ECA Conference - Artist, Creativity, Society – Challenges for the Status of the Artist in the beginning of the 21st Century
The ECA annual conference was held from the 28th to the 30th of September 2007, in Sibiu's Philharmonic Hall. The conference, which was organised in association with ECA's Romanian member, ANUC (the National Alliance of Creators' Unions) with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs of Romania.
Addressed by a number of MEPs, Academics and Researchers, the conference concluded by formulating the following resolution:
Conference Resolution
On the occasion of the 2007 European Council of Artists' conference Artists, Creativity, Society: Challenges for the Status of the Artist in the Beginning of the 21st century in Sibiu, cultural capital of Europe, the participants representing national umbrellas of professional artists' associations from 16 European countries from inside and outside the EU met to discuss the social status of the artist and related matters.
Taking into account the provisions of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the Communication of the European Commission of April 2007 regarding the role of culture, we support the analyses and conclusions of the 2006 Status of the Artist in Europe study ordered by the European Parliament as it is a very important and positive contribution to seeking a solution for the problems faced by the artists due to the specific and atypical nature of their work.
We urge the EU to stress to national governments the need to adopt legislation on the status of the artist, including education, training, social security, taxation, mobility etc.
In consultation with professional artists' organisations we propose the drafting of a European charter for activity in the field of artistic creation and the conditions for engaging therein. This would guide public authorities willing to support artistic creation.
On the all-European level itself we consider the following agendas to be of special importance:
- unrestricted mobility of the artist, not only within the EU (cultural passport, blue card adaptation for artists, transfer of pension and welfare entitlements acquired, recognition on Community level of diplomas and other qualification certificates in accordance with the Bologna process);
- establishment of a European clearing house for the exchange of information on legislation and good practices concerning the status of the artist;
- amendment of the European Arrest Warrant to exclude works of art and their creation from its scope;
- enforcement of the full and complete range of authors' and related rights at EU and member states levels.
Adopted in Sibiu, 30th September 2007
A full report on the Conference is in production and will be issued shortly.
ECA Annual General Assembly – Sibiu – Romania
ECA held its Annual General Assembly in Sibiu, Romania – 01-10-2007.
Michael Burke (sculptor) Ireland, was elected to the position of President for the next two years. Three vacancies on the Executive Committee, plus an additional one created by the election of Michael Burke as President, were filled by; Zuzana Brejcha (film director) Austria, Narcy Calamatta (actor) Malta for his second 2-year term, Annette Hollywood (visual artist) Germany and Irina Horea (literary translator) Romania. Vice President Simon Pellar (literary translator) Czech Republic and Torben Heron (visual artist) Denmark, both elected last year, have another year of their term on the Executive Committee.
A Plan of Action listing ECA's priorities for 2008 and relevant budget were approved. Both are subject to revision according to funding available from various sources. The nature and structure of membership fees was again discussed. The fee structure remained unchanged but a modest increase was agreed. The Plan of Action includes the development of a Mobility Project to resolve four specific difficulties that affect the mobility of artists in Europe. A full outline of the project follows later in this newsletter.
Meeting with MEPs – Sibiu
The newly elected ECA Executive Committee and a number of national representatives met a delegation from the Cultural Committee of the European Parliament in Sibiu, Romania on October 1st 2007. Ovidiu Gant, MEP for Sibiu, led the delegation.
ECA presented the final resolution from the Sibiu General Assembly to the MEPs.
The issues discussed included the Social Status Of Artists, the European Arrest Warrant, resistance to cross-border management in line with the Lévai report and standards in art education in primary and secondary schools.
MEP Erna Hennicot-Schoepges declared that the Cultural Committee was not fully aware of the wide-range of matters of concern to artists. The Cultural Committee needs more statistical data to strengthen its position on these issues.
MEP Doris Pack highlighted the importance of the Gibault Report and how so far the Cultural Committee was working close with the Legal Committee concerning artists’ rights.
MEP Ruth Hieronymi emphasised that all concerned must make Commissioner Figel more aware of the importance of safeguarding the artists’ rights in the information society. She suspects that the EU is more sensitive to cultural industries rather than to cultural diversity.
It was agreed to stay in contact on these matters.
Finally teaching of arts in primary and secondary education was mentioned as an issue of concern. Both ECA and the Cultural Committee are to prepare to present their cases at the forums that will be organised during the European Year for Creativity and Innovation in 2009.
ECA Mobility Project
At our Annual Conference – Berlin, 2006, The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression - One Year After, a number of topics were discussed which broadly come under the heading of Mobility. Following discussions at Executive Committee meetings, it was decided to commence a programme of events to highlight these issues and where relevant to seek to address them via EU legislation.
