December brings changes in the approach to audience when it comes to cultural institutions as part of the project of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation called Audience in the Focus of Cultural Institutions
(in the bid-book it is called ‘Beyond the Comfort Zone’).
The goal of the project is to strengthen cultural institutions in Novi Sad through exchange of knowledge, experience and examples of good practice with experts from the field of cultural management. The purpose of these efforts is to raise staff capacities relating to audience engagement and development, creative approach to project planning, as well as involvement in the implementation of the ‘Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture’ project.
The first event within these project activities is the ‘Open Museum’ conference from 4 to 6 December in organisation of the Gallery of Matica Srpska. The first day of the conference will be dedicated to making museums accessible to people with disabilities and presenting experiences of foreign experts in this field, with special exhibition for the blind and visually impaired. During the second day of the conference, experts from the United Kingdom and Kunsthistorisches Museum from Vienna will present innovations in application of new technologies in museums. The results of the ‘Experience Art’ project (Doživi umetnost) of the Gallery of Matica Srpska, which was supported by UNESCO, will also be presented.
On 18 December, the Museum of Vojvodina will host an event organised by the Museum Association of Vojvodina and Museum Pedagogues Section, with the support of the ‘Point’ Foundation and ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation. The event is called ‘Museum and Education: Cooperation between Museums and Educational Institutions’ and it stresses the importance, possibilities, obstacles, problems and examples of good practice in cooperation between cultural and educational sectors.
On 20 and 21 December, in addition to the above mentioned activities, the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation organises a workshop for managers and employees of cultural institutions on the topic of development of new and existing audience. The workshop will be held in the premises of the Historical Archives of the City of Novi Sad. Experts in the field of cultural managements, engaged in implementation of the European Capital of Culture projects, will exchange knowledge, innovative approaches and examples of good practice with the attendees, and hey will jointly develop concrete project proposals that cultural institutions prepare for the following year.
Building capacities of cultural institutions and stakeholders is one of the tasks of the European Capital of Culture project, and it will be tackled more seriously in the following years. In order to reposition Novi Sad on the cultural map of Europe, this task, in addition to investments in infrastructure, includes changes and innovations in the way projects are developed, attracting audience, and all cultural stakeholders.
