PfC's Choice

Another brick in the wall. A critical review of cultural management education in Europe

This book is written by Corina Suteu following a commissioning of the Boekman Foundation and the Amsterdam University and is published by Boekmastudies (Amsterdam). It provides a critical comparative analysis of developments and provision in academic training in cultural management and cultural policies in Europe. In comparison with other disciplines, cultural management as a field of education is still in its infancy. However, a multitude of training opportunities have arisen for cultural managers and administrators in Europe during the past decades. This book makes a systematic analysis of what these courses entail and what their outcomes might be when their students are delivered into posts of responsibility. What is the profile and which are the role and responsibilities of a cultural manager in nowadays cultural context? Accordingly, which are the competencies required in order to respond to the present challenges of managing a cultural organisation or project, be it in the public or the private sector? What kind of education programmes should be designed in order to meet these needs? The book raises such questions and provides insight and suggestions for further reflection and action. A publication of interest to all those involved in a cultural management education and those contemplating a cultural management education, that will be launched on May 18 in Bratislava, in the framework of the annual meeting of ENCATC - the European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres.
For more details and to order the book visit www.boekman.nl.

 Policies for Culture news

New in artist's corner: art-e-conomy
Why is it important to think about economy in relation to art? Why is it important to think about the transitional economy in relation to the post-socialist Eastern European art? Is it possible to talk about the ways in which contemporary art represents economic processes, and (if the answer is positive) what kind of meaning this artistic discourse brings to light? How this art can be read and how this discourse can be interpreted as a source of knowledge about contemporary economy? Is it possible to identify a concise historical overview of such art practices and should they be approached from a single perspective, provided that some artists are critical about the issue of economy, while others take an outright affirmative position? Is it possible to offer an alternative to the one-sided, neo-liberal discourse in the world of economics and in the media, through analyses of economic mechanisms in the contemporary art projects and art-works? How is South East European post-socialism positioned with regard to contemporary global capitalism? These are some of the questions that 'art-e-conomy' (transitional economics and art - theory and practice of contemporary global production) would like to explore. Initiated by art historian and curator Marko Stamenkovic (Serbia and Montenegro), the project is now the focus of the artist's corner page on the Policies for Culture website.

Beyond SEE: The "Visions of the cultural policy in the Kaliningrad region" shared by the cultural sector and public authorities
The policy recommendations developed by a local task force in the framework of the Policies for Culture project "Visions of the cultural policy in the Kaliningrad region" have been recently approved by the local cultural community and adopted by the Ministry of Culture of the Kaliningrad Oblast as a basis to the overall governmental development plan for the region. These recommendations were presented and discussed in the framework of a seminar organized on March 30 - April 1, 2006 by the Ministry of Culture, aiming at discussing the priorities of the programme of "Development of culture in the Kaliningrad region up to 2016" to be adopted this year. "Visions of the cultural policy in the Kaliningrad region" is one of the Policies for Culture projects developed starting with 2004 outside South East Europe on the basis of the experience gathered in the region. The project has been carried in 2005 out by Tranzit - Agency for the Support of Cultural Initiatives in Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad Branch of the National Centre for Contemporary arts. The project goal was to shape new cultural policy frameworks in the Kaliningrad Oblast and increase sustainability of local cultural institutions. Following-up this initiative a large 2-year capacity development project in five municipalities of Kaliningrad has been launched in January 2006.
For more details on the project contact Julia Bardun, Director of Tranzit, at ybardoun@gazinter.net or visit the PfC project page.

 News from the region

Bosnia and Herzegovina: European Cultural Policy Dilemmas: Between Local Needs and Global Challenges (Sarajevo)
On April 7, Akcija - Agency for cultural development in Sarajevo organised at Media Centre Sarajevo the lecture "European Cultural Policy Dilemmas: Between Local Needs and Global Challenges", given by Dragan Klaic. As already announced in a previous issue of the e-bulletin, Akcija proposes, in a series of lectures and debates with prominent international experts, to explore and investigate the causes of the cultural crisis in BiH and propose realistic strategic solutions. The initiative was started, as organisers state, in a context where "the report on the cultural strategy of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the process of preparation, when cultural workers and institutions barely survive, when domestic cultural realities are burdened with scandal and marked by bombast show-business spectacle while BiH artists achieve briliant successes on the international scene". The present meeting was attended by representatives of the independent cultural sector as well as public cultural institutions or professors of the Academy of Drama. The event represented a start of the debate among cultural operators about their position in the process of cultural policy development, for critical reflections about issues from the recent past of BiH. For more details write to Aida Kalender, project initiator, at aida@media.ba.
Source: SEE Portal.