Mobility is the common heading for all of the issues our proposal will cover, though other headings are also relevant; Competition, Goods & Services, Education, Cultural Diversity, Employment…
1. Since the events of 9/11 in the USA, we have all become subject to much stricter security when passing through airports. While we all accept that this must be the case, we are none the less baffled by the arbitrary enforcement of such security measures.
It is no longer universally possible for a musician to take his or her instrument through security as hand luggage or as seat baggage. “Mr. Cello can not buy a seat because he does not have a passport”. A violinist is ordered to remove the strings of their Stradivarius or to “…check it in”.
Musicians wishing to travel with their instruments, like us all, now benefit from more accessible air travel, but what is the point if on arrival at their destination, their instrument is damaged and they are unable to perform as planned.
We intend to seek support and to lobby for EU legislation requiring airport security (as is the situation in the US) and all airlines travelling to and from European airports, to allow all professional musicians/composers to present their instruments as hand or seat baggage.
2. Artists wish to exhibit their work in other countries or musicians travelling with valuable instruments are often required to complete a Carnet and to pay a considerable deposit (equivalent to the import duties payable if they were to sell their instrument or exhibition) upon their work entering the country. Although refunded when leaving, this practice can be an impediment to Employment and to Mobility as the amounts determined by the authorities can be prohibitive and in many cases are beyond the means of the artists in question.
We intend to clarify the practice in respect to Carnet in various European countries and to seek support and lobby for a simplification of the procedure in respect to artworks for exhibition and for musical instruments for performance.
3. The European Arrest Warrant is another consequence of 9/11. Like airport security, we accept that such procedure can be beneficial but we must also acknowledge that such sweeping legislation can have unforeseen consequences.
It was never intended by the architects of the legislation – drafted in the fight against global terrorism – that the Austrian cartoonist Gerhard Haderer should find himself subject to a European Arrest Warrant having been condemned for blasphemy in a Greek court and sentenced to six months as a result of the publication in Greece, of one of his highly successful books.
Artists cannot be expected to know the intricacies of the law in every country where their work might be shown, published or performed. The European Arrest Warrant as it is currently structured, impedes mobility of artists.
We intend to seek support and to lobby for artist/cultural exemptions from the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant.
4. As the EU expands, the region to which artists can travel to perform or exhibit their work without the need for visas has also expanded. For European artists outside the EU the reverse is the situation. Some delegates who were to attend our Conference and Annual General Assembly in Berlin during 2006 were unable to do so despite having applied for a visa three months in advance (in one instance the visa was received and permitted travel the day after the conference finished).
We intend to research the alternative models employed in third countries in respect of short-term visas for performers or artists visiting for a short period in respect of their work.
Given the scope of or intended Artists’ Mobility Project, it will be necessary to engage with a very wide range of players at national, EU and international level. It must also be expected, given the scope of this project, to implement and develop it over a three-year period, as it would be unrealistic to expect to implement the changes required in a shorter time frame. To date ECA is working with FreeMuse (an international organisation, based in Denmark, campaigning against music censorship) on the topic of visas and is in co-operating with two Irish organisations promoting traditional Irish music Irish and Irish musicians – na Píobairí Uilleann and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann on the issue of musical instruments on aeroplanes.
European Arrest Warrant (EAW)
Ludwig Laher (former ECA president) represented ECA at a meeting with MEPs – members of the European Parliament's Culture Committee – to discuss the EAW as it affects artists and their freedom to travel in Europe. MEPs Mrs Christa Prets (Austria), Mrs Eva Lichtenberger (Austria), Mrs Helga Trüpel (Germany), Mrs Erna Hennicot-Schoepges (Luxembourg), Mrs Ruth Hieronymi (Germany) and a number of their assistances attended the meeting, which took place in Brussels on the 20th of November 2007.
Ludwig Laher gave an overview of the current situation (see also the text on Mobility Project). In 2006, ECA commissioned Austrian lawyer Alfred Noll to elaborate a brief expert opinion with possible solutions, and this report was presented.
In the subsequent debate the delicate issue of religious intolerance was discussed, but it was agreed that the different national laws are not the problem in this context, but the arrest warrant.
The EAW problem was also seen as a part of the more general problem of mobility of art. Christa Prets stated that there are studies on mobility of artists, but no reference material concerning mobility of art. She will take the initiative and demand such a study.
The importance of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions as an effective tool in all such circumstances was underlined. According to the MEPs there is a worrying tendency in the EU to consider the UNESCO Convention relevant only in relation between the EU and third countries and not between members of the EU or within individual EU countries.
All participants agreed that the problem of the EAW, as it affected a broad spectrum of artists, must be dealt with on all levels within the EU and there were concrete proposals for approaches to the European Council.
FreeMuse Visa Campaign
ECA will be a partner organisation in a Visa Campaign co-ordinated by FreeMuse.
