI Ragazzi, the youth branch of the Italian ARCI. During its first editions, the Biennale was conceived as a multidisciplinary event for young artists under the age of 35, from Europe and the Mediterranean. The goal was to showcase their artistic production, by which they expressed their personal vision of the world, and to support young artists’ creativity as a resource, and not only as a form of entertainment. Through their creative force, young people were enabled to express themselves as well as their vision of reality; to make visible the alternative proposals of a generation not fully satisfied by tradition. Above all, it provided them with an opportunity to engage politically, through art, for their own personal and professional development.
The Biennale has held editions in Barcelona 1985, Thessaloniki 1986, Barcelona 1987, Bologna 1988, Marseille 1990, Valencia 1992, Lisbon 1994, Turin 1997, Rome 1999, Sarajevo 2001, Athens 2003, Naples 2005, Puglia 2008, Skopje 2009, Thessaloniki-Rome 2011, Ancona 2013, Milan 2015, Tirana-Durres 2017, San Marino 2021. The Biennale has involved over 10.300 artists, with a total of over 750.000 visitors. It has been acknowledged as the most important event for young artists in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Multidisciplinarity has always been one of its strengths, because it has spanned from the visual arts to the applied arts, moving images, literature, gastronomy, music and performances, to name just a few. During each Biennale, several hundred artists peacefully “occupied” the host city over days and weeks: the arts have been a means to invest the city and prove the potential of culture as a tool for social and human development. In the latter years and, given the general context, to make the event more sustainable, the Biennale has changed format and has reduced the total number of artists involved. It has continued to be the event where to showcase young emerging artists from the Euro-Mediterranean but it has also developed into a structured opportunity for research, training, networking to set-up transnational collaboration projects. The Biennale has made possible, especially in recent editions, collaborations in various forms, from artists’ residencies to training and research projects, from presentations of the results of European projects to workshops, actively involving both local communities and BJCEM members. The Biennale is indeed the culmination of a research project that accompanies young artists in their growth, by offering them not only an exhibition showcase, but by giving them useful tools to become active professional artists in the Euro-Mediterranean region. In the last 30 years, the region has undergone profound changes and the Biennale has stayed present, as a relevant actor. It has become an independent and consolidated international network, where organizations and professionals meet in a safe space and can work together with the shared aim of making the Mediterranean a place where dialogue and cooperation are understood as tools for peace building and development.
A platform for the launch of the careers of young Euro-Mediterranean artists, the Biennale’s success is proven by the success of the artists that it has unwaveringly supported and promoted. Among these, we are proud to mention IRWIN, Grazia Toderi, Eva Marisaldi, Miltos Manetas, Vanessa Beecroft, Eulalia Valldosera, Adel Abdessemed, Vasco Araújo, Tobias Putrih, Erzen Shkololli, Mathieu K.Abonnenc, Ayreen Anastas, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Haris Epaminonda, Damir Očko, Didem Erk, Ayman Ramadan, Elena Mazzi, Emilio Vavarella, Noor Abed, Adrian Abela, Noor Abuarafeh, Hanan Benammar, Yesmine Ben Khelil, Maeve Brennan, Johanna Bruckner, Madison Bycroft, Binta Diaw, Adji Dieye, Caterina De Nicola, Alessandra Ferrini, Francis Offman, Marina Xenofontos, among others.