In the beautiful city hall of Gdansk around a hundred listeners are seated.  More than half of them are local citizens who have come to discuss and listen to talks about the city’s opportunities and needs, reality and visions. The rest of us are foreign visitors, bringing with us different experiences, stories of ongoing projects and testimonials from other places. By mixing local public dialogue with international participants, the conference set-up offers an interesting mix. Its strength lies in the differences in experience and the opportunity to meet.

Keynote speaker Chris Torch, Intercult/member of the board of Culture Action Europe, stresses the importance of 1) finding new audiences – incorporating the whole of society and the world; 2) the importance of cooperation – not only with the participants, but also with the artistic processes and research, and not least; 3) an engaged audience – confronting the circumstances with trust, shared responsibility and humility. The question: Who is this audience? is raised from the floor and the discussion starts.

In focussing on Audience Development , the Creative Europe program sets cultural organisers, institutions and independent cultural operators in different starting positions: What do we really mean by Audience? The synonyms abound: spectators, audience, public, citizens and crowd. What is meant by audience development and who defines it? The audience itself? The artist? Society? Is there a difference? And if we know the answer, is the public space available? These basic questions are implicit in and brought to the fore in the multitude of case studies.

Cultural manifestations and festivals with hundreds of thousands of visitors multiply throughout Europe. Trust and cooperation are rapidly converted into persuasion and elaborate strategies in the interaction between culture versus finance; between art and short- and long term society planning.

We are presented with small and large riverside case studies ranging from functional cooperation to flashy logos and power points of productively used cultural heritage. This wealth of examples shows the uneven relationships within the EU cultural scene and the vital question of how to act wisely when culture budgets are being cut down, is constantly present. Here in Gdansk the issue is the future of the shipyard area. Case studies and following panel discussions are mixed with mostly good experiences from city festivals in London, Venice and Vienna; inspiring injections creating increased awareness of one’s own opportunities, whether by the Thames, Ume älv, Danube or the Vistula.

Participation is high on the agenda and for us visitors, it’s an emotional experience to follow the work of the Solidarity Centre’s project with the local inhabitants. Their hard work in in inspiring people to take part in the process and use their civic rights shows strong enthusiasm and optimism. Poland and the city of Gdansk invest heavily in the European Solidarity Centre together with the European Regional Development Fund. In their material, facts and events leading to the creation of the centre are listed: 98 000 documents; 41500 photographs; 632 projects for children and young people; 199 conferences, etc. But only one survey has been conducted among the Poles concerning their thoughts about Solidarity. At issue is not only the matter of being consulted, but also the tradition of being listened to – or not. And also who are listened to. In the European project of enlarging audiences by getting citizens to participate, it is necessary for local politicians and private businesses to engage in cultural issues and pass them on to a regional, national and international level. The question of who defines what is no longer relevant. The initiative lies with those who come up with  good ideas. The question is how they are allowed to emerge.

The project presentation of the City Flows case shows where floating pontoons from the shipyard are converted into floating stages, sqares and bridges in the centre of Gdansk and offers a clear picture of the present: Worlds approaching each other on a small scale allowing us to grow together.

The days in Gdansk offered a mix of how to, on the one hand work instrumentally in arts and culture to engage citizens, and on the other hand work with a more defined artistic and cultural focus. Both are needed and strengthen each other. Both must get access to public money and to public spaces in political programs focussing on the citizens. Regardless of how we define the audience, the next and perhaps more important question is: do we have access to the public space? Who will invest in all these projects and who will be involved are major issues. Hopefully more politicians will show an interest in this kind of broad conferences that show us different ways of developing society.

by Maria Stålhammar, freelance producer, member of Access Europa

An example of Art in public space. Helmet painting in Maidan square, Kiev, Ukraine, February 2014.
Photo: Kataryna Radchenko.

