European inventory of
societal values of culture

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

The term ‘audience development’ appeared in cultural policy debates in the 1990s, originally in the UK. Since then, it has become a dominant way of describing attempts by cultural institutions, organisations, and policymakers to make arts, culture, and heritage accessible to the widest range of citizens across Europe. Audience development describes activities undertaken to attract, support, and engage audiences within the work of cultural organisations and make their programmes and activities accessible and desirable. It is entwined with a whole range of other practices within the field of culture, like marketing, social inclusion, cultural mediation, intercultural dialogue, and participatory arts. Since it is used widely and in many different cultural settings, the meaning and practice of audience development can differ widely. Nevertheless, it is hard to find a policymaking body in Europe today that is not actively promoting and supporting audience development.

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PARTICIPATORY HERITAGE

Participatory heritage, in its multifaceted aspects, has been a rather novel concept within cultural policy since the early 2000s. The term gained prominence in the cultural policy area with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention, 2005). However, discussions about citizens’ involvement in heritage have been present in museum and heritage practice and studies for much longer, especially since the 1960s and 1970s.

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PARTICIPATORY ARTS

Participatory arts are those instances of art practice that engage audiences in some way in the conception and realisation of artwork. Although the term itself has seen increasing usage since the 1990s, the roots of such practice can be traced to the European avant-gardes, the participatory politics of feminism and the civil rights movements of the 1960s, or even further back in history. Since they are a part of emancipatory social and artistic traditions, participatory arts are broadly related to attempts at decentralisation, participation of amateurs and non-professionals, decolonisation and overcoming the regime of contemporary art institutions. Such practices thus potentially open and expand art worlds for new knowledge, regimes, aesthetic, political and ethical transformations of social constellations, communities, and spaces of new articulation. Participatory arts can be media-specific, like participatory theatre or visual arts, but they can also be interdisciplinary.

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» NEW!» PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE

Participatory governance, as a means of sharing authority, rights and responsibilities in establishing and maintaining culture, has become a very popular concept in dis¬cussions on cultural development in the 21st century.

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PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

The concept of participatory budgeting was developed in the late 1980s by the Brazilian Workers' Party. It was first fully implemented in the City of Porto Alegre. Since then, the concept has spread mainly in South America but has also been taken up in North America and several European countries, especially at the community level. Adapted to different local circumstances, various applications of the concept helped its further development. It proved to be a helpful democratizing tool, increasing social cohesion in communities and fostering a sense of self-efficacy among their members.

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AMATEURISM

Despite coming in and out of fashion within the dominant policy discourse, amateurism has been present since the early days of cultural policy. Amateurs are those who enjoy and practice a certain skill or activity without being remunerated for it and often without being formally educated about it. In many instances, amateurs open new artistic and cultural disciplines before they become professionalised. Early radio amateurs and computer amateurs played an important role in science and technology, and the same holds true for amateurs in sports. In the cultural field, early photographers were also amateurs; early amateur theatre clubs served as the ground for the first theatrical institutions; owners of Wunderkammers and early heritage collectors were amateurs; even early cultural managers were amateurs in the sense that they were practicing their skills without formal qualifications and without financial interests. Hence, the importance of amateurs in the arts and culture is immense.

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NON-PARTICIPATION

What is cultural non-participation? One of the main challenges in the scholarly debate on cultural non-participation has been the fact that there are many different yet partly overlapping definitions for it. Most of the operationalisations of cultural non-participation have been tied to more institutionalized forms of culture: a non-participant would be a person who never attends, for instance, the theatre, concerts, or museums, be they more high-brow or more popular.

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PROBLEMS WITH PARTICIPATION

In many areas of cultural policies and activities, but also in education, local development, and urban planning, participatory processes are seen as desirable to such an extent that they become prescribed by institutions, governments, or donors. This, in turn, creates many tensions that have lately been debated in cultural policy literature.

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DIGITAL CULTURAL PARTICIPATION

Digital cultural participation refers to the engagement and interaction of individuals with cultural activities and resources through digital platforms and media. It encompasses various forms of creative expression, cultural consumption, and collaborative endeavours facilitated by digital technology and online environments.

