Dear friends and partners of EDUCULT,

When was the last time that you have been visiting a theatre, a concert or a dance performance? When did you exchange directly with other people in an artistic setting or on the artistic experience you just had together? The cultural behavior of people has changed and probably we cannot exclude ourselves from this observation. Artists and cultural institutions are currently feeling this very strongly. A brilliant “return of the audience” is yet to come. However, in discussions with stakeholders, we can see that there may be a great demand in the area of working with schools already or in the nearer future. The desire for cultural activities for students and the need for creative engagement grows through continuous socially and emotionally stressful situations. The contribution of artistic activity and experience can be quite relevant here. In order to come to effective implementations, a stronger exchange between the societal sectors is needed. It is no longer just a question of linking culture and education. Mental and physical health, media, environment and urban development are equally important for an overall concept of cultural education. An overall concept that then also needs the entire public support and does not have to make do as a stepchild in the cultural sector with the crumbs left over from “adult culture” in terms of attention and funding. It is an indictment of our societies today that we have not managed to attach more importance to this. At least, there are a lot of organizations that aim to make a change here. We are lucky that we could work together with some of them in the last months. Some of the projects are teased in this newsletter. Enjoy reading and exploring further!

 

Your EDUCULT Team 

 

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT TALKS introduces people with diverse backgrounds.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT PUBLISHES informs about current publications

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

 

Wimmer’s Quarterly

About the Value of Art

On what basis should artists be paid? In free-market societies, the answer would be: According to the principle of supply and demand. If artists produce sought-after products and services, then they will earn high revenues or be well compensated. If, however, they produce art that does not interest anyone, then the income that can be earned from it will probably not be very high either. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Action

Spring Academy

From 10 to 16 March 2022, workshops, lectures with experts and virtual visits to cultural institutions took place on behalf of Kōbe University / Japan, offering students a varied journey through Vienna’s cultural landscape. We took an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities that cultural practitioners face due to constant social change and compared the different frameworks and conditions for success in Vienna and Kōbe. We would like to thank all the speakers and participants for the exciting insights and discussions! [read more]

New Pathways for German-Turkish Youth Exchange

At the end of the year, the project entered its final phase. All data collected (interviews with stakeholders, employees and participants, observations at events, quantitative questionnaires) were triangulated with each other, and the results were incorporated into a final report. A final presentation took place at the beginning of March, in which the results and associated recommendations for action were once again communicated in a collected form. [read more]

work::sounds – Klangbilder der Arbeitswelt 2020/21

After several postponements of the studio workshops due to the pandemic, whose implementation is essential in presence mode, we may now make up for them in March and April 2022 and look forward to the creative work of nine Viennese school classes at Theater AKzent! Together with the artists nita. studio für visuelle Gestaltung and Ines Kolleritsch, we will devote ourselves to sounds and images from various companies and from the students’ everyday home schooling. We are looking forward to the resulting video clips and music tracks! [read more]

OeAD “More than Bytes – Cultural Education and digital Media”

At the end of 2021, the evaluation of the OeAD’s “More than Bytes” program was completed. The evaluation has clearly shown that arts education projects can contribute to the acquisition of digital media skills. The results were presented to the OeAD representatives and discussed together. [read more]

URB_ART

In March, the second project step, the “URB_ART Storybook: A Compendium of Storytelling Resources,” was published. Here, the URB-ART consortium has gathered twenty success stories from a range of transdisciplinary and multilingual Urban Arts Education providers and projects and put them together to share with a wider audience. At the same time, the next step, the “In-Service Training Package” is already under way. At a Learning Teaching and Training Event, which will take place in Lisbon from April 28-30, 2022, this will be tested practically for the first time and afterwards a partner meeting will be held to plan the further steps of the project. [read more]

The Art of Teaching

After the first Transnational Project Meeting in Ljubljana, the partners of the consortium, which EDUCULT is part of, offer various workshops on the topic of “Theatre pedagogical elements for the classroom”. These take place online and are aimed at teachers, educators and other people who are interested. The first workshop is on the topic of “Emotions Matter”, where activities and games are presented that help to exchange with students and to deal with a “chaos of emotions” in the classroom. [read more]

 

