2004
ProCulture Activity Report 2004
ProCulture is a part of Otevřená společnost o.p.s.. Full version of the Annual Report 2004 of the institutions is published on http://www.otevrenaspolecnost.cz
Information and publishing activities 2004
The most important activity is providing information about arts and culture. This is supported with websites at www.proculture.cz; the sites are updated on a regular basis and an e-bulletin is sent to registered e-mail addresses once a week. The websites are designed for Czech organizers, artists and other professionals working in the field of arts and culture. They feature details on art projects run by private non-profit organizations and activities of individuals active in the performing arts, fine arts and new media; invitations to education and presentation projects such as festivals, exhibitions, conferences held both in and outside the Czech Republic; details on opportunities of getting support from EU funds, public sources, foundations, on grants and awards – both Czech and international – awarded to Czech organizations and individuals resident in the Czech Republic.
Also, the websites have become a platform for publishing documents, news, analyses as well as information on the cultural policies at the local and international levels, in particular the cultural policies of the EU.
In the summer of 2004, the websites were given the number ISSN 1214-8369 and were included into the project WebArchiv run by the National Library that aims to secure a fund of Bohemian documents as part of the national historical and cultural heritage.
While the number of visitors per day was 32 (maximum 78) in January 2004, it was some 189 (maximum 362) visitors in December, with the number of individuals or organizations subscribing to the e-bulletin were 463. In total, some 40,000 visits were made on the websites in the first year.
Moreover, ProCulture runs a closed mailing list called ArtsInfo helping professionals active in the performing arts, in particular artists, organizers, critics and agents of non-profit organizations share information on projects and activities. The list was established by the Open Society Fund Prague in 2000 as an information and communication tool for entities supported by the OSFP so that the projects supported could become more visible, and information could be distributed about the projects, which may improve their presentation.
In 2004 the mailing list was technically modified to comply with the newly implemented Act on Electronic Mail. Each of the addresses was reviewed, a filter was set up so that users who fail to check their post for a long time are excluded, and an internet interface was launched at https://webmail.ecn.cz/mailman/listinfo/arts-info-l allowing users to register, inactivate or stop the service at will. August 2004 saw the creation of a news e-archive accessible to all registered users of the list. Towards the end of the year the number of regular users was about 230, and a total of about 900 news were used for the list throughout the year.
Experts Work:
In June 2004, ProCulture began talks on the Strategy for Efficient Support to Arts between 2007-2012 designed by the Ministry of Culture, and cooperation started with the Theatre Institute. The Ministry charged the Theatre Institute with designing the document, and ProCulture assisted by proposing the process and methods of designing the document so that academics, professionals and experts could join the whole process in an efficient way. This was accepted both by the Theatre Institute and the Ministry of Culture so ProCulture went on to conclude a contract on cooperation in producing the document with the Theatre Institute. By the end of the year, ProCulture had analyzed the background documents – general texts on Czech as well as international cultural policies, legislation, general studies on the strategy, analyses of the structural and economic development, etc. (available at www.proculture.cz); members of working groups were identified – four specialized groups (theater, music, literature, fine arts), plus one umbrella group designed to monitor the academic progress of the work; the document was to be produced according to the methodology for middle-term documents approved by the government. By the end of the year a draft Strategy was produced, and in 2005 work is expected to progress so that towards the end of 2005, the Strategy can be presented to the Ministry of Culture, and later – having been commented on – it can be presented to the government, possibly coming into force in 2007.
Through an agent, ProCulture also cooperated with Agora CE – an unincorporated association – in a project called Cultural City of Prague. The major objective was to acquire as many opinions as possible of both ordinary people and professionals about the state and future development of culture in Prague. The project's outputs will serve as an important basis for plans in the field of culture in Prague.
In 2004 ProCulture cooperated with the Prague office of Culture 2000, the Administration of Czech Centers, the Institute for Central European Culture and Politics, the Council of the International Theatre Institute; the ProCulture project manager Marta Smolíková was appointed representative in the Council of Art Communities. Cooperation was enlisted with the department of production at the Theatre Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU) – in both university semesters, a seminar of grants-related issues was taught - with the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University (a seminar ran as part of the course Introduction to exhibitions and museum work). ProCulture also provides individual counseling assistance on projects in arts.
Conferences, seminars, public presentations
Central Europe Dreams, Where does Middle Europe Lay? – Zurich, 22 April 2004
An international working seminar ran by ProHelvetia that opened an extensive presentation of arts from Central Europe in Switzerland; as ProHelvetia had to cut financial support given to Central European countries, the seminar discussed the changes and specific facts of arts and culture in the region as well as the possible future development.
Networking for the Arts in Europe - Cork, Ireland, 20 to 22 May 2004
A conference held by the Irish Arts Council and Cork City Council on the occasion of Irish presidency in the EU. One of the major issues discussed was the mobility of artists in Europe. The participants included representatives of cultural institutions and international networks. Presentations focused on the activities of a number of organizations, various concepts and programs, and discussions featured the possibilities of European cooperation and culture policies. The participation of the ProCulture representative was supported by the Ministry of Culture.
Social and Cultural Diversity in Central and Eastern Europe – Prague, 1 and 2 October 2004
An international seminar under the auspices of the government representative for human rights and the Mayor of Prague, held by the Multicultural Center Prague as part of a broader initiative called the Dialog of Cultures. A representative of ProCulture made a speech in the section called Cultural Policies in Central and Eastern Europe.
Culture – Space for Investments, Prague 7 October 2004
Pannel Discussions as part of conferences and sessions held by the magazine Stavební fórum (Building Forum).
Workshop of Foundations Supporting Culture – Prague 21 October 2004
The objective of the second specialist workshop held by the Donors Forum was to inform foundations about the possible support from the EU, Structural Funds and about the current situation in cultural policy and support given to arts in the Czech Republic.
Culture in Socio-economic Development of EU Countries and Regions, Informal Meeting of Countries Ministers of Culture – Krakow 13 to 16 October 2004
A meeting of ministers of culture of EU Member States was held on the occasion of the third international conference Culture, Economy, Media with the aim to find space for informal meetings and also to introduce what Poland's experience is with drawing money for culture from the Structural Funds. The Czech Republic nominated the ProCulture representative and costs involved in her participation were covered by the Czech as well as Polish Ministry of Culture.
Culture in the Media – Prague, 11 November 2004
A speech called Criticism or Marketing was made at a workshop held by the Society of Czech Writers and the Council of Art Communities aiming to discuss the current aspects of the presentation and reflection of arts in the media.
International Partnership
In 2004 ProCulture was accepted into the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage (EFAH), a platform for cultural policies and development in Europe, encompassing private non-profit organizations from across the EU whose objective is similar to that of ProCulture. Based in Brussels, the EFAH is a member of the NGO Civil Society Contact Group, the largest European platform comprising six major cross-sector areas – social (Social Platform), environment (Green 8), human rights (HRDN), development (CONCORD), women's rights (EWL) and culture (EFAH) aiming to promote transparent and well-structured civic dialog so that it may be easily accessible, open and may respect the autonomy of private organizations.
In June 2004, ProCulture joined the European campaign initiated by the European Cultural Foundation and the EFAH; the latter addressed EU ministers, members of the European Parliament and other European institutions to convince them that the EU is a culture project as well, requiring strategies for cultural activities that may strengthen mobility, promote cooperation and encourage communication and debate.