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All

» NEW! » Jancovich - The participation myth

Jancovich, L. (2017). The participation myth. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 23(1): 107–121.

Laaksonen - Making culture accessible

Laaksonen, A. (2010). Making culture accessible - Access, participation and cultural provision in the context of cultural rights in Europe. Council of Europe. ISBN 978-92-871-6729-3

McCarthy, Ondaatje & Zakaras - Guide to the Literature on participation in the Arts

McCarthy, K.F., Ondaatje, E.H., Zakaras, L. (2001). Guide to the Literature on participation in the Arts. RAND Corporation

Novak-Leonard & Brown - Beyond Attendance

Novak-Leonard, J. L., Brown, A.S. (2011). Beyond Attendance: A Multi-Modal Understanding of Arts Participation. Washington: National Endowment for the Arts

Azzi et al. - Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies

Azzi, A. E., Chryssochoou, X., Klandermans, B.,& Simon, B. (Eds.) (2011). Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1405199476

The Experience Sampling Method & Cultural Participation

Karels, A. & C. Arroyo (2023, September). The Experience Sampling Method & Cultural Participation – INVENT Culture

Cultural Openness and Tolerance

Heikkilä, R,  Karels, A. & C. Arroyo (2023, September). Cultural Openness and Tolerance – INVENT Culture

INVENT conference Barcelona

Arroyo, C. & S. Albertí (May 2023). INVENT conference Barcelona

Digitalization and Digital Culture

Kristensen, N.N., Holla, S. & C. Arroyo (2023, September). Digitalization and Digital Culture – INVENT Culture

Cvetičanin, Petrić & Koludrović - Towards a social turn in cultural policy: A policymaker’s guidebook

Cvetičanin, P.,  M. Petrić & I. Tomić Koludrović (2023). Towards a social turn in cultural policy: A policymaker’s guidebook. INVENT publication.

INVENT Newsletter I (2021)

Janssen, S., (Ed.) (2021). INVENT Newsletter I.

INVENT Newsletter II (2022)

Holla, S., Karels, A., & Janssen, S. (Eds.). (2022). INVENT Newsletter II.

INVENT Newsletter III (2023)

Karels, A., Janssen, S., & Holla, S. (Eds.). (2023). INVENT Newsletter III.

INVENT Policy Brief I

Janssen, S., Katz-Gerro, T., Rössel, J., Cvetičanin, P.  & M. Verboord (2021). INVENT Policy Brief I. 16 pages.

INVENT Policy Brief III

Janssen, S., Kristensen, N.N., & Verboord, M. (2023). INVENT Policy Brief III – Digitalization and culture. 21 pages.

INVENT Team - Advocating for culture in turbulent times

Holla, S.M., Sirkka, O., Yodovich, N., Ben David, G., Janssen, S., Karels, A., Myrczik, E., Nikolić, R., Page Pereira, L., López-Sintas, J., Walo, S., Weingartner, S. & Zdravković, Ž. (2022) Advocating for culture in turbulent times: The second yearly report on the data scraping of online content. INVENT REPORT D5.2

Holla & Janssen – Cultuur in turbulente tijden. Online petities en burger initiatieven tijdens Corona

Holla, S. & Janssen, S. (2022). Cultuur in turbulente tijden. Online petities en burger initiatieven tijdens Corona [Online petitions and citizens initiatives during Corona]. In: J.J. Knol & A. Nuchelmans (Eds.), De waarde van cultuur na Corona [The value of culture post Corona].  Amsterdam: Boekmanstichting, pp. 30-36.

Janssen & Verboord – ‘Cultuur van en voor iedereen’? Culturele diversiteit en cultuurparticipatie in de migratiesamenleving

Janssen, S. & Verboord, M. (2022). ‘Cultuur van en voor iedereen’? Culturele diversiteit en cultuurparticipatie in de migratiesamenleving [Culture from and for everyone? Cultural diversity and cultural participation in the Migration]. In: R. Kleinhans, M. van Ostaijen & K. Seibel (Eds.), De Migratiesamenleving [The Migration Society]  (pp. 101-118). Boom Publishers.

