Curating Europe

What does it mean to study or work in the arts and cultural management field in contemporary Europe? By listening to practitioners in the field and by following workshops we will dive deeper into this subject during this winter school. But we are also interested in your opinions on this subject. We want to engage in an academic conversation. Opportunities will be provided to present your own research regarding arts and cultural management. How do we deal with employment issues? Can the cultural sector help in constructing a shared European identity? Do we even want to construct a shared European identity? By addressing these questions, we hope participants will be able to grasp better what is going on in the arts and cultural management field across Europe.

During the first two days of the winter school, students of the second year of the Cultural Leadership programme will present their research in various cultural organizations in Northern Europe. Employees of those organizations will provide background information. This is meant to provoke a discussion regarding the possible gap between the academic arts and cultural management world, and the practical aspect of working in the cultural sector. Participants are asked to share their experiences. In this way we hope to provide a basis for understanding the differences of working and studying the arts across Europe.

The final three days of the winter school will revolve around interaction. The third annual arts cultural management conference has been made part of this winter school as a result. After the first two editions in German-speaking locations, participants of the conference are now asked to join in the winter school in Groningen. There they are able to present their own research and discuss those researches with their fellow arts and cultural management students. In this way, the winter school will provide a broad overview of what is going on in different universities that address the question of what it means to work in the arts and cultural management field.

The highlight of this winter school consists of two keynote lectures of prominent people working in the cultural sector in the Netherlands. By offering a wide range of voices and opinions, and by hoping to engage with the participants as well, this winter provides the basis of understanding the scope of studying and working in the arts and cultural management field.