 EDUCULT Talks

Orwa Saleh is an oud player and devotes himself mainly to (contemporary) jazz in the Viennese music scene. The last exhibition “Die Wiener Jammerei” of EDUCULT’s Salon der Kulturen was musically accompanied by him. The musician was born in Syria, where he studied at the Higher Institute of Music, amongst other places, as well as at the National Conservatory in Lebanon. In 2012 he moved to Austria, first to Linz and later to Vienna. EDUCULT talked to him about his life and in Europe, in Austria and in Syria. Available as a written interview in English and German and as a Podcast in German. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Exchange

D/Transformation – Diversity in decision-making positions in the cultural sector

D/Arts – Project Office for Diversity and Urban Dialogue invites to the two-part event D/Transformation: World Café / Keynote + Panel Discussion on 31 March 2022, 4-9 pm CET. Society is more diverse than the cultural sector. This event focuses on the necessary transformation of cultural institutions from within. How do programmes and contents change when attitudes critical of discrimination and diversity are anchored at staff level? What measures are needed to strengthen diversity-sensitive perspectives in decision-making positions? And how can these processes be promoted at a cultural policy level? Using examples from the national and international cultural sector, we will discuss how discriminatory structures can be identified and diversity processes implemented. The Keynote and two stations of the World Café will be held in English. [read more]

Status of mexican artists in Vienna: oportunities and challenges

In the event, which will take place on 4 April, 7 pm at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Vienna, Mexican artists from different creative backgrounds and regions within Mexico will share and discuss on their artistic life in Austria. What brought these artists to Austria? What is it about cultural life in Vienna that makes them want to stay? In this panel discussion there will be a dialogue amongst three artists living in Vienna that will share on the opportunities of artistic development in Austria but also on the difficulties as foreign artists or creatives. The event will be held in Spanish and English and moderated by Cristina Peregrina Leyva, who is currently working at EDUCULT.

Screening and Discussion: Artistic Freedom under attack: Resistance and Resilience

Together with the filmfestival “This Human World” and the Arts Rights Justice Austria network, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO invites you to a discussion and screening of “A Night of Knowing Nothing” (Payal Kapadia, 2019) at Top Kino (Vienna) on 7 April, 7:30 pm. The focus will be on current developments in Ukraine and India. With Sarita Jenamani (Pen Austria), Dariia Kuzmych (artist), moderated by Cristina Peregrina. The event will be held entirely in English. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Publishes

SoPHIA

Upon finalising the SoPHIA model, a toolkit was designed for assistance in its implementation. In addition, four policy briefs were also produced, with the purpose to influence policymakers on problems identified through the project’s research, along with clear recommendations. They covered the social, economic, cultural and environmental impact of cultural heritage interventions. As part of the project, guidelines for an action plan on future actions regarding cultural heritage impact assessments was also produced for policymakers, along with an analysis of the research agenda and needs within the impact assessment realm in Europe. The consortium met for the project’s final conference in Rome, in December 2021. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Informs

Publication: Audience in Central Stage

ASSET, which stands for Audience Segmentation System in European Theatres, is an international cooperation and research project involving seven partners from across Europe, supported by the Creative Europe Programme from 2018 to 2021. In the final report, different European cultural institutions in the field of theatre and their relationships with their audiences will be examined in more detail and approaches to diversification will be further developed. [read more]

Publication: Culture Action Europe: Culture in the EU’s National Recovery and Resilience Plans

This publication, developed by Culture Action Europe and its membership, offers an overview of the place of culture in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) of the Member States of the European Union. In 2020, as an immediate response to the pandemic crisis the EU institutions adopted an one-of-a-kind stimulus package, called Next Generation EU, (NGEU), to boost the recovery of the continent. The core component of this envelope, called Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is channeled to EU Member States between 2021 and 2026 to better cope with the pandemic fallout and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better equipped for the green and digital transitions. This brief overview aims at analysing what types of investments and reforms (if any) are contained in the NRRPs directly supporting Europe’s cultural ecosystem, which has been among the most affected by the long crisis and the subsequent containment measures. [read more]

Trans Europe Halles Conference in Prague

The TEH 2022 international conference will take place on 26-29 May 2022 at Studio ALTA in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme of this year’s conference is “Cultivation”: “What does cultivation mean to us? First of all, it is about listening and learning to consider our actions within our ecosystems and sustain healthy environment so that its individual components can function.” The programme of the conference consists of four fundamental sections: “Symbiotic Programming”, “Space is the case is the space is the case”, “We should care about each other”, and “Utopia, really?”. [read more]