City Flows: a model of floating pontoons turned into a floating square in the city of Gdansk, Poland. Photo: Maria Stålhammar. / In the beautiful city hall of Gdansk around a hundred listeners are seated.  More than half of them are local citizens who have come to discuss and listen to talks about the city’s opportunities and needs, reality and visions. The rest of us are foreign visitors, bringing with us different experiences, stories of ongoing projects and testimonials from other places. By mixing local public dialogue with international participants, the conference set-up offers an interesting mix. Its strength lies in the differences in experience and the opportunity to meet.

Keynote speaker Chris Torch, Intercult/member of the board of Culture Action Europe, stresses the importance of 1) finding new audiences – incorporating the whole of society and the world; 2) the importance of cooperation – not only with the participants, but also with the artistic processes and research, and not least; 3) an engaged audience – confronting the circumstances with trust, shared responsibility and humility. The question: Who is this audience? is raised from the floor and the discussion starts.

In focussing on Audience Development , the Creative Europe program sets cultural organisers, institutions and independent cultural operators in different starting positions: What do we really mean by Audience? The synonyms abound: spectators, audience, public, citizens and crowd. What is meant by audience development and who defines it? The audience itself? The artist? Society? Is there a difference? And if we know the answer, is the public space available? These basic questions are implicit in and brought to the fore in the multitude of case studies.

Cultural manifestations and festivals with hundreds of thousands of visitors multiply throughout Europe. Trust and cooperation are rapidly converted into persuasion and elaborate strategies in the interaction between culture versus finance; between art and short- and long term society planning.

We are presented with small and large riverside case studies ranging from functional cooperation to flashy logos and power points of productively used cultural heritage. This wealth of examples shows the uneven relationships within the EU cultural scene and the vital question of how to act wisely when culture budgets are being cut down, is constantly present. Here in Gdansk the issue is the future of the shipyard area. Case studies and following panel discussions are mixed with mostly good experiences from city festivals in London, Venice and Vienna; inspiring injections creating increased awareness of one’s own opportunities, whether by the Thames, Ume älv, Danube or the Vistula.

Participation is high on the agenda and for us visitors, it’s an emotional experience to follow the work of the Solidarity Centre’s project with the local inhabitants. Their hard work in in inspiring people to take part in the process and use their civic rights shows strong enthusiasm and optimism. Poland and the city of Gdansk invest heavily in the European Solidarity Centre together with the European Regional Development Fund. In their material, facts and events leading to the creation of the centre are listed: 98 000 documents; 41500 photographs; 632 projects for children and young people; 199 conferences, etc. But only one survey has been conducted among the Poles concerning their thoughts about Solidarity. At issue is not only the matter of being consulted, but also the tradition of being listened to – or not. And also who are listened to. In the European project of enlarging audiences by getting citizens to participate, it is necessary for local politicians and private businesses to engage in cultural issues and pass them on to a regional, national and international level. The question of who defines what is no longer relevant. The initiative lies with those who come up with  good ideas. The question is how they are allowed to emerge.

The project presentation of the City Flows case shows where floating pontoons from the shipyard are converted into floating stages, sqares and bridges in the centre of Gdansk and offers a clear picture of the present: Worlds approaching each other on a small scale allowing us to grow together.

The days in Gdansk offered a mix of how to, on the one hand work instrumentally in arts and culture to engage citizens, and on the other hand work with a more defined artistic and cultural focus. Both are needed and strengthen each other. Both must get access to public money and to public spaces in political programs focussing on the citizens. Regardless of how we define the audience, the next and perhaps more important question is: do we have access to the public space? Who will invest in all these projects and who will be involved are major issues. Hopefully more politicians will show an interest in this kind of broad conferences that show us different ways of developing society.

by Maria Stålhammar, freelance producer, member of Access Europa

An example of Art in public space. Helmet painting in Maidan square, Kiev, Ukraine, February 2014.
Photo: Kataryna Radchenko.

City Flows: a model of floating pontoons turned into a floating square in the city of Gdansk, Poland. Photo: Maria Stålhammar.