KPY is the cultural policy and management research centre of Istanbul Bilgi University. Since 2008, the
centre has been publishing a series of academic yearbooks, which discuss contemporary issues of
cultural management and cultural policy development in Turkey. Each publication however puts a
specific focus on mutually influencing cultural trends and developments in the neighboring EU and
Balkan countries, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus as well as the Arab world.

For its forthcoming edition the KPY Cultural Policy and Management Yearbook calls for the submission of
academic articles and book reviews in any field of cultural policy and cultural management research or
any other academic discipline relevant for the cultural field.

For the topical Dossier of the 4th edition, which is titled Cultural Changemakers Against the Grain the
editors request academic papers, but also essays or reflective commentary discussing new cultural
players, management practices and policy challenges recently emerging across Europe and its entire
neighborhood.

For the past few years, positive effects and challenges of the economic boom in Turkey, the financial
and socio-economic crisis which causes new political disputes in the EU countries as well as the
revolutionary turns in the neighboring Arab countries have had a profound impact on the cultural
sector. Fresh forms of creative social initiative and new political activism movements have popped up all
over the world. Fast progress in information technologies underpins a new digital culture of sharing
dissatisfaction and voicing protest. Numerous cultural actors in the Arab countries which previously only
operated as individuals have started to use some of their new liberties for establishing new cultural
initiatives and organizations.

In Europe, different groups of society feel increasingly marginalized in economic terms and excluded in
terms of actual participation in decision-making and hence have started to experiment with new cultural
practices of re-inventing community life. Severe cuts in public spending call for alternative funding
mechanisms and citizens become more and more aware that new forms of democratic governance and
participation need to be tested.

While Europe as a cultural project seems to have lost a lot of its appeal for Turkey, new civic and political initiatives on EU policymaking level challenge the growing Euroskepticism among citizens and actually advocate for more Europe. Some argue that Europe’s fading role as a soft power on global level needs to be counterbalanced with integrating more cultural aspects in EU foreign policies.

Today ‘Arts Management in Turbulent Times’ (Dragicevic-Sesic & Dragojevic, 2005) is not exclusively concerning so-called transition countries or emerging markets anymore. Political turbulence, new socio-economic complexities and a large hybridity of new players, structures and policy ideas represents a key challenge for the entire ‘Emerging Cultural Continent’ (Ada & Ünsal, 2009) of Europe and its neighborhood, and for Europe. The 4th topical Dossier of the KPY Yearbook series calls for submissions which share fresh observations, academic analysis and insightful commentary on new cultural phenomena in this field and go somewhat against the grain of European mainstream discourse on cultural development, arts management and policy development.

Papers might reflect on:
· Culture and social change; culture and political change, cultural activism, art activism, media activism, creative forms of political activism
· Culture and creative social movements, Culture and social entrepreneurship, leadership and managing in new cultural organizations, and alternative funding mechanisms (crowd-sourcing, cooperatives, etc.) Deadline for abstracts

http://kpy.bilgi.edu.tr/site_media/files/Yillik_2012_Makale_ENG.pdf