Visas are an important aspect of ECA's Mobility Project. During its recent meeting in Copenhagen, the Executive Committee met with Mr Ole Reitov, programme officer with FreeMuse, and it was agreed to expand the scope of the FreeMuse visa campaign – originally focused on musicians – to include all artists.
The first step in the campaign is a questionnaire that will help to provide a clearer picture of the difficulties currently experienced by artists. It is hoped to get a response from anyone who has had experience in looking for visas: artists, artists' organisations, musicians, performers, curators, venues, festivals etc.
ECA hopes that information on the project will be distributed as widely as possible and across all media and art forms.
The questionnaire and further information on the campaign can be found on the FreeMuse website: www.freemuse.org …you can go directly to the campaign page… http://www.freemuse.org/sw23173.asp
The questionnaire should be returned to FreeMuse during December
Other groups involved in the project are:
- European Live Music Forum
- European Forum of Worldwide Music Festivals
- WoMEx (World Music Expo)
FreeMuse – based in Denmark – is an international organisation campaigning against music censorship.
ECA Plan of Action 2008 – the Arts in Education
Creative and performing arts have traditionally been part of the curriculum in primary and secondary schools in most European countries. The arts are a basic tool for human expression. They promote creativity, intuition and commitment and also develop perception and sensitivity.
Despite its obvious social and educational benefits, several of ECA's national member organisations have reported a diminishing status for artistic disciplines in primary and secondary education. The time allocated is reducing and those charged with delivering the programmes are not always qualified.
ECA's General Assembly decided to address this situation. Developing an awareness of the importance of arts education was put on the plan of action for 2008.
From the perspective of professional artists, arts education in primary and secondary schools is also an important in two respects; its delivery creates employment for suitably qualified artists/teachers and it represents an important means of audience formation.
The Spanish Federation of Artists has asked ECA to support their campaign for the inclusion of professional artists in the teaching of performing arts at primary and secondary schools. Through our network we are aware of "artist in school -schemes" in other countries. ECA will discuss with the Federation how best to contribute to the campaign in Spain.
A number of MEPs in the Cultural Committee of the European Parliament intend to focus on arts education in primary and secondary schools. ECA has declared its wish to contribute.
ECA Romany Network
Zuzana Brejcha (film director) Austria, and newly elected member of the ECA Executive Committee, has proposed the establishment of a network for Romany Artists and will lead the initial stages of the project on behalf ECA.
Roma are the largest ethnic minority within the EU without their own country. Following the recent EU enlargement, more than ten million EU citizens are Romany.
The declaration of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005 – 2015, was signed by the Prime Ministers of the participating governments in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 2, 2005 and it had emerged from a high-level regional conference "Roma in an Expanding Europe: challenges for the future" held in Budapest, Hungary, in 2003.
Among the founding organisations of the Decade of Roma Inclusion are:
- The World Bank
- The Open Society Institute
- The United Nations Development Programme
- The Council of Europe
- The Council of Europe Development Bank
- OSCE Contact point for Roma and Sinti Issues
- The European Roma Information Office
- The European Roma and Traveller Forum
- The European Roma Rights Centre
- The Roma Education Fund
The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 is an unprecedented political commitment by governments in Central and South-Eastern Europe to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of Roma within a regional framework. The Decade of Inclusion places great emphasis on Roma participation.
ECA will contact individual artists and relevant Roma organisations or those that work to promote the interest of Roma, with a view to determining the current position for Roma artists and ascertaining the demand/support for the formation of a Roma Artists Network.
The Roma are gifted artists, particularly at the field of music, visual and fine arts and dance. The establishment of a Roma Artists Network will be of benefit to the Roma artists for whom it will be a means of expressing and protecting their culture at European and national level. In countries with large Roma population, existing artists' organisations will be strengthened by the establishment of new organisations for Roma artists.
Those wishing to assist or to obtain further information should contact:
Zuzana Brejcha via eca@eca.dk
ArtesNet Europe - Meeting on Education
Annette Hollywood (visual artist - Germany - newly elected member of the Executive Committee) will represent ECA at the first partners meeting ArtesNet Europe in Amsterdam on the 18th of January 2008.
The creative partnership network ArtesNet Europe is a Europe-wide 'community of practice', connecting practitioners from the creative/cultural sector, art school teaching staff, educators, and artistic researchers from Iceland, Norway, Turkey and almost all EU-countries.
ArtesNet Europe develops new approaches to learning, teaching and research and pilots and collects best practice of artistic and creative partnerships between art schools, non-formal education and local communities. Their work is organized in three strands: creative partnerships, qualifications frameworks, and new strategies - new programmes.
ECA – a partner in this ELIA led network – will be represented by Annette Hollywood who will take part in the "Creative Partnerships: arts, schools, and society" strand of the conference.
In times of economisation of education we have to take care, that the content of education in higher arts schools stays free from economical and political interests: - education should be available for everyone - art academies should be visionaries in creating roles for artist in society, beside the opportunities of art market and cultural industry - visual art education need the factors free space, failure, loop way in their curricula.
