Institut Ramon LlullCatalan Language and Culture Abroad

“Ramon Llull is the Cervantes of Catalonia. He reinvented the Catalan language in the same way as Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe and Montaigne did in their respective languages”

Harold Bloom

Cover photo:Jaume PlensaSpiegel I and II, 2012Painted stainless steel377 x 235 x 245 cm each elementView of the facility in Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield. UK 2011Photo: © Plensa studio Barcelona

Over the centuries, Catalan culture has developed a unique identity with a universal vocation. Its innovative nature, its creativity, its ability to absorb various influences and the value it places on coexistence and tolerance have created a culture with its own great tradition which is, at the same time, very cosmopolitan. The latest trends in the arts and in literary and scholarly works form very much a part of our cultural heritage, due to Catalonia and Balearic Islands’ privileged geographical position and accessibility to other Mediterranean and European countries, as well as to Barcelona’s attractive pioneering spirit.

The Institut Ramon Llull is a public entity established by the governments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands in 2002 with the aim of promoting Catalan language and culture abroad through encouraging artistic and cultural exchanges, and providing support for the study of Catalan language and culture at the university level.

The Institut Ramon Llull

The Institut’s work is divided into three main areas: the Department of Visual and Performing Arts that promotes a range of activities includ-ing architecture, film, circus, dance, music and theatre; the Department of Literature and the Humanities that promotes Catalan literary and scholarly works; and the Department of Language and Universities, that focuses on Catalan studies in academic settings.

Catalonia and the Balearic Islands are the Catalan-speak-ing areas represented in the Institut Ramon Llull’s work. Other areas in which Catalan is spoken include Andorra, the Region of Valencia, Northern Catalonia, the Western Strip of Catalonia and the Cityof Alghero. The aim of the ac-tivities organized and support-ed by the Institut Ramon Llull is to export Catalan culture from of all of these areas.

FRANCE

Barcelona

Alghero

Perpignan

PalmaValencia

Franja de Ponent

Mediterranean Sea

ANDORRA

CATALONIA

BALEARIC ISLANDS

SARDINIA

The Institut promotes the study of Catalan language and culture in universities abroad, with which it signs agreements for the establishment and consoli-dation of Catalan studies, pro-viding support to universities, teachers and students through various programmes and fund-ing lines.

It encourages advanced stud-ies and research on Catalan language and culture through study centres and chairs for visiting professors at prestig-ious universities, and supports the activities of international Catalan cultural societies.

As an official certification body for Catalan language profi-ciency abroad, it administers examinations that provide accreditation for the various levels, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

In order to ensure the quality of teaching, it provides ongoing teacher training and promotes programmes designed for stu-dents from abroad to complete their language training.

It fosters cultural and academic activities at foreign universities in order to broaden awareness and knowledge of the Catalan language and culture.

The Catalan Language Abroad

More than 150 universities worldwide offer Catalanstudies

Annual Catalan language tests in 75 cities in over 30 countries

Literature and the Humanities

The Institute promotes the publication in other languages of Catalan literary and scholarly works—with a special emphasis on the classics—by providing grant support to the publishers of those translated works.

It aims to increase the visibility of Catalan authors and works within the international setting through their participation in literary and cultural exchanges, and by assuring the presence of Catalan literature at internation-al book fairs.

It provides support to literary translators from the Catalan lan-guage with the aim of encourag-ing quality translations, ongoing training and recognition for their work.

It facilitates dialogue and inter-action among researchers and scholars in the Catalan lan-guage and their foreign coun-terparts, to promote a wide-ranging international exchange of ideas.

It also encourages a broad outreach of Catalan cultural and scholarly journals through contact and interaction with similar publications from other countries.

More than 100 translations every year

Support for 150 international literary events annually

Visuals Arts, Architecture, Theatre, Music and Film

The Institute promotes the introduction and presentation abroad of visual arts, architec-ture, performing arts, music and film from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.

It aims to broaden knowl-edge of, and contact with, the Catalan culture by creating and organizing artistic events in cit-ies around the world that are at the forefront in the visual and performing arts spheres.

It promotes the presence of artists from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands in first-rate international contemporary art programmes through specific cooperation agreements with festivals, institutions, interna-tional exhibitions, arts centres and museums.

It promotes exchanges between the local and international crea-tive arts sectors through organ-ized visits by curators, critics and programmers from Spain and abroad to attend festivals, fairs, exhibitions, films, con-certs, etc. in Catalonia.

It provides information on cur-rent artistic activities through the publication of specific pro-motional materials (visual arts: www.arxiuartistes.cat; music: http://catalansounds.llull.cat; theatre: www.catalandrama.cat and Catalan Performing Arts); and through attendance at fairs and markets in the sec-tor.

It encourages artists’ interna-tional mobility by providing travel grants supporting Cata-lan performances or artistic events touring abroad.

