BAM, Institute for visual, audiovisual and media art:
Policy plan (short version)
What is BAM?
The BAM institute is the Flemish support centre for visual, audiovisual and media art. BAM
acts as an intermediary structure between sectors and policies. BAM is an independent
institute with a thorough knowledge of both sectors and policies. With this knowledge, it is
able to provide information, promote development, co-operation and networking – both
within the field as well as beyond borders reaching other disciplines and sectors – and
creating dialogue with the different government bodies.
BAM is not a lobbying group and, unlike the government, it is not a channel for grants.
BAM is the result of the merger of the Audiovisual Arts and Visual Arts support centres, the
IAK and the IBK respectively. The IAK and IBK were created in December 2001 as the result
of an initiative by the Flemish government. Until the end of 2005, they received ad nominatim
grants. The support centres are currently subsidised under the Arts Flemish Parliament Act
and this is validated in a 4-year partnership contract. In January 2007, the Flemish Minister
for Culture, Youth, Sports and Brussels, Bert Anciaux, announced that the support centres for
audiovisual arts and visual arts would be merged into one large support centre BAM; institute
for visual, audiovisual and media art. Armed with a new plan of action and a range of
ambitious goals, the aim of BAM is to give a new impetus to the three visual, audiovisual and
media art sectors.
What does BAM do?
BAM informs, documents, encourages and researches.
BAM provides knowledge and information to people and organisations to enable them to
work professionally as well as documenting the different players and practices out in the field.
In order to circulate this information and documentation as efficiently and as widely as
possible, BAM works with the sectors building all sorts of instruments such as web platforms
and online databanks.
BAM also encourages different debates on the subject of supporting creativity for instance, on
positioning and shared networking or on the importance of memory and reflection. BAM
encourages international co-operation and new possibilities for working on public and
educational projects. And finally it creates a host of new opportunities for the arts by entering
a dialogue on social themes such as cultural diversity and e-culture and with other sectors
such as science and technology, education and economy.
In order to fulfil this role of pacesetter and catalyst, BAM carries out practical research into
the different players and the roles they play. Research, analysis and dialogue thus help to keep
the support going over the short and long term and to ensure the continued development of the
different fields of work and policy as well as ensuring that these are socially integrated.
1. INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION
BAM collects and distributes information, documentation and knowledge about visual,
audiovisual and media art on behalf of the different sectors and everybody who has questions
about people, organisations and their practices. This is carried out mainly via web platforms.
By setting up these online environments, our aim is to link and exchange information and
documentation with data that the sector makes available by agreeing on standards, and that the
web instruments that we develop can be shared via the use of an open source.
BAM also brings out publications to bring the sector into the picture.
Web platforms and online databases
The earlier websites of IAK and IBK have been blended into the new BAM website
(www.bamart.be), which has different sections for audiovisual, visual and media art. The
newsletters and databases of the visual arts, audiovisual arts and media art are still available
and can be easily consulted on the new site.
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AV Online is an information and meeting platform for audiovisual professionals in
Flanders. AV Online includes a contact databank (AV Data) and a common news
platform, where news about the audiovisual industry is compiled by BAM, Flanders
Image, MEDIA Desk and the Flemish Audiovisual Foundation (AV News);
The visual arts and media art in Flanders database offers documentation on people,
organisations and works;
The Digital Platform is an online community for meeting and exchanges between art,
science and technology;
The activities calendar together with the visual arts and media art agenda is compiled
from data from the CultuurDatabank (www.cultuurdatabank.be). A partnership with
<H>ART is responsible for the visual arts agenda. The media art calendar takes its
information from the sector;
In the theme projects, articles are collected along with reports, opinions and reactions
from readers on questions and discussion themes initiated by BAM in the form of
research, debates and study days;
The e-culture weblog is an initiative of BAM, in co-operation with the support centres
for the arts, for heritage and libraries. The aim is to follow up the latest developments
in contemporary e-culture. Some 25 authors from different disciplines and domains
regularly publish articles with news, information, papers, practical examples, research
and policy;
Apart from the international visual arts newsletter on Flemish artists abroad and
activities of international importance in Flanders, the support centres for the arts
(BAM, Music Centre Flanders, Flemish Architecture Institute, Flemish Theatre
Institute) jointly publish an international newsletter on art in Flanders and abroad
called Arts Flanders;
Articles and opinion pieces
By working together with magazines, discussion topics taken up by BAM together with the
sector are made public through articles and opinion pieces (<H>ART, A Prior, etc.).
Publications
Five publications are planned in 2008: ‘Media, Art and Technology in Flanders’, a mapping
out of the audiovisual field, ‘Cinema in transition’, ‘Tips for young artists’, and a summarised
publication on audiovisual and visual arts aimed at foreign promotion, commissioned by
Minister Bert Anciaux.