For further information please go to www.inter-artes.org and look for further up-dates on ArtesNet in subsequent newsletters.
German speakers may contact our German member IGBK at www.igbk.de to order
"REALITY CHECK - who is afraid of Master of Arts" published by the IGBK
Creative Rights and Cultural Diversity
Pia Raug, Chief Executive of ECA attended this important EUobserver hearing in the Musical Instruments Museum, Brussels, on December 6th 2007.
The Conference was a success insofar as it was able to attract an impressive array of stakeholders from all fields of interests in the digital distribution paradigm shift. The overall impression was… Yes! – There is a will and a dedication among most of the European interests to search for a alternative to the three options presented in the Commission’s Recommendation of 2005 – but it is equally certain that industrial interests in the UK are NOT willing to support any restriction regarding their intention to dictate and control the future market-place for “online content” distribution.
José Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, made the Keynote speech – "A Union with results through Cultural Diversity".
Mr. Barroso made no direct promises but left the door ajar, giving hope that the necessity and wealth of culturally diverse expressions will receive greater respect in future. He stated that “Le creative EST le Diversité” of Europe. The cultural industries are amongst the most profitable in growth. That the EU year of “Intercultural Dialogue” in 2008 is to be part of a statement of that richness. That culture and art are NOT solely within the remit the market place and ought not be regarded as such. That European Culture is NOT expressed by uniformity.
Leaving his prepared manuscript, Mr. Barroso told the conference that he had just returned from China and had been amazed and pleased to finding that a multitude of upcoming, contemporary Chinese artists, who are merging old and new expressions, had, during the Culture Revolution, taken courage and inspiration from European Philosophy. Whereas art had been censored it had been possible to access the works of classical European philosophers via many sources. This had been the framework and inspiration for a new and freer creative expression that was now possible. This had made him very proud of Europe's cultural diversity. Therefore he said, it is important to recognise creative protection.
CONFERENCE CONCLUSION:
Bendik Hofseth, Norwegian composer and newly elected president of CIAM, stated that Authors’ Rights were in no way a hindrance of the free flow of information in the digital environment – but suggested that the culprits were the major record labels which were trying to hang-on to their total control of the world market place and who were not willing to let go of the control they exercised via the "hard-copy” and were reluctant to open up to new business models which would benefiting all.
Full details, extracts and highlights from the Conference can be accessed via the EUobserver web site. Video clips from different speeches will also be available.
http://www.euobserver.com/conference
http://euobserver.com/871/25302/?rk=1
Prague City Council Cultural Grants
On behalf of the its General Assembly, ECA sent a letter on the 8th of October to Prague City Council, which had stopped the distribution of all cultural grants for 2008. The decision was a reaction to a complaint and legal case taken by a commercial theatre that had not received a grant and as a result, claimed unfair competition. According to RUO (the Czech Artists' Council) criticism of the new system of awarding the grants was probably an additional reason for this radical decision.
Since 2005 - and after a campaign from the artists' organisations for the introduction of an "arms length principle" in decisions on grants - a grant committee with independent experts and politicians assesses all projects.
ECA backed RUO's protests against the suspension and the devastating consequences for artists and cultural life in general that resulted.
Later in October a delegation of concerned parties, including RUO President (and ECA Vice-President) Simon Pellar and RUO Secretary Marta Smolikova, met with the City Council and negotiated an agreement that has brought about the recommencement of the grant process for 2008 and the start of negotiations on the nature and implementation of the City Council's new grant policies. The Culture Councillor of Prague, Milan Richter, writes in his answer to ECA that he expects that the new grant policies will secure continued support for culture in Prague, but RUO fears that the new system will mainly be of benefit to commercial and popular culture.
The complaint of the commercial theatre – if brought to the European Court – will be monitored by ECA as it would probably be one of the first tests of the effectiveness of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Palace of the Writers - Tbilisi, Georgia
Requested by the Georgian Writers' Union, the ECA General Assembly protested against the Georgian government's intention to take over the Writers Palace, a building that has been used by the writers since 1917. Manana Dumbadse, international secretary of the Georgian writers report that the judicial dispute concerning the ownership remain unsolved.
For further information go to www.tswtc.org
ECA Executive Committee:
Michael Burke, sculptor, Ireland, President
Narcy Calamatta, actor, Malta, Vice-President
Simon Pellar, literary translator, Czech Republic, Vice-President
Zuzana Brejcha, film director, Austria
Torben Heron, visual artist, Denmark
Annette Hollywood, visual artist, Germany
Irina Horea, literary translator, Romania
European Council of Artists, Borgergade 111, DK-1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark
phone: +45-35384401, fax: +45-35384417, email: eca@eca.dk, web: www.eca.dk