Video recording and publication: Reconstruction and Sustainability of Culture in Times of the Pandemic

Culture has been suffering the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic for two years – Europe wide. And yet not much is known about how our neighbours are dealing with this crisis. Doesn’t cultural reconstruction succeed better if we know and learn from each other’s respective ideas and strategies? What is the role of sustainability and what is the responsibility of civil society? Stiftung Genshagen discussed these questions with panelists from France, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal and Germany in three online events in autumn 2021 and talked about approaches to solutions. As an outcome next to video recordings there is a digital publication, which includes the results of the panel discussions. [read more]

Hybrid conference: WALK THE LINE – FAIRNESS FOR THE INDEPENDENT PERFORMING ARTS IN EUROPE

With the conference “WALK THE LINE – FAIRNESS FOR THE INDEPENDENT PERFORMING ARTS IN EUROPE” on 25 March 10 am – 5 pm CET, the European Association of Independent Performing Arts focuses on various European fairness processes and tries to take stock: Which processes regarding ‘fairness’ have emerged in Europe? How do they differ, what are their similarities? How far advanced are these processes in the respective countries and what can other nations learn from their experiences? What types of processes are there? But also: Which political developments endanger the free performing arts scene and what do these movements say about the appreciation of democratic and European values in their countries? International guests will report from their countries, present best practice models, and provide an overview of both positive and negative developments for the independent performing arts sector. The conference can be attended live by 80 participants in Vienna, as well as via live stream. The conference will be held in English. [read more]

Promoting the Inclusion of Europe’s Migrants and Minorities in Arts and Culture

The report published by the Migration Policy Institute which draws on interviews with cultural professionals from 11 European countries, explores approaches to strengthening the participation of migrant and minority communities in arts and culture, with potential benefits for immigrant integration outcomes, social cohesion, and the vibrancy and sustainability of cultural institutions. It examines migrants’ and minorities’ inclusion on three levels: as visitors of cultural venues and consumers of art, as featured artists and performers, and as leaders and staff within cultural institutions. [read more]

 

Dear friends and partners of EDUCULT!

In the last mailing, we inadvertently included the wrong date of the vernissage in the first line of body text. We ask for your understanding and send you herewith the corrected invitation.

We invite you to the opening of the exhibition „Die Wiener Jammerei“ on 17 November 2021 from 7:00 p.m. at the EDUCULT premises in Q21 of the MuseumsQuartier Wien in compliance with the 2G rule!

In the new exhibition as part of the Salon of Cultures, the visual artists Koloman Kann, Julia Bugram, Lani Kotz and Samuel Linus Gromann will enter into an artistic discourse on “The Viennese Yammering” under the curatorial direction of Osama Zatar. The exhibition opening will be accompanied musically by a concert by Orwa Saleh.

We look forward to an evening of yammering and whining together!

 

Salon of Cultures:  “Die Wiener Jammerei” (“The Viennese Yammering”) – The Art of Whining and Complaining

Opening: 17 November 2021, 7 pm – Concert: 7:30 pm by Orwa Saleh

Exhibition: 18 November 2021 – 15 May 2022

Location: EDUCULT, Q21 (at MuseumsQuartier Wien), Museumsplatz 1/e-1.6, 1070 Wien (Staircase behind the glass door in the main entrance, to the right of Café Daily – 3rd floor)

 

Artists: Julia Bugram, Samuel Linus Gromann, Koloman Kann, Lani Kotz and Orwa Saleh

Curation & Artistic Direction: Osama Zatar

Greetings: Oliver Löscher & Marlene Kalnein / EDUCULT

More Information: Facebook/Instagram/Website

 

Free admission!

We would like to thank the Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien (MA7), Abteilung Stadtteilkultur und Interkulturalität for their financial support of this event!

 

COVID-19 regulations

The 2 G rule applies to participation in on-site events: attendees must be vaccinated or convalescent. Vaccinated persons must bring a vaccination certificate, persons who recovered from a COVID-19 infection must be able to show a medical confirmation or a certificate of segregation. In addition, proof of identity must be shown upon entry.