Macedonia: Creative Commons Memorandum signed in Macedonia
The Metamorphosis Foundation for Sustainable ICT Solutions signed, on April 26, 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding with Creative Commons Corporation, for legal porting of CC licenses in Macedonia. Metamorphosis already started the activities towards the establishment of a working group that will work on translation and legalization of Creative Commons licenses in Macedonia. In addition, they have started negotiations with several cultural NGOs in the country, in terms of establishing a core team of authors that would share their works under CC. Creative Commons is an all-encompassing solution for licensing of works as publicly accessible and open contents. It simplifies the procedure for the author to legally define greater freedoms for the users, different from those restrictive invoked automatically if the author doesn’t explicitly declare his will, having in mind that such expression of will by the author, if done on one’s own, would demand a legally complicated procedure. In South East Europe, Creative Commons licences are already completed, in cooperation with organisations from each country, in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, while the process of developing licenses and discussing them are still in progress in Romania.
For more information visit www.creativecommons.org.
Source: SEE Portal.

Romania: Periferic 7 - Focusing Iasi
The seventh edition of the Periferic Biennial organised by Vector (Iasi) is a project focusing on different aspects of socio-political and cultural context of Iasi and Romania, hosting a series of exhibitions, conferences and workshops taking place between 12-30 May. The biennial is structured on three independent sections (Social Processes; Strategies of Learning; Why Children?), focusing on: the position of the city of Iasi in a globalized context where social, political and economical phenomena are influencing cultural practices, productions and representations; the recent art history and the current art scene in Romania; the exploration of the children condition, emphasizing the problem of 'child abandonment' in an extended sense. The "Social Processes" section of the biennial will also host the launch of Vector Art Data Bank, showing a collection of artist's materials and art initiatives from Romania and bordering countries (Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria), assembled by Matei Bejenaru and Catalin Gheorghe. The Periferic project was initiated in 1997 in Iasi as a performance festival. In 2001, it was transformed into a contemporary art biennial with the intention to develop a local art scene and to encourage the exchange of ideas and people from different political and cultural contexts.
For more details contact Vector Association at office@periferic.org or visit www.periferic.org.

SEE: Prospects of SEE Modern Cultural Work (Patras, Greece)
Ministers of culture from the South East European Co-operation Process gathered in Patras on April 14 for an inaugural meeting on this theme, held under the framework of the Greek presidency of the organisation. Ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey attended the event. Moldova participated as an observer. The forum opened discussion on the current conditions, bilateral and multilateral cooperation of SEE countries as well as cooperation within the European integration processes and EU cultural programmes. The Patras Conference was closed with a declaration emphasizing the interest of EU membership candidate countries as well as non-members in cooperation, planning and implementation of joint projects. Patras is the European Capital of Culture 2006.
Source: SETimes.

 Projects and Initiatives

AR.CO - Artistic Connections Project
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy (Puglia and Abruzzo regions), and Serbia and Montenegro are involved in the AR.CO - Artistic Connections project led by the Local Government of the Puglia Region within the framework of the EU International Cooperation Programme INTERREG IIIA Adriatic Crossborder Operational Programme. Its goal is to create an international cultural network bringing together public institutions, organisations and enterprises acting in the field of cultural promotion and production on both sides of the Adriatic Sea. The project was started in November 2004 with the aim of creating a common cultural artistic space through exchange of experiences, competences and innovative artistic practices, strenghtening the relationship between training opportunities and the work market, improving the quality of the services in the field of artistic and cultural activities, with a special attention to new technologies. The activities completed or still in progress include: contribution to the infrastructural development of spaces of artistic creation and to research in the form of study visits; development of human resources through artistic or cultural management workshops open to young employees of the cultural institutions involved and public administration. A final advocacy seminar is planned to take place in Rijeka this year with the participation of actors, directors, journalists, critics and public administrators from both sides of the Adriatic Sea. For more details contact Franco Ungaro, Project coordinator, at progetti@teatrokoreja.com or visit www.teatrokoreja.com.

 Upcoming Events

May 24-28: Cultural heritage in the 21st century: Opportunities and challenges (Cracow, Poland)
The International Cultural Centre in Cracow is organising the conference under this title on May 24–28, 2006. The meeting will focus on three main areas: heritage and transformation - the Central and Eastern European experience; towards the global philosophy of heritage conservation (prepared in cooperation with ICOMOS - International Council on Monuments and Sites); new trends in the management of heritage institutions. The conference will bring together experts in the area of heritage conservation, preservation and management. The International Cultural Centre has long experience and involvement in projects aimed at shaping and promoting a new attitude towards cultural and natural heritage, the problems of heritage management, promotion and interpretation.
For more information visit www.mck.krakow.pl/conference.