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Media, art and technology in Flanders: a publication about Flemish artists and
projects that use new media and technology, in the form of a landscape sketch, theme
essays and a selection of projects;
AV mapping: the result of the audiovisual mapping study – a qualitative overview of
the audiovisual field in Flanders today and tomorrow;
Cinema in transition: a reader with a translated basic text on new forms of storytelling,
new distribution channels and new business models in the cinema influenced by
technology;
Tips for young artists: a publication in co-operation with the Kunstenloket
(www.kunstenloket.be), with practical tips and addresses for young artists or graduates
that want to make, develop, show, sell and valorise their work within the current
administrative and legal framework;
Visual arts in Flanders / Audiovisual arts in Flanders: two publications with DVDs on
artists and creative work in Flanders, intended for foreign promotion. An initiative by
Minister Bert Anciaux in co-operation with the other support centres. The publication
and DVD for each sector together make a box set about art in Flanders.
2. ENCOURAGEMENT
BAM organises and leads a number of activities, work groups or conferences, set up in close
consultation with the sector, the aim of which is to question and to develop the practices of
organisations and people.
International approach
Adopting an international approach towards audiovisual, visual and media art is important for
the career and development of artists, for the functioning and reputation of organisations, for
the image of different regions, and for the wealth and importance of cultural exchanges.
Goals:
- To increase awareness of the Flemish art scene abroad through a targeted policy of
invitations and by distributing information via newsletters, databanks and
publications;
- To support Flemish artists and organisations by finding partners, as well as through
international networking and co-operation;
- To develop durable, international contacts in close negotiation with the sector and the
government;
- To work together with other international agencies, such as the Mondriaan Foundation
and the Arts Council England, on foreign work visits and international exchanges;
- To participate in large, international events (exhibitions, trade fairs, etc.) in order to
promote Flemish artists.
Self-organisation of artists within a complex production and exhibition landscape
Artists develop their work within a rich environment with wide variety of opportunities for
research and development, production and creation, exhibitions and context, purchasing and
creating collections. To enhance this, residences, research into the arts, work places, coproductions, exhibitions, festivals, creative assignments and art in the public arena, magazines
and publications, management agencies, distributors, promotion galleries, private and public
collections, etc are all necessary. Direct support from the government and the various forms
of support from different organisations (both private and public) are very important in this.
Goals:
- To encourage management skills and new types of self-organisation among artists so
that they are able to develop their work within this ample arsenal of possibilities to
their own choosing;
- To map out and pinpoint the different types of support for artists, and to bring
initiatives more in line with each another with the aim of improving the development
of artists’ work;
- To think about the role of the government in this complex combined action in terms of
direct support to artists, and in terms of support to the organisations that work for
artists and for the public.
Networking, positioning and co-operation between organisations
Organisations have a supportive and a mediating role to play, and in so doing they take on
various different roles.
Goals:
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To encourage shared organisation among the organisations themselves and to agree on
which roles they should play and how these influence or complement one another;
To carry out field surveys and international comparisons in order to ascertain the
minimum resources required to carry out these roles professionally;
To encourage co-operation and new initiatives that combine assets for working on
labour intensive and complex issues, such as distribution, research and development
(work areas), management agencies, etc.
Cinema in transition
In an audiovisual landscape that is in full transition with new types of storytelling and interdisciplinary creations, new types of distribution and availability, from consumption and
participation to archiving and dealing with memory, it is important to encourage new
practices and new roles.
Goals:
- To research new models and possibilities for creators, curators, distributors, festivals,
magazines and education, based on foreign examples and research data on
experiments and pilot projects;
- To organise work visits to initiatives abroad that act as an example and a source of
inspiration;
- To encourage and examine new types of storytelling in cinema through project
presentations and conferences.
Mediating in art
Making people aware of art means working towards introducing art, on enhancing the quality
of the dialogue between art and the public, and the perception and creation of the significance
of art, which is also created by social interaction.
Goals:
- To encourage mediating in art (including art education) by mapping out the existing
initiatives (goals, methods, results, networking) and by developing and spreading the
vision, good practices and models for mediating in art;
- By drawing attention to activities relating to mediating in art within the framework of
larger art happenings or events (artbrussels, Brussels Biennial).
Art and media
The media is not only important for transferring information and promoting art but it can
shine a spotlight on the arts by using current themes from the arts scene as a lead-up to
programmes, and by making connections between the works of the creators and organisations
that are transmitting increasingly more themselves.
Goals:
- To encourage other forms of co-operation between the arts and the media;
- To co-operate with the Canvas Collection, an initiative of the Flemish public
broadcasting VRT to shine the spotlight on the professional and active arts through
public broadcasting, a selection process, and an exhibition with selected works.
