Forum for the future of culture

You can see the record HERE.

FORUM FOR THE FUTURE OF CULTURE 2023

Theatre as a public cultural institution: ideological stereotypes and pragmatism with(out) values We invite you to a joint discussion about the artistic, social, economic and apolitical possibilities of culture - and especially theatre. The second year of the Forum for the Future of Culture will take place on December 12, 2023. Guests from various professions and cultural contexts will share their opinions, perspectives and experiences in four discussion blocks entitled Theater as care for the microbiome, Davids and Goliaths in cultural diplomacy, Governance of public affairs or Who owns cultural institutions and From nations to communities. The academic sphere will be represented by Katarina Pavić, Anna Praibišová or Lukáš Kubina, who will offer an interdisciplinary view of cultural institutions and their functioning models. Jitka Pánek Jurková, who will take on the role of general director of the Czech Centers from the new year, Monika Loderová from the program department of the Goethe-Institut and Daniel Přibyl, director of the Municipal Theaters of Prague, will share with us trends in cultural diplomacy and reflect on the cultural relations of the "big" and " small" countries. Furthermore, representatives of the professional public from established institutions and non-established organizations will share their experiences and intentions, represented by Adriana Světlíková, Ludmila Vacková or Matyáš Dlab, who will speak on the topic of care and local cooperation. An important part of the Forum for the Future of Culture 2023 will also be discussions on different approaches to the concept of a national institution in a globalized and multicultural reality practiced in the Central European region and beyond its borders, and an Open Palm Forum for everyone who wants to share their thoughts and opinions on topics related to with cultural institutions. Forum for the Future of Culture is a safe space for creating a vision of an open, diverse and inclusive culture that responds to the challenges and needs of the cultural and creative industries of the 21st century. The forum was initiated in 2017 by the Warsaw theater Teatr Powszechny. In 2022, the event has expanded beyond the borders of Poland, and the co-organizers of its 2nd edition in the Czech Republic are once again Prague's Pod Palmovkou theatre and the Institute of Arts - Theater Institute. The Forum of the Future of Culture is realized with the financial participation of Prague City Hall, the EU through the National Recovery Plan and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Open PalmForum is a space for your opinion Do you "like" cultural institutions, especially theater ones? This year's Forum of the Future of Culture is a continuation of the debate on the artistic, social and non-political functions of theater, and you can actively participate! Share with us your questions, ideas, interventions or needs related to the theater as a cultural institution. You can come up with your own topic that you want to share in connection with the cultural institution, or choose from the topics that will be discussed in the individual panels of the Forum:

· Theatre as care for the microbiome
· Davids and Goliaths in cultural diplomacy
· Nations in gold and velvet
· Governance: To whom do cultural institutions belong? The Forum for the Future of Culture will take place in Pod Palmovkou theatre, and Open PalmForum will close the conference day on December 12. You will have 10 minutes to post and you can sign up in the registration form: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdAOUkKHGlnH6.../viewform

TIME SCHEDULE 8:30 – 9:00
Registration of participants 9:00 – 9:30 Start of the conference
Michal Lang – director of Pod Palmovkou theatre
Jiří Sulženko – Head of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Prague City Hall.
Artur Jóźwik – director of the Department of Culture of the City of Warsaw 09:30– 11:00

PANEL DISCUSSION I
Public governance: Who owns cultural institutions?
Hosted by Petr Fischer, independent journalist and philosopher Izabela Jasińska
Lukáš Kubina
Katarina Pavić
Zdeněk Pánek 11:00–12:30

PANEL DISCUSSION II – Theatre as care for the microbiome
Moderated by Martina Pecková Černá, head of the Department of International Cooperation
Institute of Arts - Theatre Institute Ludmila Vacková
Adriana Světlíková
Anna Praibišová
Matyáš Dlab 13:00-14:30

PANEL DISCUSSION III – Davids and Goliaths in cultural diplomacy
Moderated by Martina Pecková Černá Jitka Pánek Jurková
Bek Berger
Monika Loderová
Daniel Přibyl 15:00-16:00

PANEL DISCUSSION III – From nations to communities
Moderated by Petr Fischer Pawel Sztarbowski
Edgaras Klivis
Miriam Kičiňová

16:30-17:30 OPEN PALM FORUM

FORUM FOR THE FUTURE OF CULTURE 2022

Public cultural institution in the 21st century. What philosophical and social perspectives do we associate today with a public cultural institution, such as an established theatre, and can the New European Bauhaus initiative serve as a compass for them?

What arguments for maintaining public cultural institutions can stand up to current crises, and how should established and independent theatre complement each other in an ideal world? How can the potential of cultural institutions be better utilized by cities and communities, and what economic and legislative obstacles do they face? Answers to the above-mentioned questions will be sought by the Forum on the Future of Culture Prague (Fórum o budoucnosti kultury Praha), subtitled Theatre as a public cultural institution of the 21st century, which will be held at the Pod Palmovkou Theatre.