We must also point out that prevention measures are subject to change.

People who are ill, feel ill or are not sufficiently healthy are asked to refrain from the event for safety reasons.

Dear friends and partners of EDUCULT,

We were always researching it, but now we have experienced it first hand: Implementing physical events in times of Covid-19 is no fun at all. A fortnight ago, our long-running Salon der Kulturen series took place at the MuseumsQuartier, with people once again on location. It included a panel discussion, two stand-up comedians and the vernissage of three female artists, all focused on the theme of art and language. This required a well-organised admission regime, masks during the event, and, unfortunately, prevented us from having an open buffet. Nevertheless, we are glad that a piece togetherness could be felt.

Projects that want to create a physical social space are having an especially hard time at the moment, as we know. We are all the more impressed by large-scale projects that once again allow audiences and participants on site and in some cases achieve remarkable things. For example, the Foyer Public at Theater Basel opened for a few weeks before the summer break. This had actually been planned for the start of the season in autumn 2020. Now it has finally become reality. Although the number of visitors is still limited, it is open to the city community. Dance activities, theatre groups, hip-hoppers, older and younger people, workers and coffee drinkers come together. It is a statement. It wanted to create a community space even before the pandemic, which today seems even more urgently needed. “Vermittlung” becomes a game changer.

It seems a stroke of luck that now, for the first time, the Vienna State Opera is also ending a season with convincing mediation projects created in cooperation with community arts organisations. The young people involved speak of how participation in the project has brought them optimistically through the period of isolation and saved them from despair. We have not had such good evidence of the social impact of community arts activities for a long time. For those of us who research and evaluate such projects, criteria also emerge as to what constitutes good projects and what conditions exist for such effects to unfold. These factors should be strengthened—now more than ever.

Have a good summer!

Your EDUCULT Team

 

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT TALKS introduces people with diverse backgrounds.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

 

Wimmer’s Quarterly

It’s Me, Your Non-Visitor

How do you feel when you are addressed as a typical “non-visitor”? Are you missing something, do you feel deficient, do you feel addressed at all? Or are you actually proud of it? However you feel about this attribution, as a non-visitor you are in good company. You share this label with the vast majority of the population. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Action

URB_ART

The project aims to support adults from socio-economically disadvantaged communities through activities and concepts of urban arts education. As a first step, a survey was conducted inviting cultural educators, artists and others to share their perspectives on urban arts education, urban marginalisation and language. A standardised questionnaire, interviews and focus groups will be used to gather insights on which further project activities will be based. [click here for the survey] [read more]

SoPHIA

EDUCULT has been leading the current working package of the SoPHIA research project since September 2020. A central part of this work step was the virtual SoPHIA Stakeholder Conference, which brought together around 240 experts from 54 countries over two days: researchers, practitioners and political decision-makers. Representatives of the Austrian case studies – the MuseumsQuartier Wien and the Jewish Cemetery Währing – were also present at the conference and presented their examples to an international audience. The findings from the conference will be incorporated into the development of the SoPHIA impact assessment model. [read more]

Digital Exhibit Salon of Cultures “Wos host g’sogt?”

In the frame of Salon of Cultures Ukrainian painter Oksana Zmiyevska, Israeli photographer Inbal Volpo and Chinese visual artist Yun Wang engaged in artistic discourse and presented their works. At the vernissage, Syrian artist Saad al Ghefari and Hungarian comedian Tamas Vamos also shared stand-up comedy with the audience. The exhibit is curated by Osama Zatar. [read more]

Schalom Aleikum

The Schalom Aleikum project was initiated by the Central Council of Jews in Germany and has been implemented since June 2019. The accompanying evaluation of the Schalom Aleikum 2021 project began in the form of a kick-off meeting in April. Building on the results of previous years, EDUCULT has started to conduct interviews with participants and to analyze the content of the media reports and the project publications. [read more]

Theatre Basel – Foyer Public

On May 15, Foyer Public launched its first public test phase. The Foyer Public team is now applying the jointly developed evaluation tools. In combination with interviews by EDUCULT we will conduct a co-creative analysis. We are already looking forward to the first results. [read more]

Sesam

After the kick-off of the evaluation in March 2021, three elementary schools were selected that take part in the Sesam project. The project implementation will be analyzed using the example of these schools in the coming months. Initial interviews were conducted with the school administrators of these schools. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Talks

