Researching the Institutional Frame of Contemporary Art in Central and Western Europe
 

I. Project objective and procedures for fulfilling the project
 
Issue Area:
3) Culture and cultural institutions, including the diversification of arts funding and the introduction of innovative cultural policies to support dynamic and pluralistic artistic creation, distribution, and training
 

I / 1
the argument

The institutional structure of the traditional forms of „Western-type” fine arts (painting, graphics, sculpture) underwent radical transformation in the first half of the 20th century. In the redefined social context, the art of autonomous creators appeared in forms which induced institutional transformation. The role of commercial art galleries, national and local art galleries and non-profit exhibition centers became dominant, replacing state, church and private commissions. Parallel with the appearance of the so-called „new pictorial forms” (photography, film, video, digital pictures) and the „new genres” (happening, performance, installation, process-art, intermedia art, net-art), the institutions mediating the material and the symbolic value of art works diverged. Furthermore, following the Second World War the particular political-economic situation of the countries of Central Europe brought about an even more complex equation: „official” art becoming non-art came to the fore within the legitimized frames of the institutional system, while progressive neo-avant-garde art running parallel with international trends was isolated from public view, and the institutional system was left undeveloped. After 1989, the visual arts in the post-communist countries inherited an infrastructure which could only partly be utilized, and which was extremely inefficient at mediating contemporary arts to society, the international art world, the potential audience and potential buyers. As a result, the contemporary visual arts in the Central European region remain a marginalized and isolated sphere of culture to this very day; the commercial art market has not expanded; artistic theory battles against several decades of backwardness; visual arts teaching is not an integrated part of overall educational strategy. Despite this, the current standard of artistic practice is in many cases on a par with international trends. In particular, the financing and distribution of artistic productions is in crisis, as the financial resources of both the state and foundations, that is non-profit sector, are increasingly unable to support the arts, let alone inspire artistic development. Artistic activities and the associated institutional structure have to adjust themselves to the new market-based economic formations because the support from foundations and the non-profit sector is of a short-term nature and - in the long-term - it actually leads to the isolation of the arts from society and economic realities. The methods used to effect such an adjustment - marketing, financing, project management, public relations - have to be fashioned according to the contemporary arts and the region. This demands that we nurture a team of professionals who, employing new, innovative methods, are capable of achieving results in the for-profit and/or non-profit spheres. In this situation it is essential to carry out a study of the institutional system of contemporary fine arts and, on the basis of this report, for proposals to be put forward for the modernization of the system as well as the raising of a group of professionals working within the given market conditions.
 

I / 2
objective

I suggest the following project aims of the OSI Policy Fellowship for 2000:

1. Research the institutional system of contemporary arts in the Central European region. Here I am considering the institutional system in its totality, viz.: presentation spaces (exhibition halls, galleries, museums), art trade, theory (science of art history, the theory of art, art-sociology), education (schools of art and general artistic training), the role of the media (critiques, reports, cultural programs), the activities of curators, support (foundations, sponsors, donors, commissions) and the art policy pursued by the governments. Method: consultations with practicing professionals.

2. An examination of existing methods of marketing, financing, project management and public relations employed in the Western European region. The study of systems introduced to finance culture which have proven their market viability. Method: consultations with practicing professionals.

3. On the basis of the findings, I would draw up proposals for the creation of post-graduate, international training which, on completion, would go a long way towards helping professionals who have already undergone theoretical tuition (generally art history) ensure the continuity of art productions within the new economic environment, their appearance in the media, the more intensive appearance of contemporary fine arts in culture, and the broadening of the commercial art market. These proposals are targeted at the adaptation to Eastern European circumstances and needs of methods already employed in the West, and the formation of new methods appropriate to the region. The key concepts of this training: financing, project management, marketing, public relations.
 

Financing
Exhibition curators attempt to supplement the meager resources at the disposal of individual institutions. Experience shows that the business sector in Central Europe is not enthusiastic about supporting either fine art exhibitions or publications. It does not consider them effective vehicles for advertising because the potential audience is rarely greater than a few hundred. This small group comprises the artistic community and intellectuals with limited buying power; from the point of view of advertising they are virtually irrelevant. There is no way to reduce the tax base because tax and accountancy laws are not harmonized, thus it is impossible to realize sponsorship because the supported organization cannot provide anything in return. As such, it is vital to study the legal background to sponsorship and other forms of support employed in Western culture, and having done this to introduce this knowledge into the ‘toolkit’ of art managers. Any modernization of the system of support for the arts in Central Europe can only be achieved once the legislative branch has drafted additional legal regulations. To this end, professionals have to build an effective and strong argument.

Public relations
Local governments and organizations qualified by the government as officially non-profit in nature - even though they offer sponsors highly advantageous (and legal) means of reducing their tax liability - are unable to promote their interests in the business sector. Within arts as a whole the reputation of fine arts is poor; sponsors are far more willing to support theatrical, musical and film productions. The reason for this is that the majority of contemporary fine arts productions are incomprehensible without a certain understanding of the subject - and this is not currently offered by the educational system. Managers of the fine arts have to develop a rhetoric which they can use to generate both the necessary financial background for the project in hand, and of course the audience to enjoy the production itself. Regular appearances in the media are an important part of this. Experience has shown that success in preparing, realizing and publicizing projects is largely dependant on the success one has achieved in drawing media attention to the event. This is true for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Maintaining contacts with the media is not part of academic - theoretical - education; it is essential that curators master the skills involved. PR methods employed in the business sector can, with only the smallest of adjustments, be put to good use in promoting the fine arts as well.

