Artisans Regeneration Model: Culture Sustainability Effort for Creativity and Indigenous Skill

This study aims at the formulation of a regeneration model for traditional artisans in Indonesia. The model is expected to be a solution for the degeneration problem, the declining interest of the younger generation to learn and to continue tradition art business, mainly batik. The research was conducted specifically on the community of batik artisans in Girilayu, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. This study is a qualitative one using ethnographic approach method to collect the data. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used to design and to formulate the alternatives and to determine the right model. Furthermore, the formulation of the model was implemented and analyzed for the effectiveness as well as the impact that may occur. This study formulates a model for the regeneration of batik artisans in Indonesia. This study found some regeneration gaps in the form of inconsistency in sustainable activities of batik artisans’ generation which has caused the degeneration.

Trends in the Art Criticism Development in the Context of Modern Art Market (on the Example of Kyiv Situation)

In modern realities, the degree of culture dependence on economic factors is consistently high. It is confirmed by the art world that is more and more oriented towards the global art market, which sphere of interest is commerce that moreover envisages the establishment of communication and regulation of the relationship “artist-consumer / recipient”. Consequently, the art market (despite the differences in the logic of art dealings: the art market considers it as the means of profit making; criticism tends to clarify the artistic value according to the time period) has functions identical to artistic criticism, in particular, sociocultural and regulatory. They provide for / support the formation of the artistic expression value, its actualization and functioning in the cultural sphere of our time and, as a result, interest and the formation of demand for certain art practices and names. In addition, art criticism and the contemporary art market have a certain influence on the artists themselves: judgments of art criticism, the demand for some art practices and names in the art market are to particular extent guides for authors (those who do not exclude themselves from the art market), factors of influence on further transformations in their creative activity. These circumstances, firstly, allow us to consider the art market not only in the economic field (as an economic category), but also as an interdisciplinary phenomenon of great importance for culture; secondly, it rises the practical value of exploring the interaction issue of these institutions / subjects of the cultural process (art market and art criticism), the degree of their interdependence and disclosure, dictated by the art market changes in the art criticism activities, which will determine the role of the art market and art criticism in sociocultural field. It is necessary to note that the main trends in the development of art criticism in the context of the contemporary art market are its growing dependence on commercial factors, marketing, the significant decrease in serious non-biased materials expressing the independence of their authors’ views (detailed analysis and professional interpretation of the artistic processes). This niche is being actively filled by amateur publications, information genres and advertising materials. The depicted situation creates the preconditions for providing a significant role in the artists’ selection and attraction to the commercial sphere, and, finally, for the public opinion formation to the art business representatives; dominance in the news field of information highlighted from the favourable perspective for the main players of the art market, which satisfies their interests in their own promotion and contributes to their hegemony in the art space. This situation is caused, among others, by the lack of financial independence of the art criticism in Kyiv and it lack of demand at the national art market.

Digitalization of customs control of cultural properties in international trad

The development of international trade and the growing influence of visual images on the consciousness of modern society have led to a steadily growing demand for art objects. However, the art market is a gold mine for professional thieves. Every month, more than a thousand works of art are stolen in the world. The criminal art business ranks third after drug trafficking and the arms trade. The level of detection of crimes related to the theft of art objects is still negligibly low (only 1.5 % of court cases end in favor of the owners), the amount of money is colossal (according to general estimates, the global value of stolen works is 3.7 billion pounds), and the interest of the internal authorities of different countries in training specialized search personnel is scanty. The relevance of the presented topic lies in the fact that the globalization of international trade in cultural values and the high corruption component require improving customs administration and improving the quality of customs activities. Today, innovative technologies are able to automate the process of control over cultural values, speed up and simplify the process of interaction between foreign trade participants and customs authorities, as well as ensure complete safety of transportation of cultural heritage objects. Objective: to develop proposals for improving customs control over the movement of cultural property, in particular, by creating an information interdepartmental system for monitoring the movement of cultural property using blockchain technologies and the Internet of Things, which can provide greater transparency in the movement of art objects. Object of research: ensuring customs control over the movement of cultural heritage objects. Subject of research: cutting-edge technologies as a means of improving the effectiveness of customs control over the movement of cultural property.