The photographer and artist Reem Jarbou is originally from Saudi Arabia and lives and works in Vienna. Between December 2020 and June 2021, some of her works were on display in the exhibition “Roots: Origin and Appearance” as part of the “Salon of Cultures” series at EDUCULT, which can still be visited digitally on our website. She spoke with EDUCULT about her work as an Arab artist, the past exhibition, and her life in Vienna. The interview is available in its original Arabic, as well as in German and English. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Exchange

D/Arts

On 25^th and 26^th of June the initiative D/Arts has been launched. D/Arts aims to support increased diversity in the Viennese cultural sector by creating a broad platform and network of actors from the field. EDUCULT has already been in exchange with the initiators of D/Arts in the weeks before the launch. At the Kick-off event at the Kulturhaus Brotfabrik in which representatives from various institutions and initiatives as well as different artists participated, Angela Wieser was also present. The fruitful and stimulating discussions at the event pointed at the need to have more specific data on diversity in the cultural sector and develop a common manifesto that summarizes the demands of the D/Arts initiative. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Informs

Horizon Europe – Culture, Creativity & Inclusive Society

Under the Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe, Cluster 2 ‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Societies’ focuses on challenges related to democratic governance, cultural heritage and the creative economy, as well as social and economic transformations. This Horizon Europe Info day on  July 1^st 2021 will be open for participation without prior registration. [read more]

ALF Intercultural Trends Report

The Anna Lindh Foundation’s Intercultural Trends Report 2020 summarises the results of the fourth survey on intercultural trends in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The report analyses the trends influencing intercultural relations in the Euromed region and is particularly intended to serve as a reference for the work of policy makers, civil society organisations and the media. Read more in the report. A graphical representation of the key findings can be found here. [read more]

Call for Papers: Global learning in postcolonial times? New perspectives of arts and cultural education

The international ENO conference “Global learning in postcolonial times? New perspectives of arts and cultural education” on October 20^th-22^nd 2021 in Remscheid/Germany focuses on “global learning” as a perspective on education that aims to take a ‘global’, i.e. holistic, multi-dimensional and comprehensive view of teaching rather than a fragmented, particular or discipline-specific way. The deadline for indication of interest to participate and for abstract submissions is July 2^nd 2021. [read more]

Paper “Digitalization in/and Arts Education”

The paper about ENO survey on “Digitalization in/and Arts Education – Opinions and Perceptions from European and Latin American Arts Education Experts” was published by Teunis IJdens (Independent researcher / Visiting researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen) in April 2021. [read more]

Invitation for next Dance Festival / Competition in Barcelona 2022

The 2022 Easter Spring Time Dance World Championship in Spain for Dance Schools, Companies and Groups from all over is ready to welcome your dance group to BE PROTAGONIST by performing dance activities in selected Theaters, with all the prerequisites for Your artistic success. [read more]

Dear friends and partners of EDUCULT!

We need to talk about our future. During the upcoming weeks and months, we must decide how the times after the pandemic shall be characterized. Ok, some people say there will be no time AFTER the pandemic, but only WITH the pandemic. We are not that pessimistic. Therefore, we want to start thinking about the future as one which is taking these changes as an opportunity for development. Still, it might not be easy to make a change in general. So, let’s start in the field in which we have something to say.

Cultural policy is probably one of the fields where actions seem inevitable. The stakeholders in the sector are facing what seems to be the biggest crisis in the past 75 years. For too long, cultural policy did not react to the changes in societies and in the practice of arts themselves. Some actors in the discipline are aware of this problem and here and there initiatives discuss possible steps towards new concepts. We would like to contribute to this by participating in the organisation of the conference “Confrontation and cooperation instead of representation – a new agenda for cultural policy” at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. It will be a discussion among peers with opportunities for dispute and working groups tackling the most pressing issues. In the field of cultural heritage, we would like to raise similarly holistic questions at the SoPHIA virtual conference we are organising in the moment together with stakeholders from all of Europe.

Another existential crisis, somewhat less intense due to public obligation for financing, but nevertheless a crisis of structure and content, is being experienced by schools. Digitalisation is only one of many big shifts they are facing currently. Would it be foolish to think about synergies when cultural and educational policy are renewed in a common concept?

