Performing Arts Curation as a Means of Advocating for Change in Cultural Policy

This article explores the potentials of performing arts curation to challenge current European cultural policies. It opens with a brief comparison of the genealogy of the curator in the visual and performing arts. Suzana Milevska’s concept of “curatorial agency” and contemporary understandings of the “curator as an intermediary” serve to highlight the discrepancies between the socio-political conditions of production and circulation in the two fields. The second part of the article draws on interviews with five performing arts curators from independent organizations active within European project networks to further examine the implications of curating as a mediating cultural-political practice. Finally, in a context where cultural policies increasingly support market-oriented cultural actors, it calls for a stronger accountability of the performing arts curator in the negotiation of values between the artistic community, audiences, and policymakers.

State Cultural Policy during the Great Patriotic War

The article describes the content and features of the state cultural policy during the Great Patriotic War. In the pre-war period and in the first years of the war, the state budget cut on cultural expenditures, and all Soviet cultural institutions aimed their activities at achieving the main strategic goal, i.e. victory. The research was based on an institutional approach, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, and comparison. The author studied various regulatory documents and defined the main features of cultural activities in wartime conditions. Advantages of the socio-political system made it possible to mobilize all types of resources in the shortest time possible. Institutions of culture were responsible for propaganda and recruiting campaign, thus performing the function of ideological and political inspirer of Soviet citizens.

Polylogical Core of Modern Intercultural Interaction Models

The article is devoted to the problems of transformation and phenomenon of complication of intercultural communication models. The significance of the study lies in the fact that intercultural communication through the prism of cultural and civilizational developments reflects the sociocultural changes taking place at all levels of social development. The problem of application of theoretical knowledge about the communicative paradigm of modern culture with its polylogical core for the development of a specific model of intercultural communication and effective cultural policy relates to the difficulties of achieving compliance of the research results with the real state of the sociocultural environment. Basing on the previous and current research approaches and taking into consideration a systemic and synergistic approach as well as a dialogue concept, the authors aim to investigate theoretical modeling of intercultural interaction. As a result of investigation, the authors conclude that the study of models of intercultural interaction cannot be carried out without understanding the principles and factors of the dynamics of cultural changes in the modern world which allows us to consider the transition from a dialogue model to a polylogue model as a natural stage in the dynamics of culture. Also, the methodological set of philosophical and cultural studies of the dynamics of modern culture is proved as constantly expanding due to the new tendencies, like total digitalization. It is stated that overcoming outdated models of intercultural interaction and adopting the new ones is a long process that must be tested by the human society

Italian cultural policy: conclusions for Russia

The article analyses current public management and funding practices of cultural organisations in Italy by using comparative and statistical analysis. The structure of the sector’s governing bodies and approaches to budgeting for culture at national level have been explored. Trends in decreasing funding from provincial, regional and local budgets have been identified. The status, legislative and institutional conditions for the emergence of Italy’s unique multichannel cultural financing system have been described. An analysis of the Italian museum system’s reform has been presented. The activities of private opera foundations have been discussed in detail. The main similarities between Russian and Italian cultural policies have been described. These are the drive to expand the boundaries and activities associated with the cultural sector, the significant burden on local and regional authorities in the field of cultural heritage preservation, the “quantitative approach” and the application of financial performance indicators to assess cultural organisations performance.The article’s scientific novelty lies in the complex approach to the study of Italian cultural policy using the criteria proposed by D. Montias and A. I. Glagolev, and in the study of the activities of Italian opera foundations and museums, which had not previously been sufficiently covered in the Russian and foreign literature. The prospect of the topic, the practical significance and relevance of the research are due to the need to implement regulations in Russia which set a course for the creation of a multi-channel system of funding and a broad understanding of the cultural sector, and ensuring inter-agency and inter-regional cooperation between the authorities in the implementation of cultural policy.The article analyses a wide range of financial support mechanisms for culture, most of which are named in the “Strategy of State Cultural Policy of Russia as Targets by 2030”, while Italy has accumulated considerable experience in this area for several decades.

Towards a Multilingual Preschool Policy

The effects of immersive strategies and the benefits of a multilingual language policy have been extensively explored in the literature; however, it is valuable to look at the actual application of a multilingual policy. Putting linguistic-educational research into practice by implementing a transformative pedagogical approach is characterized by a process of trial and error, which has remained understudied. This chapter aims to fill this gap by adopting a case study approach that focuses on the implementation of a multilingual/cultural policy at a preschool in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. More than half of the children attending the preschool come from a multilingual background. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, consisting of observations, participations, interviews, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders, this chapter analyzes the mechanisms behind the preschool's switch from negatively undergoing multilingualism to positively engaging with it.