The ”Alternative Culture” project aims to improve the Status of the Artist in Romania
Article published on 28-08-2018
Source: Press release "Flower Power" Cultural Association
Update: The regional debates on the Status of the Artist in Romania have started!Between April 2018 and July 2019, the "Flower Power" Cultural Association (NGO) runs the "Alternative Culture" project, selected for funding under the 2014-2020 POCA, co-funded by the European Union, from the European Social Fund.
The project aims to strengthen the capacity of NGOs and relevant cultural stakeholders to initiate, promote, implement and monitor public policies adapted to the current cultural context in Romania, in order to improve and synchronize it with the European and international cultural environment and to formulate an Alternative Proposal on the Status of the Artist in Romania.
The first way to evaluate the perception of the effects of current legislation by artists was the national
opened survey on the project website,
https://statutulartistului.ro The survey in a form of a questionnaire is the first of its kind available to all artists and cultural operators in Romania, regardless of the artistic field in which they express themselves.
Simultaneously with the completion of the survey, coordinated by sociologist Ionela Şufaru, the team is working on the comparative study about the condition of the artists in five countries in Europe. The study analyzes and compares the conditions in which the cultural and artistic market operate and are regulated in France, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.
The qualitative study is conducted by Corina Andrei, Doctor of Political Sciences and will include not only the data and analysis of the cultural landscape in the respective countries, but also case studies, interviews with artists and cultural operators living in these countries. The purpose of the study is to provide models of good practice and to provide data on various methods of supporting and improving the condition of the artist in other European countries.
The project team is currently working on the preparation of the next stage of the project: the creation of a virtual communication network between the cultural environment and the civic environment, and the organizing of a few specialized meetings with artists in the country, in order to identify the specific needs of the main cultural fields in Romania. These are the two methods proposed by the "Alternative Culture" project to achieve one of the specific objectives Developing mechanisms to strengthen social and civic dialogue.
The creation of the virtual communication network will start by organizing a series of webinars where various topics of interest will be discussed for all the representatives of the artistic and civic area. Webinars will have as invited guests specialists in various cultural fields that can offer a picture of the cultural environment and administrative aspects of the cultural area at this time. Webinars will be broadcasted online, on the website of the project. Those who enroll in the webinar will be able to ask live questions through the technical means provided by the project platform. They will then be able to enter into dialogue with the invited specialists and thus be actively involved in the project activities.
The second step in facilitating social dialogue will be meetings at the discussion table. The facilitator of the meetings will be the theater director Adriana Zaharia, a social dialogue facilitation expert in the "Alternative Culture" team. The meetings will create the necessary framework for the communication of the artists from different cultural domains, on the issues specific to their field of activity. There will be five meetings dedicated to Visual Arts, Music, Dance and Choreography, Theater and Film, Television and other arts. Each meeting will give 20 invited artists the opportunity to participate in debates and make proposals. Meetings will be held in the following cities: Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj, Iași, Târgu Mureș. The needs of the artists in each field will be discussed, their proposals and their observations on improving the working conditions, freedom, mobility and social protection of independent artists.
The "Alternative Culture" project has appeared in response to the need to improve the socio-professional status and condition of the creator in Romania, following the participation of the ”Flower Power” Cultural Association in 2016 at the consultations organized by the Ministry of Culture and National Identity for the Romanian Cultural Strategy 2016-2020. Among the general objectives formulated in this strategy is the ”Improvement of socio-professional status and the condition of the creator”. "Elaboration of cultural measures and policies contributing to the development of a favorable environment to the freedom of artistic expression and ensuring the material conditions for facilitating the expression of creative talent are necessary to ensure a prominent role of culture in society. The Recommendation on the Condition of the Artist (UNESCO - Belgrade, 1980), the Final Declaration of the World Congress on the Application of Recommendations on the Condition of the Artist (UNESCO - Paris, 1997) and the Conference on Policies for Development in Culture (UNESCO - Stockholm, 1998) are only a few landmarks which indicate the need to clearly define all rights deriving from the creator's social function, as well as the rights and freedoms of every citizen (moral, economic or social security etc.), including by creating material and social conditions to facilitate the expression of creative talent." (page 108, National Strategy for Culture and National Heritage 2016-2020).
In June this year, UNESCO announced the launch of a global study by November 23, 2018 on policies and measures taken around the world to support the economic and social rights of artists. As stated in the UNESCO Global Report of 2018 on Reforming Cultural Policies, "the employment and social status of the artist continue to be precarious, with low access to social security, pensions, and other social provisions”. The Recommendation adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 1980 invited governments to improve the professional, social and economic status of artists by implementing policies and measures related to training, social security, employment, income and taxation, mobility and freedom of expression.
The UNESCO poll is a positive impetus for the Alternative Culture project team and one more reason to invite artists and cultural operators, as well as public cultural institutions, to participate in the activities and meetings proposed by the project, in Bucharest and in other cities in the country, in support of identifying and adopting concrete measures to improve the condition of artists in Romania.