June 2-3: FORTE: Fostering Participation through Education and Cultural Exchange conference (Barcelona, Spain)
This conference on education, culture and citizenship will be held in Barcelona on 2-3 June, in the framework of the FORTE project funded by the European Commission. The event, proposing presentations of case studies and round tables, will cover issues such as the contribution of cultural practice to learning methods, the involvement of young people in social and political participation processes, cultural diversity in European cities and teacher training. Coordinated by Interarts, the project brings together four pioneering partner organisations from Germany, Lithuania, Spain and the UK, which work with cultural tradition, experimentation and exchange to make learning attractive for young people and allow them to develop new skills and participate actively in society. The event, as well as the project website proposing a good practice database, may be of interest for those SEE organisations developing projects with similar profile.
For more details on the event and registration write to Mauve Magnet at mauve@interarts.net or visit www.interarts.net or the FORTE website www.forteproject.org.

June 9-10: Lets start with culture (Sofia, Bulgaria)
The Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre and the Red House Center for Culture and Debate in Sofia are organising the informal debate under this title aimed at discussing the enlargement process and the role of culture in it. The meeting intends to bring together relevant actors from Central and Eastern Europe - policymakers, NGO and public institutions representatives - with different 'European experience', in order to forge new partnerships and share experiences. Among the panel discussion themes are: 'cultural borders' of the enlarged European Union; culture and development of the civil society in EU; models for financing culture.
For more details contact Yavor Koynakov, Director of the Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre, at yavor@eubcc.bg.

July 13: Update: Young Cultural Policy Researchers Forum (Vienna, Austria)
The support of young/early career cultural policy researchers will be paid special attention to throughout the Fourth International Conference on Cultural Policy Research 2006 (ICCPR 2006).
To put special emphasis on the young generation of cultural policy researchers, the local conference organiser Educult decided to arrange the "Young Researchers Forum" in cooperation with the European Cultural Foundation. About thirty young researchers, to be selected during the next months, will have the opportunity to present their recent research activities such as first publications or projects and discuss important questions (e.g. issues related to education and training, availability of scientific journals, access to networks of researchers and conferences). The forum is open to all participants and will take place on 13 July 2006. The debates will be moderated by Croatian researcher Nina Obuljen, the first winner of the Cultural Policy Research Award (2004).
For details contact Eva Bauer, EDUCULT, at eva.bauer@educult.at or visit www.iccpr.2006.com.

November 6-8: Creative Clusters 2006: Mainstreaming Creativity (Newcastle Gateshead, UK)
Creative Clusters is an independent policy forum, fostering debate about creativity and the creative economy, about culture and commerce. It aims to contribute to policy development by examining initiatives and interventions supporting cultural enterprise, whether at local, regional, national and international level. The theme for the Creative Clusters Conference 2006 is "Mainstreaming Creativity". The topics addressed during the conference will include: education and skills development; business development and investment; governance, legal and trading infrastructure, IP issues; technology, innovation, research & development; culture, media and tourism; cultural diversity and inclusion; urban planning, city and regional development. A call for presentations on the conference theme is open until May 22. Applicants from Eastern European countries are encouraged to contribute with a profile of their cultural context with regard to these issues.
For more information visit www.creativeclusters.com.

 Opportunities

Cultural Policy Translations and Publications
Application deadline: 15 May 2006
The Cultural Policy Education Group (CPEG) and Next Page Foundation in Sofia have recently launched a translation scheme for cultural policy works, open to publishers from Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro are eligible to apply. CPEG is an initiative launched by the European Cultural Foundation in 2004, which supports universities, lecturers, students, scholars, and cultural operators dealing with cultural policy issues and professional education. To achieve its goals, CPEG works closely with 6 universities located in Central and Eastern Europe in the above-mentioned countries. The translation scheme has thus been setup in order to address the shortage of up to date literature in cultural policy as well as by lack of related vocabulary in the targeted languages. The local universities are considered key actors in the entire publication process. Each partner-university has proposed a title for translation so that linkages with the curricula and direct inclusion of the translated book in university programmes are ensured. CPEG members will be active contributors to the translation process by writing prefaces to the books and/or participating in the refinement of the translations into the local language. The translation scheme is currently administrated by the South East European League (SEAL), based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
For more details write to Milena Deleva at mdeleva@eurocult.org or visit www.npage.org.