Let’s stay open for even more radical ideas and see you at the upcoming events,

Your EDUCULT team 

 

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

 

Wimmer’s Quarterly

Written by Michael Wimmer. This blog reflects the personal opinion of the author.

Another Non-word of the Year: ArtandCulture

People should not have wool pulled over their eyes. In times of fake news, this demand seems at least relativized. But it has been elevated to a principle by a slang that has been rampant for some time, especially in the cultural sector. Its representatives don’t spend much time on the question of which type of wool to use, and in what form. Who cares, no one is interested in exact data anyway. The engagement with art is just not an exact science and the spirit moves wherever it wants. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Action

SoPHIA – Social Platform for Holistic Heritage Impact Assessment

EDUCULT has been leading the current working package of the SoPHIA research project since September 2020. In this phase of reserach, the developed impact assessment model is tested using case studies in all project partner countries. The MuseumsQuartier Wien and the Jewish Cemetery Währing are the partners for the Austrian focus analyses. A virtual Stakeholder Conference will take place on April 21st and 22nd, to discuss urban cultural heritage in Europe in the form of keynotes, thematic sessions, workshops and artistic contributions. [read more]

work::sounds – Sound Images of the Work World

As part of the introductory workshops, we were allowed to cooperate with the Office for Digital Agendas of the Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte Wien and discuss possible future scenarios in the world of work as well as the advantages and disadvantages of digitalisation strategies with the students. The participating young people from HTL Wien 10, HTL Ungargasse and Fachmittelschule Wien 21 also told us about the challenges of home schooling in recent months and they are currently collecting sounds and images on this topic, which we will process musically and visually in a later workshop. [read more]

SAG’S MULTI! – Multilingual Rhetoric Contest

As with the preliminary round, this part of the competition is run virtually due to COVID-19, through video submissions of speeches. This year’s main round is in progress and the participants have uploaded their videos. For a period of two weeks, the jury will decide together in intensive Zoom sessions which of the nominees will advance to the final round. The project has been taken on by ORF with continued organisational support from EDUCULT. The final round in April 2021 is planned in front of an audience and jury in the ORF studio. [read more]

BOOST – Social Inclusion in Amateur Arts and Voluntary Culture

In January/February 2021, the Baseline Survey was conducted in all partner countries. In interviews and focus groups, education providers in amateur arts and culture were asked about their experiences and activities in relation to inclusive cultural work. The survey will be published in March and then the preparations for the development of the benchmark tool will start in the form of a transnational training in early April. [read more]

Independent Performing Arts and COVID-19

After the kick-off meeting and an exchange with the Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts, the first interviews with representatives of the associations of the independent performing arts in the federal states are now on the agenda. They will be asked how they see the funding instruments working and what the situation is with regard to artistic practice and the economic situation of the artists. At the same time, coordination is taking place with the research network of the Performing Arts Fund, which is also conducting research in this area.[read more]

Digital Model Projects in the Framework of the German-Turkish Youth Bridge

The final (summative) evaluation gathers experiences of the digital model projects of the German-Turkish Youth Bridge. In addition to the final evaluation, optimization possibilities are identified and a basis for the further development of the funding program is provided. Furthermore, we focused on the practical knowledge of the project actors. Both positive experiences and challenges in the implementation of digital exchange are incorporated into the creation of a handout for future participants. [read more]

Toolkit for the Digital Implementation of Interactive Evaluation Methods

We are doing research, development and testing of a toolkit for the digital implementation of interactive evaluation methods for the Goethe-Institut Cairo. The interviews have been completed, and the research will be expanded over the next month. Digital tools and evaluation methods have been tested for this purpose. The results are summarized in a final report. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Exchange

ICCPR

For the upcoming 11th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR) “Resilience of Cultural Policy” from 23 – 26 March 2021 via Zoom, EDUCULT has prepared a contribution. ICCPR aims to provide an outlet for an interdisciplinary and international exploration of the meaning, function and impact of cultural policies. In this year’s edition, Aron Weigl will talk about “Resilience of Cultural Heritage. On the Development of a Holistic Impact Assessment Model” referring to the European research project SoPHIA. [read more]

