In October 2016, when the Goethe Institutes "Damascus in Exile" project was launched in a small shop in the center of Berlin, it was a structural novelty that brought a symbolic space and its political significance at the center of attention, and brought together people of different origins.

Located in the village of Zverino, 70km from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Kamenov House is a place to think, write, create and live in an authentic rural environment, intended for creative people cultural managers, PhD students, academics and small-size creative teams. The House Launch day is 15 July 2018, applications can be send anytime.

Lukasz Wróblewskis book seeks to address a lack of basic theoretical knowledge in the areas of strategic and marketing management amongst those working in the cultural sector. For arts professionals from countries such as the UK - the reviewers home country - this diagnosis may seem outdated. Yet given that Wróblewskis main research interest is the Polish cultural sector, this assessment can at least partly be revised allowing for the differing trajectory of development in the countrys arts institutions in recent years. Wróblewskis book therefore provides an enlightening and empirically based introduction to the current status of Polish arts management.

How to Run a Theatre (2011) by Jim Volz is a good introduction to this field for someone currently unfamiliar with arts management. Volz addresses the largest pillars of theatre management (position types, board relations, personnel management/HR, strategic planning, fundraising, marketing, and financial management), while also referencing nuances of the job, such as competition and finding a work/life balance both with a focus on the US arts sector.

Key questions in international arts management, e.g. on the communication between individuals from different backgrounds or the role of arts managers in challenging contexts, were addressed by the group of highly-qualified and experienced participants at the fourth workshop of the Brokering Intercultural Exchange Network that took place at Goldsmiths University of the London, November 15 - 17, 2017.

For this interview, our correspondent Lisa Harborth talked to Alejandra Solórzano, a cultural producer who is working for the Ministry of Culture and Youth in Costa Rica. They spoke about the local arts sector, the unique position of concert bands in this small country and their link to the non-existing army.

Feasible visions for the city of the future are the Senseable City Lab's main topic. The SCL is one of the interdisciplinary research and transfer centers affiliated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We talked with Prof. Dr. Carlo Ratti, founder and director, about how the SCL merges modern research and creativity in applicable developments.

In the cultural sector and in cultural policy, international cooperation is taken for granted. But to be truly fruitful, cultural exchange must be on an equal footing. But what does that mean? Are arts organizations really on a par with their partners? Is it really fair cooperation they pursue? With her award-winning doctoral thesis, Dr. Annika Hampel has triggered the discussion of a topic debated still much too rarely.

We talked to Emilio Piñango about cultural policies and audience development for the performing arts. He shared with us his experiences on the differences of studying arts management in Venezuela and Europe, and how the respective knowledge can be transferred to another region of the world.

Lisa Harborth and Alexis Rojas talk about the arts sector in Guatemala and its mutual relationship with politics and society, the influence of the international art market on local artists and the personal purposes of his art.

The third seminar of the network Brokering Intercultural Exchange taking place in Zürich, Switzerland was the best gathering of Arts/Cultural Management academics, practitioners, and students I have have ever attended. To this appraisement, I have identified eight qualities that continue to come up in conversations like a leitmotiv from a Wagnerian opera.

I was in Scotland presenting at the Association of Arts Administration Educators conference with colleagues from two other countries on Sustainability and the Arts when Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords. The conference became a reminder that not only is it incumbent upon all of us to step up and save the planet. We have to lead. My online course "Greening Your Arts Nonprofit Organization" shows you how.

The 36th Annual AAAE conference was hosted by Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh between May 31st and June 2nd 2017. The fact, that the conference took place in Europe, surely resulted in several new faces. One third of the participants were so-called first timers (assumedly several of them Europeans who took advantage of not having to travel that far).

This research seeks to develop greater understanding of the impacts of globalization, digitalization, and (im)migration on the work of arts managers and arts management researchers. Different from studies that focus specifically on those who work exclusively in international contexts, this paper aims to present current research based on an international empirical study of arts managers who do not necessarily cross borders for their work and who would in most cases not even consider their work international as such.

Mexico Citys program Small Cultural Enterprises was started ten years ago to support local artists in building up their own enterprises. The program teaches general knowledge in arts management and supports artists in building up their own enterprises. Small Cultural Enterprises thereby compensates the lack of management education during artistic studies in university.

Aaron Hernandez Farfan, a Mexican actor and cultural manager, together with his company Agua Quemada Creatividad visualizes problems affecting the Mexican society, such as violence and injustice. With Lisa Harborth, he talks about the cultural system in Mexico, how politics influence it and which challenges affect the work as an artist in Mexico.

This article presents the results of a research on the opinions of arts/ cultural managers around the world regarding their profession, working conditions, current challenges, required competencies, and training opportunities. Is cultural management getting harmonized due to cultural globalization? Or are concepts and practices of cultural management more influenced by the specific national or regional conditions?

Museomix is a creative makeathon held every year, on the same weekend and in different places of the world. Elena Bertelli from Museomix Italia explains how different professionals together with volunteers and museum staff create a working space in order to design innovative mediation tools - useful to improve visitors experience, engage new audiences and help the museum staff to adopt new skills and perspectives.

The traditional ways for a young opera singer to get a job have greatly changed, given the sheer number of graduates from music conservatories on the one hand and the decreasing numbers of opportunities to perform on the other. So how can young opera singers become increase their self management and self marketing?

You have just finished your vocal studies and are ready to take on the world and conquer the opera stages by storm. But as you know, it is not quite as easy as that. The ways for a young opera singer to get a job have greatly changed. For that reason, the first international edition of our Arts Management Webinar will show you how to you can give your opera career a startup kick using everything from online platforms to social media, competitions and good old personal contacts!