Myrczik, Heikkilä, Kristensen & Purhonen – Missing out on culture—or not

Myrczik, E., Heikkilä, R., Kristensen, N., Purhonen, S. (2022). Missing out on culture—or not: Danes and Finns’ cultural participation, the pandemic, and cultural policy measures. Nordic Journal of Cultural Policy. Online first 12 August 2022.

Pereira – L’Échonova: Music as a strategy for the dynamisation of cultural and associative life

Pereira, L.P. (2023). L’Échonova: Music as a strategy for the dynamisation of cultural and associative life

Petrović – Forty years of alternative culture in Zurich: The case of the Red Factory

Petrović, V. (2023). Forty years of alternative culture in Zurich: The case of the Red Factory

Rössel & Fritsch – Participatory budgeting: Opportunities, successes, and organisational constraints

Rössel, J. & L. Fritsch (2023). Participatory budgeting: Opportunities, successes, and organisational constraints

Sirkka & Sivonen – Perspectives on Tampere City Cultural Strategy 2030 and its legacy project Operaatio Pirkanmaa: A case study

Sirkka, O. & Sivonen, S. (2023). Perspectives on Tampere City Cultural Strategy 2030 and its legacy project Operaatio Pirkanmaa: A case study

Tomka – Spaces for culture at urban peripheries: The case of culture stations and Novi Sad European Capital of Culture 2022

Tomka, G. (2023). Spaces for culture at urban peripheries: The case of culture stations and Novi Sad European Capital of Culture 2022

Tomić-Koludrović – Inclusion through participation: The Croatian Library for the Blind

Tomić-Koludrović, I. (2023). Inclusion through participation: The Croatian Library for the Blind

Yodovich & Ben David – The Museums That make us: A case study

Yodovich, N. & Ben David, G. (2023).The Museums That make us: A case study

» NEW! » Bonet & Négrier - The participative turn in cultural policy

Lluis Bonet, Emmanuel Négrier, The participative turn in cultural policy: Paradigms, models, contexts, Poetics, Volume 66, 2018, Pages 64-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2018.02.006.

» NEW! » Belfiore & Gibson (eds) - Histories of Cultural Participation, Values and Governance

Eleonora Belfiore and Lisanne Gibson (eds.) (2019) Histories of Cultural Participation, Values and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan London. ISBN978-1-137-55027-9; 978-1-137-55026-2; 978-1-349-71541-1

» NEW! » Durrer et al. (eds.) - Cultural Policy is Local

  Victoria Durrer, Abigail Gilmore, Leila Jancovich & David Stevenson (eds.) (2023). Cultural Policy is Local: Understanding Cultural Policy as Situated Practice. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. ISBN 978-3-031-32311-9

» NEW! » Woddis - Acting on Cultural Policy

Jane Woddis. (2023). Acting on Cultural Policy: Arts Practitioners, Policy-Making and Civil Society. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. ISBN 978-3-031-11161-7

» NEW! » Delfín - Opening up cultural governance

Delfín, M. (2022). Opening up cultural governance through civil society participation. In: Re|shaping Policies for Creativity: Addressing Culture as a Global Public Good (pp. 117–137). Paris: UNESCO.

» NEW! » Vidović - Do It Together

Vidović, D. (ed.) (2018). Do it Together. Practices and Tendencies of Participatory Governance in Culture in the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb: Kultura Nova Foundation. ISBN  978-953-8224-00-3

» NEW! » Arnstein - A Ladder of Citizen Participation

Arnstein, S. P. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Planning Association 35 (4): 216-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2018.1559388

» NEW! » Wilcox - The Guide to Effective Participation

Wilcox, D. (1994). The Guide to Effective Participation. Brighton: Delta Press.

» NEW! » Mäkinen - Scales of participation and multi-scalar citizenship

Mäkinen, K. (2021). Scales of participation and multi-scalar citizenship in EU participatory governance. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 39 (5): 1011–1029.