15 March 2010

The cultural institution UNDO Contemporary Arts, wanting to contribute to the professionalization of the Cypriot cultural scene, has decided to host the project “Moving Culture”, which is a qualification program for Cypriots on Cultural Management.

Cultural Management is the organisation and management of cultural projects and institutions. It includes the development of project concepts, fundraising, PR, as well as the execution of these projects. It may also be the management of a cultural enterprise. Cultural Management is a quite new job description, which first appeared in the middle of the 1970s and got more and more concrete during the years. It met the concerns of the cultural sector to professionalize. Since the 1990s, Cultural Management can be studied at universities in Germany and the UK, and is being integrated in the study program of universities in different countries.

The proposal for the implementation of the project Moving Culture was made by Stephanie Polycarpou and Sarah Herke, who are professional cultural managers. They are coordinating the project on behalf of UNDO Contemporary Arts in Cyprus and MitOst e.V. in Berlin.

The preparation period of the project, which will have a pancyprian character, lasted two years. The official period for completing the project activities started in January 2010, while the team with the participants and the coordinators came together in October 2009. The realisation of the first two project modules, which concern the training of the participants in Cyprus and in Berlin, has already started. At the same time, activities are being set for the development of a network of cultural actors in Cyprus, and with German cultural actors. Finally, various events will be organised, aiming to present this new profession to the Cypriot public and people working in Arts and Culture.