Reminder: Fellowships for CEE young cultural managers in Germany
Application deadline: 15 May 2006
The Robert Bosch Foundation is offering fellowships for German speaking young cultural managers from Central and Eastern Europe to work for one year in a host German cultural institution. The applicants are expected to submit projects presenting the young cultural scene of their home country. The fellows also have the possibility to participate in five one-week qualification seminars. These seminars are aimed at helping them to improve their knowledge in project planning, teamwork, fundraising, PR and cultural marketing. The workshops are directly connected with the projects of the fellows, in order to provide them with the extensive practical experience that would thus contribute to the improvement of their own projects.
For more information write to Darius Polok at darius.polok@moe-kulturmanager.de or visit
www.moe-kulturmanager.de to download the application form.

May 16-17: Developing cultural projects in the Euro-Mediterranean space
Application deadline: 11 May 2006
On 16-17 May, Relais Culture Europe is organising in Paris a 2 day training session on this topic. The training, to be held in French, is aimed towards cultural actors wishing to build projects in the Euro-Mediterranean. Among the objectives of the training are to: understand the place culture has in Euro-Mediterranean relations; position cultural projects within global action; develop a methodology for mounting cultural projects with Euro-Mediterranean partners; gain recognition for cooperation projects. This is a training opportunity open also to cultural operators from SEE countries bordering the Mediterranean.
For more details and the application procedure write to euromed@relais-culture-europe.org or visit www.relais-culture-europe.org to download the application form.

August 28-31: AMSU - International Production Management for Performing Arts
Application deadline: 15 June 2006
Designed for cultural organisers, special event managers and producers, AMSU - Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University's course entitled "International Production Management for Performing Arts" will be held in Amsterdam on 28-31 August 2006. Above all, the course aims to give an insight into the instruments that have been gathered in the short history of international production, and can be put into use in contemporary practice. The participants will be exposed to various experiences, but the main intention is to enable them to take away skills that can be used in practice immediately. Attention will be given to a series of topics among which: practically setting up an international production; international contracting; producing for international audiences; funding; differences between local and international artistic practices; working in different cultural and regulatory settings. A limited number of scholarships is available for participants from most Central and Eastern European countries and Turkey through the Social Transformation Programme Cental and Eastern Europe (MATRA) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For more details and the application procedure visit www.amsu.edu/courses/ARTM-2.

 Publications & Information Resources

East Art Map. Contemporary Art and Eastern Europe
April 2006. Edited by IRWIN; English version. The book is published as a result of the 3-year online project East Art Map, supported by relations. It surveys the artistic landscape of the eastern half of the European continent with the attempt to reconstruct some of the hidden histories of contemporary art, while offering some compelling discoveries for readers based both outside and within these geographic limits. The Slovenian artist group IRWIN, who initiated the concept of East Art Map, have invited artists, curators, theorists and critics to record a wide range of innovations and radical actions that have taken place in the region since 1945. Despite its contribution to a new art history, this book also remains an artists' project, with a subjective and quixotic appeal in addition to its informative contents. In recent decades Eastern Europe has undergone rapid changes in its political and economic dogmas and it is now among the most significant areas for the production of contemporary culture. East Art Map, first online and now in print, tells the region's compelling histories in different ways, based on a selection of key artworks and artists. Not only does East Art Map serve as a guidebook through the visual culture of totalitarian and post-totalitarian societies, it is the largest contemporary art documentation project ever undertaken by the East on the East. "Where history is not given", the editors write, "it has to be constructed." This book is that construction.
For more details on the book visit the relations project's webpage dedicated to East Art Map.

Debates in culture - Civil initiative
April 2006. Edited by Performing Arts Center "Multimedia", Skopje; Macedonian version. This book systematises the discussions and general conclusions of the debates organised by PAC "Multimedia" betwen 2001-2003, in the frame of the projects "Civil initiative for the design of a strategy for cultural development" and "Democratisation and decentralisation of cultural institutions in the Republic of Macedonia". It also includes information on organisations and individuals that work on projects connected with cultural policy development in Macedonia. The book is distributed free of charge to all participants in this initiative and to all relevant institutions concerned with the topic in Macedonia and in the region.
For more details and to order the book write to info@multimedia.org.mk.