We host 250 international programmers at Catalan and Balearic festivals each year

Agreements with 150 international institutions

1300 Catalan and Balearic artists abroad

Visuals Arts, Architecture, Theatre, Music and Film

Grants and ServicesCatalan Language

Grants for University-level Teaching of Catalan StudiesGrants for universities outside Catalan-speaking areas to assist with the introduction, mainte-nance and/or consolidation of the teaching of Catalan studies, through cooperation agreements and by providing support for teacher recruitment.Recipients: universities outside Catalan-speaking areas.

Grants for the Organization of Academic and Cultural ActivitiesSupport for the organization of cultural and academic activities (meetings, conferences, semi-nars, concerts, cultural weeks, etc.) at foreign universities of-fering Catalan studies, in order to supplement their teaching and contribute to broadening knowledge of the Catalan lan-guage and culture.Recipients: universities offering Catalan studies outside Catalan-speaking areas.

Language StaysOrganization of language stays focused on improving linguis-tic proficiency in Catalan and broadening knowledge of this culture among foreign students of Catalan through courses, conferences and complemen-tary activities.Recipients: university students from outside Catalan-speaking areas.

Student Grants Annual round of grants for for-eign students to facilitate their attendance on Catalan language training courses taking place in Catalan-speaking areas.Recipients: university students from outside Catalan-speaking areas.

Catalan Language CertificatesAnnual round of tests to obtain certificates of Catalan language proficiency outside Catalan-speaking areas, in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The Institut Ramon Llull Certificates provide accreditation of the level of Catalan language proficiency for both academic and occupa-tional purposes (public admin-istration, business, institutions), which are equivalent for all purposes to those issued by the Catalan Government and the Government of the Balearic Islands.

Teacher TrainingOrganization of courses, semi-nars and meetings on method-ology, strategies and resources for learning and teaching Cata-lan as a foreign language.Recipients: teachers offering Catalan studies at universities outside Catalan-speaking areas.

GrantsLiterature and Scholarly Works

Translation Grants Grants for the translation of lit-erary works (poetry, drama and fiction) and scholarly works (non-fiction and works in the Humanities field) into other languages, to assist publishers in covering translation costs.Recipients: publishers.

Grants for the Promotion of Catalan Fiction, Non-fiction and Scholarly Works Grants for activities promot-ing Catalan literature, non-fiction and scholarly works: participation in international literary festivals; literary activi-ties within the framework of cultural events; presentations and promotional plans for new works in translation; mono-graphs in cultural journals; and supplying information on authors.Recipients: institutions, publishers, literary agencies.

Travel Grants for Writers and TranslatorsTravel grants for writers and translators to participate in activities abroad: events pub-licizing new published works in translation, literary festivals, literary translation seminars, presentation of speeches and lectures at universities and/or international academic confer-ences.Recipients: writers and translators.

Residence Programmes for Literary TranslatorsGrants for translators with a commissioned translation in progress for working stays in Catalonia lasting between two and six weeks.Recipients: translators.

Grants for the Publication of Children’s and Youth LiteratureGrants for the publication abroad of books illustrated by artists from Catalonia or the Balearic Islands.Recipients: publishers.

Grants for Organizing Seminars and Discussion ActivitiesGrants for universities in Catalan-speaking areas to organize seminars and discus-sion activities focusing on the humanities and social sciences that take place outside Catalan-speaking areas.Recipients: universities and centres linked to universities in Catalan-speaking areas.

GrantsVisuals arts, Architecture, Circus, Dance, Music, Theatre and Film

Travel Grants for Visual and Performing ArtistsGrants for travel outside Catalan-speaking areas for architects, artists and per-formers working in music, theatre, circus, dance and the visual arts, supporting Catalan performances or artistic events touring abroad.Recipients: individuals or companies with legal residence in Catalonia or the Balearic Islands.

Grants for Film and Documentary Presentations Travel grants for artistic teams participating in the presenta-tion of films and documentaries at festivals and/or exhibitions outside Catalan-speaking areas.Recipients: individuals or companies with legal residence in Catalonia or the Balearic Islands.

Translation Grants for Documentaries and Feature FilmsGrants covering costs for the translation of Catalan-language documentaries and feature films produced in Catalonia or the Balearic Islands.Recipients: film production companies established in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.

Offices Abroad

Germany Charlottenstraße, 18 D-10117 Berlín +49 30 208 86 43 24 www.llull.cat/berlin

United Kingdom 107-111 Fleet Street EC4A 2AB Londres +44 (0) 20 7936 9041/9431 www.llull.cat/london

United States One Rockefeller Plaza, 26th Floor 10020 Nova York +1 212 782 33 34 www.llull.cat/new_york

France 3, rue de la Boétie 75008 París + 33 (0) 142 660 245 www.llull.cat/pariswww.llull.cat/paris

www.llull.cat

www.facebook.com/IRLlull

twitter.com/irllull

Offices

Catalonia Diputació, 279 planta baixa 08007 Barcelona +34 934 678 000 info@llull.cat

Balearic Islands Protectora 10, local 11 07012 Palma +34 971 729 667 irlpalma@llull.cat

InstitutRamon Llull

“When artists speak from a country like ours, they must make their voices heard around the world, to assert—despite all of the ignorance, the misunderstandings and the harm done—that Catalonia exists, is unique, and is alive”

Joan Miró