ACORNS 366: Governance and Infrastructure for arts and culture to thrive

IFACCA - International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies,
21 August 2017, International

With this edition of ACORNS, we introduce Magdalena Moreno Mujica, IFACCA’s new Executive Director.  ‘I am honoured to take on the stewardship of this great institution to lead its next phase.  IFACCA has a trajectory of 16 years established at a time when the tools for connecting with colleagues from around the world were limited.  The communication and digital landscape has changed dramatically since then as we find new ways, more readily, to connect with each other. These days, political, economic and social shifts present a range of challenges and opportunities. In this sense, IFACCA is a platform to engage with colleagues, to test ideas, to come together and share experiences and learnings, and be part of an international community that understands and highly values role of public support and advocacy in the arts and culture. In addition, IFACCA’s role is to provide a level of thought leadership with an international overview and make that available through our monthly ACORNS.  With this message, I also pay tribute to Sarah Gardner, IFACCA’s Founding Executive Director, for her vision, dedication, hard work and commitment.’

This editorial highlights major news in institutional frameworks and infrastructure in the arts and culture.  Firstly, we congratulate Minister Ottone and the National Council for Culture and the Arts, as Chile’s Congress unanimously approves the bill to create the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and Heritage. ‘This is a historic moment for Chile. The approval of this project is the culmination of a long-standing process, which will finally allow us to have a solid, coordinated and decentralized institutional framework’, said Minister of Culture, Ernesto Ottone. The process considered in-depth civil society consultation and a dedicated Indigenous Consultation in 2014-2015. 

While a week earlier, the State Cabinet of Karnataka approved a state cultural policy, the first in India to have such a comprehensive policy, aimed at promoting Kannada culture and language. In Antigua and Barbuda, Minister Greene announced that Protrade Consultancy (Jamaica) would lead the newly created National Cultural Policy project to bring Antiguans and Barbudans closer toward the realisation of a cultural renaissance. And in the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) calls for project partners in the promotion of cultural heritage and arts and anchored mainly on the NCCA vision of “Filipino culture as the wellspring of national and global well-being.”

On cultural infrastructure, we congratulate our colleagues at the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces for DOKK1 winning the international ‘Systematic – Public Library of the Year 2016’ award as the best public library in the world. Minister for Culture Bertel Haarder stated:  ‘Dokk1 is an unusually successful encounter between two beautiful Danish traditions: On one hand, our cultural ambitions to open up all branches of knowledge to every generation and social class and, on the other hand, our sense of functional and beautiful design. Dokk1 is an excellent example of how you create visionary and modern architecture that takes into account the library’s many, diverse tasks and digital opportunities.’ DOKK1 is located in Aarhus, where IFACCA’s European Chapter meeting will take place in September 2017.

In Rwanda, the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda (INMR) has embarked on revamping museum structures and service packages to be able to double the current revenue from cultural tourism and increase audience visitation. The director of the institute, Robert Masozera, stated that statistics show that at least between 180,000 and 200,000 people visit the eight museums per year while the number was not more than 1,000 before the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi adding that until 2003, there was only one museum. Similarly, in Samoa, Minister Loau Keneti Sio reveals plans for a Cultural and Arts Centre that will serve as a library, opera house, artistic exhibition hall and recreational zone in Malifa.  In Kosovo, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has committed to investing in three capital projects with the Municipality of Gjilan for the renovation of the Hall of House of Culture in Llashtica, the Hall of the House of Culture in Zhegër and the Hall of the House of Culture in Përlepnicë.  While in Afghanistan, Acting Minister Sayeda Muzhgan Mostafavi in a meeting with the Parwan governor, Mohammad Asem Asem, said a documentary package should be made from Parwan historical and cultural sites to raise world awareness of the country’s heritage.  And finally in the USA, ArtBuilt has partnered with The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) to provide affordable long-term leases for arts-based work spaces, as this is one the greatest obstacles that artists are currently facing while living in New York City.

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