Government action in the modern world

The age of the command economy has passed. Govern- ments across the continent increasingly recognise the limits to their ability to make things happen. The complexity of contemporary society and the interdependency of local and national economies mean that Governments must influence rather than direct change. They must work with and through a vast range of public, private and independent sector part- ners. Nowhere is this more true than in the fluid, changeable world of culture, where the states efforts in one direction will often produce unexpected, perhaps unwanted, results elsewhere. In the cultural sector, individual vision can have a huge and unforeseen impact, where substantial public resources can appear to produce no change at all.The culture minister deals with a field which is inherently changeable and often seen as marginal to the governments central objectives. While health and education ministers have thousands of hospitals and schools, and millions of public employees under their control, the culture minister typically has few directly managed resources. The development and management of cultural policy is therefore one of the most complex areas of modern government, a kind of a balancing act, not so much between competing priorities as in other areas of policy, but between competing visions of the role of culture in society.

From 1 to 7 July the Management Department of the University of Antwerp is organising a Summer School on Cultural Management. This year the Summer School will focus on Museums and Cultural Diversity. It will be open for students and professionals. The Summer School on Cultural Management is a new initiative of the Management Department of the University of Antwerp (UA).

2010 marks the 25 year anniversary of the European Capitals of Culture, which were launched in 1985. On 23-24 March 2010 the European Commission will be hosting a celebratory event and strategic conference to mark the occasion , to look back at the achievements of the past 25 years, and to reflect strategically on its legacy and impact. The conference will be opened by President Barroso and Jack Lang, who was the founder of the idea along with the late Melina Mercouri, former Minister of Culture for Greece.

Britain was the last major economy officially to come out of the recession although commentators predict that it will take years for the economy to recover its strength. Public sector funding and support for the cultural sector from businesses and foundations will be tight.

Former Prime Minster, Tony Blair, claimed that his New Labour government presided over a Golden Age in the arts in the UK. Cultural Trends, the journal that champions the need for better evidence-based analyses of the cultural sector, is delighted to provide a major opportunity for researchers to consider whether that Golden Age actually existed; if it is now over; what it achieved; what the effects of the recession on the cultural sector might be in terms of changes in audiences and audience profiles, the economics of the sector and its financial impacts, and how government policy, and the sector itself albeit in the UK, Europe and elsewhere might assess its legacy and learn the lessons that should inform a post-recession economy. All of this will be discussed at the Cultural Trends third one-day international conference, A "Golden Age"? planned for November 2010.

The Centre for Local Government of the Laurentian University has published its first issue of Culture and Local Governance/Culture et gouvernance locale (CLG), a bilingual peer-reviewed online journal. The issue focuses on the role of culture in the new context of local planning, where the sustainability factor is becoming a priority.

We just had a planning retreat with some of our board members, and they asked us questions about our audience that we couldnt answer. So we realized we need to do a survey...

As a researcher who works with arts organizations and museums, I get that call or email frequently. The marketing director of a theater, classical ensemble, dance company, or art museum will get in touch, often passing along a detailed request-for-proposal for audience research, and sometimes already armed with a list of survey questions that she and her executive director brainstormed together.

In the face of growing environmental and economic urgencies, issues of sustainability and resiliency are moving to the forefront of planning, policy, and programs in cities and communities of all sizes. City planning paradigms are mutating from a focus on building creative cities to that of achieving sustainable cities. Internationally, this shift is evident among local governments adopting sustainability goals for towns, cities, and regions; creating sustainable community plans; and implementing community projects related to sustainable development. Yet cultural considerations, while recognized in urban and community planning contexts, are not integrated into sustainability planning in a widespread way.

The National Arts Index is a highly distilled annual measure of the health and vitality of arts in the United States by using 76 equal weighted, national-level indicators of arts activity. This report covers an 11-year period, from 1998 to 2008.

In connection with her forthcoming book about the issue, consultant and researcher Dr Anne-Marie Quigg is seeking performing arts employees who have had experience of any aspect of workplace bullying.

Arts Management is anything but a mere amalgamation of the world of the arts and the world of business management; it is the confrontation of two opposing methodologies, one being a field of human creativity that produces something new that did not exist before, the other one diving into the existing world of business practices, in order to improve their efficiency.

Our current episode takes on a controversial questionhow important is a graduate degree in our field? Andrew Taylor of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at UW Madison shares his thoughts on this thorny issue. Panelists Ron Evans, Matt Campbell, and Maris Smith join the conversation on advantages and disadvantages to getting a graduate degree on the path to a career in the arts.

"In his first year, President Barack Obama has marshaled the largest infusion of cultural funding in decades - despite a few stumbles.

Though still far less than arts advocates contend is needed, they have high hopes this president could transform cultural policy, funding and arts education for years to come.

Why do we need cultural producers? What are our tasks in different European countries? How will our future look like? These are the kinds of questions we want to discuss with you at "To Culture with Love. Management" (TCWL.M). Our workshop is about the professions, the future and the diversity of cultural producers and arts managers in Europe.

Brno, February 11-14th 2010

Tthe Marcel Hicter Association, based in Brussels (Belgium), open the application process for the European Diploma in cultural project management 2010-2011.

Culture Business, the international meeting point for arts sponsorship professionals, is hosting its second event, on 10 December 2009 at the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine in Paris. What is Culture Business for ? 200 professionals from all over Europe and the United States formed the first international network of sponsorship and culture experts. CultureBusiness was a meeting point between cultural institutions and sponsoring companies sharing their expectations and constructing a new dialogue based on listening to and respecting each other's values.

The report aims to answer questions on cultural management and the state of the field. Does management of culture and the arts differ significantly from traditional business management? What is the role of science in cultural management? In the emphasis on business and practice by many cultural managers, are arts and culture left too far behind? How do research and theory fit into training, and in the work of cultural managers in the field?

The global recession is expected to reduce revenues for cultural enterprises by approximately $3.1 billion in 2009".

This is one of the findings of "The Effect of the Global Economic Recession on Canada's Creative Economy in 2009", a report prepared by The Conference Board of Canada for the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) that measures the impact of the current recession on the cultural sector.

Are Managers doing everything wrong these days? A plea for goal-oriented leadership and sensible management, written on the centennial of Peter F. Druckers birth in 1909.

Our society has changeddramaticallyover the past few decades. We talk about it all the time in the context of business (flattening), government and politics (opening), and community (connecting). But what about arts, humanities, and culture?