ENTRENORD
– Entrepreneurship in Arts Education in the Nordic Region
EntreNord is a collaboration between CAKI, Karlbak and KreaNord, Nordic Council of Ministers, beginning in 2012. The point of departure for the project was to help strengthening entrepreneurship in arts educations as well as in the growth layer in the creative sector. Today EntreNord has taken the form of entrenord.dk, a digital platform where knowledge is being shared between teachers and others working with entrepreneurship in the arts in the Nordic region.
The phases of EntreNord
The first phase of EntreNord unfolded in 2012 through five workshops for teachers in arts education in the Nordic region and culminated in a joint Nordic conference in Copenhagen in November 2012 called ‘EntreNord. From Student to Professional in the Creative Fields.’
The second phase of EntreNord was realized from January 2013 to December 2014: Ten workshops and two Gatherings and a EntreNord Conference titled ‘Teach the Teacher’. In January 2015, the project went into its final phase as part of KreaNord, as KreaNord as a project was closed down by NCM in the summer of 2015. EntreNord as a project has been on stand-by since 2016.
EntreNord.dk
The EntreNord platform, entrenord.dk, was launched in the summer of 2013 as part of Kreanord.org. Since June 2015, CAKI has been running the platform. The platform provides educational materials, knowledge and networks from the Nordic countries. By the end of 2014 more than 100 cases were collected on the platform.
The purpose of entrenord.dk was to ensure the collection and dissemination of entrepreneurial elements in the arts educations and growth environments in the Nordic region, thereby strengthening the professional creative and artistic environments in the Nordic region, with a particular focus on education environments and growth layers.
The content of the platform aims to help strengthen the professional opportunities for artists and creators as well as contribute to the further education of teachers, focusing on shaping and strengthening students’ and graduates’ entrepreneurial prerequisites, helping them build and sustain an independent professional practice.
The platform was closed down in 2022.
EntreNord Consultants
In 2015 the EntreNord consultants offered to visit educational programs, projects and organizations working with entrepreneurship for artists in the Nordic region. EntreNord Consulting Services met the need for knowledge-on-demand, local use of general experience and flexibility in the form of shorter meetings with many teachers, as an alternative to sending one or few teachers to conferences for several days.
The learnings from EntreNord
Experience from EntreNord confirms that the work with entrepreneurship in arts education and in the creative growth environments in the Nordic region is driven by a comprehensive and diverse mix of talented, courageous and skilled teachers. Teachers who work to enhance the professionalization of the students and graduates through solid commitment and a willingness to explore and challenge how artists can influence, refine and contribute to our surrounding community as part of a professional artistic practice. Nevertheless, there are still many students, graduates and professionals, who do not find that their artistic skills and potentials can adequately develop into an independent, professional artistic practice. Among other things, it is evident that many find it hard to make a living from their art or design background after graduation. At the same time, there is no doubt that art and design play key roles in our society, and there is a need for and demand for the artistic and creative skills.
The question EntreNord leaves behind is how we, as educators, equip students and creative growth environments to explore more opportunities in their professions, as well as how we can help strengthen the prerequisites of students and graduates to create a stabile working life.
For more information about EntreNord, contact Pernille Skov: pernille@caki.dk