The Forum on the Future of Culture Prague originated from the initiative of the Polish Teatr Powszechny, which organized the first Forum on the Future of Culture in 2017 as a reaction to the growing efforts to centralize culture by the nation-state apparatus. This theatre is also a partner of the Prague forum. Another foreign partner is the Ukrainian Jam Factory Art Centre from Lviv; representatives of both theatres will actively participate in the discussions. The forum is a safe space for creating a vision of an open, diverse, and inclusive culture that responds to the challenges of the 21st century. It initiates cooperation with artists, activists, scientists, politicians, and public figures—that is, with people who shape the social imagination through a critical analysis of reality. Its main goal is to support social diversity and civic culture. The crisis in the form of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic highlighted the role and importance of culture not only in terms of its immanent value but also, for example, its therapeutic and social functions.

The program of the two-day conference will be opened on September 20 by Mária Beňačková Rišková, who will deliver the opening speech on the topic of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) and public cultural institutions. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic: What challenges does the theatre face as a public institution of the 21st century? In this block starting at 10:30, Stanislav Moša (Association of Professional Theatres), Lenka Havlíková (X10 Theatre), Paweł Łysak (Teatr Powszechny), and Michal Lang (Pod Palmovkou Theatre) will discuss. In the afternoon block starting at 12:00, Václav Janoščík (Academy of Fine Arts - AVU), Jiří Sulženko (Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the City of Prague), Olga Škochová (ONplanlab), and Maté Gáspár (Budapest Brand Nonprofit P.L.C.) will discuss from a more general perspective of cultural policies and other fields. The first day of the conference will then conclude with the Pod Palmovkou Theatre's production of romeo&julie2022 at 19:00. On Wednesday, September 21, the forum will continue with discussion groups. One of them will focus on the conditions, obstacles, hopes, and visions in the field of the economics of established theatres, while the second will deal with legislation. Both days of the program will be guided by moderators Jan Jiřík and Martina Pecková Černá.

"The Association of Professional Theatres of the Czech Republic welcomes the opportunity to debate topics that generally negatively affect artistic work in the field of live arts in the Czech Republic. Since the early 1990s, we have been forced to improvise in a legislative chaos that significantly determines our activities. We expect fundamental systemic changes," says Stanislav Moša, Chairman of the Association of Professional Theatres and Director of the National Theatre Brno. The Director of the Pod Palmovkou Theatre, Michal Lang, adds on behalf of the organizers: "We are part of Europe, and therefore I consider it important to mutually exchange experiences and think together about the direction of European culture."

The two-day program with many speakers and discussions will bring possible answers to questions about the responsibility and place of cultural institutions in the 21st century, especially theatres, both independent and state-established. During the Forum on the Future of Culture Prague, together with representatives of public administration and cultural institutions from the Czech Republic and abroad, we will focus on the social role and value of public cultural institutions in the 21st century and the economic and legislative conditions of their operation.

PROGRAM

Tuesday, September 20 | 10:00–14:00

10:00–10:15 Welcome

Hana Třeštíková, Councillor for Culture of the City of Prague
Michal Lang, Director of the Pod Palmovkou Theatre

10:15–10:30 Key note: The future according to the principles of the New European Bauhaus initiative The New European Bauhaus (NEB)

Initiative has sparked interest among various communities, as well as questions about whether it was intended as a political project, a financial mechanism, or an attempt at a movement. One of the NEB slogans states that it is a cultural project aimed at fulfilling the conclusions of the European Green Deal. Since the beginning of 2021, the triad of sustainability – inclusion – aesthetic or cultural value has become the principles used by the NEB organizers from the European Commission, as well as those who have identified with them. Mária Beňačková Rišková is co-author of the NEB conceptual document, which presents the basic theses and possible solutions to the problems caused by climate change, specifically with the help of the cultural and creative sector. Based on her insightful perspective, she will present what methods the NEB organizers use, what the project outputs are, and how to contribute to its goals. She will also talk about some forms of applying the NEB principles, the project Year of Climate Care / Rok pre klímu 2022, and the inclusion of the topic of a responsible and sustainable approach to culture in the emerging strategy for culture and creative industries of the Slovak Republic 2030. Mária Beňačková Rišková, curator, editor, and independent expert in the field of design, multimedia, and cultural heritage, member of the round table of the New European Bauhaus project, an initiative of the European Commission, coordinator of the creation of the state cultural strategy of the Slovak Republic 2030

10:30–11:30 Panel discussion: What challenges does the theatre face as a public cultural institution of the 21st century?

Stanislav Moša, Director of the Brno City Theatre, Chairman of the Association of Professional Theatres
Lenka Havlíková, Director of the X10 Theatre, Chairwoman of the Association of Independent Theatres
Paweł Łysak, Director of Teatr Powszechny, initiator of the Forum on the Future of Culture
Michal Lang, Director of the Pod Palmovkou Theatre

11:30–12:00 Break

12:00-13:00 Panel discussion: What challenges does a public cultural institution of the 21st century face?

Václav Janoščík, educator at several art universities, curator, theorist focusing on a wide range of topics from contemporary art to popular culture
Jiří Sulženko, Director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the City of Prague
Olga Škochová, head of cultural planning ONplan
Maté Gáspár, Artistic Director at Budapest Brand, the Hungarian capital‘s agency for Culture and Tourism

13:15–14:00 Q&A, discussion, conclusions Moderators: Martina Pecková Černá, Jan Jiřík

19:00 Production of romeo&julie2022

Wednesday, September 21 | 14:00–17:00

14:00–14:15 Welcome

14:15–16:50 Discussion group: Economics and legislation of established theatres