SoPHIA – Virtual Stakeholder Conference

As part of the Horizon 2020 funded project SoPHIA – Social Platform for Holistic Heritage Impact Assessment, a virtual stakeholder conference will take place on April 21-22, 2021. The two-day conference will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to review interventions in Europe’s urban heritage, through keynotes, thematic sessions, workshops, and artistic interventions. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Informs

ESA-​Arts 11th midterm Conference – The Social Effects of Art

The ESA-Arts 2020 conference focuses on the social function and effects of the arts, a defining problem for the discipline. The ESA Research Network Sociology of the Arts hereby announces the midterm conference 9–12 March 2021 at the University of the Arts Helsinki. The conference is held in the Helsinki Music Centre and the surrounding cultural venues, in the heart of the capital of Finland. [read more]

12th SAR International Conference on Artistic Research

The 12th SAR Conference on Artistic Research of the Society for Artistic Research from 7th to 9th April 2021 is hosted by mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. This intense collaborative effort by Vienna’s three arts universities and the Society for Artistic Research provides an opportunity to join current discourses and share both experiences and insights from artistic research in a focused and interactive way. [read more]

Excellent Europe – Supporting Research Careers in Academia and Industry

This week covers four Horizon Europe programmes: Research Infrastructures, COST, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council. During the week, outlines, novelties and benefits for each programme are presented, a closer look is taken at the latest ERC developments from an inside perspective and finally at the topic of research careers in academia and industry in theory and in practice. [read more]

 

Dear colleagues, partners and friends of EDUCULT,

with the second lockdown in 2020 due to the raise of COVID-19 cases in Austria, we were prepared to go into our home offices this Tuesday. We could not imagine that there could be even a more dangerous situation why we would all stay at home that day. The terroristic attack that kept Vienna in suspense has shocked us.

We are very thankful for all the expressions of solidarity we received from our European partners of the current international projects we are involved in. Also at the ENO conference held by the Latvian Academy of Culture this Tuesday, we felt that we are not alone in our shock – not understanding why Vienna should not stay this “island of the blessed” which did not experience a bigger terroristic attack as other European capitals did in the last years. It might show us that Vienna has never been such an island – and it shows us that we should have done more to avoid such incidents.

We believe in the force of arts and cultural education as a mean to contribute to social development processes by addressing the individuals, knowing that this requires certain qualities of cultural education. More than ever this field has to be strengthened, to be researched, and to be politically supported to make a change in society on a long run. If we continue like before, we won’t reach this aim. What is about the inclusion of marginalized groups in arts education offers? What is about bringing together different groups of society? What is about cultural heritage, projects and programmes having a real impact in ecological and societal aspects?

We want to contribute to these questions so that we can finally answer them with “yes, that is all reality”. Our current projects are at least a small contribution. A selection is presented in this newsletter together with other activities and information.

Stay strong in these unbelievable times,

Your EDUCULT team

 

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT TALKS introduces people with diverse backgrounds.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

 

Wimmer’s Quarterly

On the creeping deflation of culture

The Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft Oberösterreich hosted its annual reception with the title “Courage in Culture”. The organizers did not allow themselves to be intimidated by the tightened event restrictions, but decided on a hybrid format, in which personal encounters between SPÖ politicians and artists would be possible. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Action

Salon of Cultures: Discussion “Culture and Refugees”

This year’s Salon of Cultures discussion event on November 25th 2020 focuses on how cultural institutions approach the topic of “refuge.” This includes the representation of refugees and artistic portrayal of migration in the cultural sphere in Vienna, as well as the integration and relevance of artists with refugee background to Vienna’s art scene. Due to the restrictions for events with an audience, the discussion will take place via Zoom/Facebook/Youtube. [read more]

SoPHIA

EDUCULT has been leading the current working package of the SoPHIA research project since September 2020. In this phase of reserach, the developed impact assessment model is tested using case studies in all project partner countries. In Austria, the MuseumsQuartier Vienna and the Jewish cemetery in Währing are expected to function as examples of developments in cultural heritage sites. It will be analysed what effects these interventions have and whether the developed model is applicable. [read more]