Creative Industries in Serbia
April 2006. Authors: Svetlana Jovicic and Hristina Mikic. Publisher: British Council Serbia; Serbian and English versions. This study is a result of the one year project "Towards the Creative Industries Policy Solutions in Serbia and SEE", developed as part of the British Council's regional programme UK-South East Europe Forum. It was a start-up project which promoted the developmental aspects of culture and creativity, and aimed to create a framework for systematic approach towards the creative industries in Serbia. The authors conducted a research on the current functioning system in the field, using the available statistics, economic indicators or employment facts. Among other issues, the study points to the lack of a systematic support for the sector's development, mostly because there is not even public awareness on the importance and impact of creative industries on economic development.
For more details contact Svetlana Jovicic at cecile@beotel.yu or visit www.uksee.net.

Changing the performance. a companion guide to arts, business and civic engagement
April 2006. Author: Julia Rowntree. Publisher: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; English version. "Changing the performance" is a manual for arts practictioners concerned with the relationship between business, the arts and particularly those engaged in fundraising. Julia Rowntree gives an account of her experiences forging the business sponsorship campaign at the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). Faced with a fundraising crisis in the early 1990s, LIFT responded with a radical experiment in business arts relations - the LIFT Business Arts Forum - in which young students and people from private and public sectors are invited to attend the theatre together and imagine how they might do their work differently as a result of this shared experience. This book proposes that fundraising for the arts is much more than simply a function for generating income. It fulfils the social role of connection across levels of power, expertise, culture, gender and generation. Rowntree describes why these dinamics are vital to society's ability to adapt. Rasing intriguing questions about common ground between artistic, social and commercial innovation, this book offers a model for the theory and practice of financing the arts.
To order the book visit www.taylorandfrancis.com or write to Tom Church at tom.church@tandf.co.uk.

Metropolises of Europe. Diversity in Urban Cultural Life
April 2006. Report edited by Dorota Ilczuk and Yudhishthir Raj Isar, CIRCLE Publications No. 14, Pro Cultura Foundation, Warsaw; English version. The book is the result of a year-long project carried out by the Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison in Europe (CIRCLE) in 2005 under the title "Metropolis of Europe - Urban cultural life and inter-city cultural interactions for 'cultural diversity' in Europe", aimed at mapping the changing landscape of cultural diversity in Europe's cities. The chosen cities were: Barcelona (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Paris (France), Rome (Italy), Tallinn (Estonia) and Warsaw (Poland). The traditional and emerging forms of cultural pluralism in these 9 European cities are explored as contemporary migratory flows and diasporas are generating challenging new variants and mixes of cultural difference.
The publication can be ordered from Pro Cultura Foundation at procultura@procultura.pl.

The French edition of the Guide to the Romanian cultural sector
April 2006. Editor: ECUMEST; Publisher: Romanian Cultural Institute; French version. "Guide du secteur culturel roumain. Un panorama en faveur de la coopération culturelle", realised by the ECUMEST Association, proposes a general overview of the Romanian cultural sector and a listing of the key organisations in its different fields, with a focus on those organisations that have an interest, abilities or a track record in international cooperation. The book represents the French edition of the guide realised by the ECUMEST in 2005 in English, at the initiative of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bucharest. The current edition was translated, updated and published with the support of the the French Embassy in Romania, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - General Commissariat for the Francophonie. The book is distributed free of charge to the networks of the organisations that contributed to its publication. It can be also purchased from the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR). The order must be sent directly to ICR by fax to +40-31-71 00 647 or by email at comenzi@icr.ro. The order form is available online at www.ecumest.ro.

Festival Report - The Hungarian Example: State of affairs and suggestions on how to improve subsidization
April 2005. Report by Budapest Observatory (BO); Editors: Zsuzsa Hunyadi, Peter Inkei, Zoltan Janos Szabo; Hungarian version, English summary. BO has recently made available the English summary of the research conducted in 2004-2005 on cultural festivals of touristic importance, following a tender launched by the National Cultural Fund in Hungary (NCF). This call for research followed the recognition that even the rich and diversified theoretical and practical experience of the National Cultural Fund is challenged by the emerging questions relating to the subsidization of festivals. How is it possible to select between the different needs of support? How can one check if the subsidy was rightly (or wrongly) awarded? And how can decision-makers be persuaded of the necessity to support festivals? The NCF was founded to promote cultural projects: to what extent can it undertake the sustenance of the consolidating festival industry? How to conciliate the interest of culture and tourism in a joint competition system? Tackling these issues and questions, the report contains a review of the survey’s results, some important conclusions and proposals. The results themselves – among others, data of this extensive festival survey – are to be found in the appendices of the Hungarian report.
The English summary of the report is available on the BO website.