ROUNDTABLE: Culture as a Tool? Instrumentalisation and the Autonomy of Art

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Luiza Moroz is the Head of Policy at Culture Action Europe, a major European cultural network focused on advocacy and based in Brussels. She leads Culture Action Europe’s advocacy on EU funding for culture, the Culture Compass for Europe, and working conditions of artists. Before joining Culture Action Europe, Luiza worked at the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, where she helped introduce the concept of creative industries into the governmental agenda and establish the sector’s analytical and statistical framework. She has also worked on European integration in culture and completed a traineeship at the European Commission.

Luiza is interested in the philosophy of culture, cultural analytics, and creative writing. She earned her BA and MA in Philosophy from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, alongside an MA from the College of Europe.

Jurij Krpan founded Kapelica Gallery for contemporary investigative arts in Ljubljana in 1995 and has served as its senior curator ever since. Since 2012, he has been the Artistic Director of the Kersnikova Institute, developing research and production platforms such as BioTehna, Rampa and Vivarium. He has curated and led major international projects, including the Slovenian Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale (2003), and has long served as a jury member of Prix Ars Electronica (Hybrid Arts).

Since 2017, he has been working on systemic approaches to innovation design, bringing artistic ideas into innovation processes as catalysts for smarter industries and communities and for a more sustainable, safe, inclusive and ethical future. He also serves on Slovenia’s National Council for Culture, currently as its President.

Ulrike Kuner is expert in production and project management at major international festivals and theatre houses. She has successfully developed and managed EU-funded projects such as modul-dance and the EDN – European Dancehouse Network. Since 2017, she has been the managing director of IG Freie Theaterarbeit, Austrian association of independent performing arts, promoting service and information tools for freelance artists across Austria and working closely with artists and cultural policymakers on new decision-making processes, advocacy and funding structures.

In 2018, she became president of the newly founded umbrella organization, the European Association of Independent Performing Arts (EAIPA) and since 2024 she is its general manager. In 2021, she co-founded the Contact Point against misuse of power, harassment and violence in arts and culture.

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Tery Žeželj (1995) holds an MA in Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy from Utrecht University. After completing her studies, she worked as a self-employed cultural professional, primarily as a dramaturge, researcher and editor. She is currently a member of the artistic board of GLEJ Theatre and, since October 2023, a junior researcher at the Research Centre for the Humanities, University of Nova Gorica. Her doctoral research, developed through the paradigm of water, examines avant-garde artworks – especially performative formats – from socialist Yugoslavia.

Mateja Lazar is the co-founder and director of Motovila Institute, promoting international and cross-sectoral cooperation in the cultural and creative sectors. She is an expert on EU programs and policies and has been working in this field since 1997. She established the Cultural Contact Point in Slovenia and, in 2014, the Creative Europe Desk in Slovenia, leading it ever since.

Her work focuses on inclusive and sustainable international cultural cooperation. Over the years, she has conducted numerous training and consultancy activities and has been actively involved in policy-making to promote international cooperation and sustainable development of the cultural and creative sectors. She is actively engaged in European networks, particularly On the Move and Culture Action Europe, where she has been a member of both boards since 2022.