SAG’S MULTI! 2020/21 – Multilingual Rhetoric Contest

The multilingual rhetoric contest „SAG’S MULTI!“ has now been taken on by the ORF with continued organizational support from EDUCULT. The registration phase has begun and will continue until November 22. Due to COVID-19, parts of the competition will be run virtually. Participation in the preliminary and main rounds will take place through video submissions of speeches. Just the final round in April of 2021 is planned to take place in front of an audience and jury in the ORF studio. [read more]

BOOST

In October 2020 the two-year project BOOST – Social Inclusion in Amateur Arts and Voluntary Culture starts and instead of travelling to Copenhagen, the kick-off meeting took place virtually due to the COVID-19 situation. There the individual project phases were presented and discussed intensively and the next steps were planned. Now the baseline survey is being prepared and will be conducted in the next months. [read more]

Theatre for Young Audiences Frankfurt/Main

With the presentation of the utilization and operation concept to the political steering committee in September 2020, the intensive period of concept development came to an end. Over the summer, many actors were involved in the development and the project team completed the text work. EDUCULT would like to thank all participants for their dedicated support in this process. Now it is up to the political decision-makers, the architects, and the future team of the new theatre for young audiences to make the project a reality in the coming years. [read more]

ONLINE Summer Academy of Kobe University/Japan 2020

From 9 to 15 September 2020, eight students from Kobe University/Faculty of Global Human Sciences took part in the ONLINE Summer Academy in Vienna, where they dealt with the topic “Culture in Times of COVID-19: Challenges for cultural management and cultural policy in demographically and politically changing environments”. EDUCULT was commissioned with the programming and organisation of the Summer Academy and offered the students practice-oriented content through a diverse selection of speakers and virtual visits to institutions. [read more]

 

EDUCULT Talks

Sami Ajouri was born in Syria in 1980 and studied sculpting at the University of Fine Arts in Damascus. In 2006 he moved to Vienna and in 2011 obtained a degree from the Academy of Fine Arts with a focus on printmaking. His works have been exhibited in many cities in both eastern and western Europe, as well as in Lebanon and Damascus. Sami Ajouri displayed several of his pieces in an exhibit entitled “Auflösung_Dissolution” hosted by EDUCULT from December 2019 to October 2020 as part of its Salon of Cultures program. [read more]

 

EDUCULT in Exchange

European Conference: “International cooperation. How to start it well?”

EDUCULT participated in the European final conference “International cooperation. How to start it well?” of the FIRST Network in the Abbey of Tyniec (near Krakow in Poland). The aim of the conference was to intensify the two-year cooperation of the five partner organizations, to present the results and to open the network in order to strengthen the international networking of civil society actors in the field of adult education. Due to the travel restrictions in the course of COVID-19 the event took place both on site and virtually. [read more]

ENO Conference: “The Impact of Arts and Cultural Education”

On November 3 the international day of the international scientific conference “Culture Crossroads” was be dedicated to the topic “The Impact of Arts and Cultural Education: Arguments and Evidence”. Aron Weigl moderated Session 2 and also spoke “On the Impact of Assessment. Applied Research on Arts Education Programmes as a Tool for Development”. The conference was streamed online on the Youtube and Facebook profiles of the Latvian Academy of Culture, partner in ENO Latvia and can be viewed there.

 

EDUCULT Informs

ELIA Biennial (Digital) Conference

ELIA is a globally connected European network that provides a dynamic platform for exchange and development in higher arts education. From 17-20 November 2020 ELIA Biennal (Digital) Conference offers four full days of experiential conversation, workshops, walk-shops, online performances and over 40 interactive presentations and breakouts, harnessing the power of transdisciplinarity. [read more]

ANOTHER ARTWORLD: “Manifestations and Conditions of Equity in Visual Arts”

The conference “Another Artworld: Manifestations and Conditions of Equity in Visual Arts” on 3 – 4 December 2020 in Belgrade, aims to initiate discussion on principles of democratic governance and decision-making models in the field of visual arts, as a topic that has been neglected in the public and scientific discourse, with the desire to broaden knowledge and consider possibilities of its implementation. [read more]

ENO Poland Brochure: “Why Do We Need Cultural Institutions?”

“People are a special kind of animal – they less adapt to the world than adapt to the reality they them-selves create. This reality is culture.” The Małopolska Institute of Culture in Krakow (member of ENO Poland) published with author Marek Krajewski (sociologist and scholar of contemporary culture and art) “a brochure to stimulate the mind”. [read more]