After a short round of presentations, the conversation has evolved around three topics:
Initially we were discussing how funders translate their aims and mission into a funding scheme, and how they gather relevant data about the actual sector’s needs. In general, they all involve experts who are well familiar with the field and have often worked several years in or with cultural institutions. Usually funding programs are built around an issue they wish to address or an identified gap they believe should be filled, and offer support for activities that organizations cannot fund from other sources. By targeting the area they have detected as problematic, their mission is defined which provides one of the reasons why applications are rejected – because they feel there is another fund available they see more suitable for the project or program proposed (e.g. at the ECF they often see resubmissions of Creative Europe projects).
While due to the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic the discussion drifted several times towards practical aspects, the second round focused more on a conceptual level. The panellists were unanimous that any definite conclusions would be difficult because of the unfamiliarity and ambiguity of the current situation. Dea Vidović for one was sceptical about the paradigmatic shift resulting from the crisis, and the involvement of the governments in the recovery of the cultural sector. Ideologically speaking values such as equality, diversity, climate and environment protection, intersectionality on the level of society might be just buzzwords of the moment, which might not be followed by concrete measures of the governments. The cultural sector became more visible and perhaps we can use this situation to do something different, she stressed. The project based logic governing this sector, has caused several systemic problems for the sector and perhaps now is the moment to re-think and initiate some systemic changes.
On the practical level, the funders are adapting by channelling the resources available towards issues they detect as those needing extra support due to the lack of systemic solutions. Focusing on advocacy skills, solidarity, dealing with new vulnerable groups, and also the cultural sector taking over the role of other sectors such as education and social care – not necessarily only as a result of pandemic – have been mentioned. Recently, larger numbers of applications are coming in, but recycling existing project proposals in response to new funding opportunities was criticized by our guests, expressing at the same time a complete understanding of the motives and reasons of the applicants.
Report written by the moderator Urška Jež.