Project management
The arrangement of every project is a complex task. Currently only very few institutions in Central Europe have separate staff for these tasks. In the majority of cases the exhibition curator conducts the art history research, carries out project financing efforts, and organizes the exhibition (handling customs, transport and licensing, drafting the technical plans, establishing the information background /flyers, captions/, PR activities /drawing up press releases/, installation of the exhibition, preparing documentation, editing the www-site and catalogue, writing essays etc.). In cases where there is a staff to assist, then the curator has to organize and allocate the work based on the available manpower and capacity. Thus project management calls for a multifunctional curator, one who has to master all the above. This is why a large number of fine arts projects remain isolated cultural events; the curator is simply incapable of carrying out every aspect of what is a very complex task.

Marketing
Part of marketing is to research the potential audience, and part to try and coordinate this audience with the demands and target groups of potential backers (local governments, foundations, sponsors). Marketing provides data for the curator. This then suggests what sort of exhibition - besides being legitimate in the given culture in aesthetic terms, art history and theoretical terms - is likely to find backers and which will reach the potential audience. Today in Central Europe the opportunity is there for the staging of exhibitions other than for purely professional legitimization purposes, although there are very few examples of fine arts displays which have managed to attract significant interest from outside a very restricted professional circle - e.g from the given society or on an international level. Marketing is closely allied to public relations and financing.
 
 

CONCLUSION

The involvement and utilization of these activities in contemporary arts projects opens the possibility that fine arts - adjusting to the changed economic circumstances - can become an integrated part of the region’s culture. The result of the proposed research project would be a methodological package of recommendations which, in training form, would provide an opportunity for curators and other professionals dealing with the contemporary visual arts to modernize the given institutional system and the work conducted within this system.

notes #1

1. This form of training is already well established in Western and Eastern culture, q.v.:  Institute für Kulturwissenschaft (Vienna, Austria), Soros Center for Contemporary Art (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Chicago Art Institute (USA), Bard College (USA), De Appel (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).
2. The above research would not start at the basic level. As general director of the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA-D), PhD student at the Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences (Budapest) and holder of the Eötvös Scholarship, I have acquired considerable experience in this area since 1994. I was a student (1997) and then lecturer at the Institute für Kulturwissenschaft (Vienna, Austria) at their training sessions in 1998.
3. I started this research project in 1997 when I put forward the proposal for the Who by Fire? project in which I also participated. (See the attached for details of the WbF? project.)
4. Several of my studies related to this research have appeared in Hungarian and foreign publications.
5. Part of the project infrastructure is already in place as this research plan is also an integrated part of the ICA-D’s official program. However, the ICA-D cannot cover the costs and other expenses associated with the travel, consultations and data collection required for the project as it does not have a research programs budget. This means it has to obtain outside funding for every research project (in the present case: travel and data collection costs). Although the OSI tender refers to individuals, the results of the research (assuming my bid application is successful) can be published immediately or used in practice within an already existing research center because the ICA-D can act as the location for organization and training.
 
 

I/3
PROCEDURE

With the help of the scholarship I aim to visit - through the course of the year 2000 - Central European countries where, with the assistance of professionals from individual art institutions, I would learn about the methods and current state of the art institutional systems. Then I will hold consultative sessions with Western European professionals who conduct training courses in the areas of contemporary arts project management, public relations, financing and marketing and are also experienced decision-makers in functioning institutional systems. On the basis of these interviews and the accumulated database I aim to establish a training methodology which would enable professionals who have undergone theoretical (generally art history) training to develop and establish - within the framework of the new economic circumstances - effective institutional structures in the post-communist countries.

notes #2

1.ICA-D would be the location for such training.
2.Should the training concept and methods be successfully established with the assistance of the scholarship, there is every likelihood that the financial backing to the training can be arranged because it is an international course, the aims of which are identical to the integration efforts of the countries in the region.

II. Time schedule

One week study tours in Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, Great Britain, once a month, to hold consultations with the following professionals
 

III. Resources available

The ICA-D has data processing and communications capacity, as well as the necessary computers (desktop publishing) and Internet facilities to prepare the research findings for publication.

The ICA-D is operated by the Public Fund for Modern Art, 2400 Dunaujváros, Vasmu u. 12. ,
tel/fax: ++36 25 412 220, e-mail: ica-d@dunanet.hu
Chair of the Board: Mr Csaba Gyongyosi (as representative of the Fund)
 

IV. Soros foundation network program(s)

The original concept of the Soros Centers for Contemporary Arts Network used to be very similar to the proposed project.
 

V. The results of the project might be applied broadly to the region as a whole

The proposed project aims to research the current situation in Central Europe and introduce innovative methods. The fact that on the whole the contemporary visual arts institutional systems of these countries are basically in the same situation, albeit with slight variations, guarantees the operability and viability of the results throughout the region as a whole. The proposed training will be shaped to the particular requirements of the professionals from these countries.