The meeting in Copenhagen raised a lot of questions around the topics of cultural participation and cultural democracy. Organisations are all trying to rethink their role in society and how to manage the relationship with audiences and why. The meeting in Copenhagen was an incredible opportunity to learn how different organisations try to engage with new audiences differently.

The meeting started with an interesting presentation at Nikolaj Art Centre (http://www.nikolajkunsthal.dk/en) with Hilde Østergaard, Head of Learning and Education. 

They are trying to fulfil their ambition to engage diverse audiences. To achieve this mission they are trying to rethink themselves, understand how to do it.

They are trying out different methods like making exhibitions with and for young people together with local artists. The learning team works together with the curator team. As an example is the project ARTREACH – which starts from the young people’s stories.

Where people are invited to give an interpretation of the heritage or co – create with the artists.

We met Irene Campolmi, researcher at the LOUISIANA MUSEUM of Modern Art (http://en.louisiana.dk/). She introduced us to some of the challenges that the LOUISIANA museum is thinking about:

– Rethinking its strategy, structure, mission and engagement with the audiences.

– What is a sustainable museum?

– What is sustainable art?

– What is a research museum?

– How museum co-create with audiences?

– What is the museum role in the 21st century?

The Danish Agency for the Arts / Arts Council Denmark were we met Ida Brændholdt Lundgaard, Senior Advisor & Sidsel Risted Staun, Museum Branch.

The Agency carried out a national survey to understand the state of art of museum in the educational field.

What can we learn from the results to contribute to the development of cultural democracy?

Action points:

• Identify new professional skills
• Bottom up approach – focusing on processes not on products
• Finance learning partnerships
• Train teachers to use museum in a more qualitative way
• Recommendations to museum to develop educational strategies:
• People come to learn new things
• According they learning style tailor the learning experience, not based on one way of learning. We don’t have a single story

Look on their website for very useful pubblications:

http://www.kulturstyrelsen.dk/videnbank/publikationer/museums-citizens-and-sustainable-solutions/

Moreover the big questions raise by Thomas Henriksen and Marcelo Lerer (CKI & the Secret Company http://www.thesecretcompany.com/tag/marcelo-lerer/) about the role of arts in social change through co-creation with audiences and outreaching strategies.

Presenting the SALAAM FILM & DIALOGUE FILM FESTIVAL (http://www.salaam.dk/english/) and the CARAVAN PROJECT (http://www.thesecretcompany.com/caravan-method/).

An emotional ending took place when meeting with Allan Klie, Theatre director and head of project development KBH+.

KBH+ is an NGO that uses creativity to involve young people with a crime issues.

Now they are developing a project were through teaching cooking with renewed chefs they try to give them other skills to find a job o to develop their business ideas.

Why should cultural organisations be doing all of this?

The Upskill’s project 4rd partners meeting took place in Pedro Muñoz (near Madrid), from 16 to 21 October in Spain, hosted by Fundación Iberoamericana de las Industrias Culturales y Creativas. All together 22 participants has come from the partner organisations to try two workshop modules as a part of to know different best practices and also visiting some venues in rural areas knowing a bit about the actual cultural field in Spain.