Refining Understandings of Entrepreneurial Artists

There is a disconnect between artists’ applications of entrepreneurial behavior in their practice and evaluations of artists as productive members of their communities. Informed by interviews with Nashville-based artists to investigate how artists understand their creativity, artistic practice, and approaches to entrepreneurship in the context of a their vibrant, artistically oriented community, this study finds that artists engage in entrepreneurial behavior by deploying creativity in multiple domains, including art, business, and the social, with their skills in each being important towards preserving the motives of their artistic practice. The findings highlight artists as multi-faceted creatives capable of transforming their practice through entrepreneurial pursuits.

Traces of Souffles: on cultural production in contemporary Morocco

This article examines contemporary cultural production in Morocco and focuses in particular on how poet-artist Abdellatif Laâbi, founder of the journal Souffles, and writer-artist Mahi Binebine display ties of filiation. Bringing to light the artistic and social collaborations that these two cultural actors nurture in Morocco, the article traces a filial genealogy between Laâbi and Binebine and examines the post-independence years to reveal the spirit of combat that lies at the origin of the current artistic scene in Morocco. Questioning the link between art and the public, the article concludes by acknowledging the tension between art and market-driven concerns inherent in an increasingly competitive art business.

Using Stories to Integrate Gerontology Content Into an Introductory Design (Architecture) Course

We describe how a partnership between design and gerontology introduces students to concepts of legacy, meaning making and empathy in an undergraduate design course. Introduction to Design Thinking is offered through the Multi-disciplinary Design Program at the University of Utah and is a class that explores concepts such as the design process, human-centered design, rapid prototyping and multidisciplinary team dynamics. In collaboration with faculty from design, medicine and gerontology, the course addresses real-world problems by navigating across disciplines such as art, business, engineering, science, and gerontology. Five phases of the design process are introduced: Observation (collecting material), Analysis (finding patterns and insight), Ideation (solution exploration), Refinement, and Implementation (communication). To apply these processes, students engage in a group project where they interact with older adults residing in long term care (e.g., assisted living). Students undergo HIPAA training and didactic lectures covering narrative interviewing and aging content such as long term care and generativity prepare students for interacting with residents. Throughout the semester, students meet with the older adult to understand, gather, construct and then develop a designed artifact that reflects the stories and the memories of the participating residents. The designed artifacts (e.g., memory maps, videos, small books) are presented and given to the participating residents and their families. This project results in rich stories for both the residents and students. Students also gain interviewing and empathy skills necessary for designing compelling artifacts and potentially age-friendly long term care environments where 2 million older adults live.

Foreign Language Instruction at the Master’s Course in an Art University: Integrating Language and Professional Skills

В статье описывается модель преподавания иностранного языка в искусствоведческой магистратуре художественного вуза на основе опыта работы по подготовке магистрантов в Центре инновационных образовательных проектовСанкт-Петербургской государственной художественно-промыш-ленной академии имени А. Л. Штиглица. Утверждается необходимость введения практико-ориентиро-ванного подхода, связанного с овладением способами решения проблемных задач, являющихся основным компонентом творческого мышления в условиях отсутствия устоявшегося «иностранного языка профессии» и междисциплинарности современного искусствоведения. По каждому отдельному курсу предложены темы и их лингвистическое наполнение. Разработанная нами модель позволяет готовить специалистов-практиков, способных работать в различных областях художественной деятельности: арт-критика, кураторство, арт-дилерство, экспертиза и пр. The article describes the model of teaching a foreign language at the Master’s course in Art Business based on the experience of the Center of Innovative Educational Projects of Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design. The course consists of two subjects: Professional Communication in a Foreign Language and Foreign Language in the Sphere of Artistic Activity. Taking into consideration the absence of a certain ‘foreign language of the profession’ and the complicatedness of modern art the authors claim the necessity to introduce a practice-oriented approach based on interdisciplinary ties. The departure from the ‘translation-rendering-abstracting’ model, traditional for higher education, is considered as an innovative method. The main fields of discussion together with the linguistic content are outlined for each course. The proposed structure of the course allows to train art historians and art critics who are able to work in various fields of creative industry such as curatorship, art business, expertise, exhibition and auction organization.