Cultural field is continuously at crossroads. Although few things change in the cultural system, the paradigm of change still dominates. Therefore, what we are dealing with is an expectation of change under conditions of economic crisis, privatization of public property, political correctness, imperative of fun, etc. In such conditions changes don’t necessarily mean progress, some sort of advancement for those of us working in culture, especially if we are not proactive about it, meaning that we create our working conditions. Thus the fact that few things change isn’t a negative thing. Namely, at present, the change of system usually means its reduction, and this is visible in systems that are changing, such as educational and health system.

Reduction is the result of re-enforcement of a certain logic, a paradigm of economic achievement, which suppresses all other logics. If this really is so, then it is crazy to try to keep our distance from it, as if our own working conditions are none of our business, and to reject the logic according to which our means of work depend, and accept some kind of artistic autism. Cultural activities take place in a society, among people, and people care about many things, not just money, and it is our duty to find the thread which connects our activity with community in which we live.

A two-day seminar in Motovun differs from other seminars where knowledge transfer takes place between experts and non-experts. In Motovun seminar, the transfer of knowledge happens diffusely and all present are in a double position of both experts and users. Namely, we would like to take advantage of people’s rich experiences – of those working in culture on various position for years, who are all practicing innovative approach to resources  (always a consequence of the fact that resources are not available to them by the mercy of The Law on Institutions, or that this mercy does not satisfy them), of consciousness about belonging to a community, about the fact that we are working among people and depending on people, and finally, of internal motivation for working in culture.

What we want to find out in Motovun is what is the content of our spaces, what happens in our houses. The space without content is nothing more than an empty shell, what defines it is its content. On the other hand, the very space defines the content. Namely, the very shape of the space, its size and position determines the possible, content, that which can happen in a certain space. That is why we have previewed in the programme the time to think about ideal space, a space which could satisfy our needs based on current experiences of space usage and creation of content. The space and its content depend on available resources, and money as an exchange value through which we can acquire other resources, although not everywhere and not always, seems to be the key factor.

We need to emphasize here that all of us coming to Motovun believe we deserve funding for our projects, but our funders have their own ideas on what they would like to accomplish and these ideas are not always compatible. This is why it is very important to see what is ts that they want and how do our activities fit into their desires. Are we ready for their desires and goals? Goals can be changed and they are defined according to possibilities, needs, reality. It is our task to influence the goals formed in the public space and in that sense joint lobbying is essential. However, we firstly have to define what is the basis that allows us to start with our joint actions. What is it that connects us, what interests do we share and how they are contributing to the quality of life of the community we inhabit. Conversations on this issue should bring us to certain conclusions that should clarify what further actions need to be taken.

The program:

6 July 2012

11:00 meeting of participants – what and how are we working?
13:00 lunch
16:00 content of our spaces
19:00 spacepad – a sketch of an ideal space in culture; workshop based on the generator of the idea on an ideal space in adverse conditions
21:00 dinner

7 July 2012

10:00 financial surrealism – how to fund artistic work, how to fund cultural resorts?
13:00 lunch
16:00 what is to be done? exploration into the axis of joint exploration
19:00 conclusion
21:00 do not go gentle into that good night – continuation of the seminar by other means

Moderators: Davor Mišković and Zvonimir Dobrović

THIS PROJECT IS SUPPORTED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AND IT IS PART OF BALCAN CAN CONTEMPORARY PROJECT, FUNDED BY EXTERNAL ACTIONS OF EUROPEAN UNION.