E-culture
E-culture is about new types of creations, distribution and archiving, as well as participating
in culture that is influenced by technology in the broader context of the knowledge and
information society. E-culture offers numerous possibilities for creators, mediators, archivists
and the public to make art more readily available and more contextual, and to facilitate the
dialogue between art and public.
Goals:
- To map out the creators, organisations and e-culture projects and to thus create a
community where knowledge and information are exchanged as well as encouraging
co-operation;
- To build bridges with potential e-culture partners from other industries, such as
education, media, human sciences and innovation (universities and companies);
- To document projects in order to fine-tune the methodology of cross-disciplinary and
cross-industry co-operation;
- To organise an e-culture fair in co-operation with foundations and players from the
arts, higher education and innovative sector;
Art and the economy
Art and the economy have a great many points in common, including the cultural industry, the
creation of foundations with private funds, investments in art, tax shelters, the art market, etc.
There are also numerous possibilities for artists to form partnerships with companies: artists
seek greater resources and technical support for their work, but they also want to have
meetings, confrontations and co-operative ventures with the corporate world as a social entity.
Goals:
- To develop usable parameters for defining the significance of the economic network
and of Cultural Industries in terms of visual, audiovisual and media art (‘art’ and
‘industry’). This requires mapping out the different financing models and an
evaluation of the impact and usability of art;
- To work on the development of a vision, of expectations and a methodology for artists
that want to form co-operative ventures with companies.
Art and education
Apart from the active follow-up to the debate that emerged from the study by Anne Bamford,
there are two central ideas within this theme:
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The continued co-operation with the CANON Cultuurcel (www.canoncultuurcel.be)
of the Department of Education for the development of audiovisual training in the
Flemish educational system. This development has two goals: to encourage the
audiovisual language and communication in the educational curriculum alongside
traditional ‘language education’, and to improve the audiovisual expression and art in
the context of musical and ethical training;
To elaborate on goals and methods to improve the visual arts in the Flemish
educational system, and this in co-operation with the departments of culture and
education. The relationship between art organisations, educational initiatives and
education is central here.
Inter-culturalisation
Projects on inter-culturalisation and working on the acceptance of artists from different ethnic
origins in the field of professional arts are being encouraged and followed up even further. To
this end, co-operative ventures are set up with organisations working with artists with multicultural and diverse backgrounds, as well as with higher art education bodies.
3. RESEARCH
BAM sets up research projects to map out and analyse existing practices and work methods.
This research always starts with specific questions about the field of work. The results form
the inspiration for the development of those practices where the support centre works together
with the sector (see ‘encouragement’), as well as for the development of a vision and policy
preparation work by the government.
The following are new or ongoing initiatives (that will be concluded in 2008):
Mapping study Flemish audiovisual field
The AV mapping study by Walter Provo and Ine Vos is a follow-up of a study into the
audiovisual field, which formed the basis of a framework of reference, carried out by the
University of Antwerp Management School (UAMS) in 2006. The aim of this BAM AV
mapping study is to offer a fresh view of the audiovisual field. The goal of the study is to
contribute to creating a greater identity of the sector by exposing players, practices and their
cohesion and making way for new developments by recognising important social changes that
influence the audiovisual field. And finally, the aim of the study is to encourage greater
coherence in the audiovisual profession within the broader social structure. Those goals are
achieved by combining usable concepts and frameworks of reference to map out players,
practices and the different end-results thereof (economic, artistic, cultural), and to put these
within a broader social framework. In this framework, attention is given to the different
aspects of globalisation, the exchange between immaterial and material labour, and the
relationship between producers and consumers. Different research methods are combined:
research into documentation, in-depth interviews and giving feedback on preliminary results
to the stakeholders in the field.
Follow-up project policy plan for visual arts
BAM is co-operating on a ‘policy plan for the visual arts in Flanders 2009-2014’, which is
being drafted by the IVA Arts and Heritage with the support of the CJSM Department. This
policy plan includes an analysis of the landscape, a long-term vision, policy recommendations
and policy actions. Drafting this policy plan will take from 2008 until the spring of 2009 and
is a continuation of the directive on policy recommendations for the visual arts sector during
2005 and 2006, under the initiative of former arts consultant Hans Martens.
This policy plan has resulted in an integrated story about the visual arts, the different players
therein and the networks, both within and outside the industry. This story starts off with an
analysis of the landscape, which describes the different roles and how those roles are fulfilled
and carried out by different players. A vision is also developed for different themes – themes
in which multiple players are involved: creation, research and reflection, collection and
memory, public and participation. And finally the different instruments to support the visual
arts are mapped, all of which contribute to the construction of a development-oriented vision
of the visual arts and where a connection is made between this vision and the social fibre.
Themes such as historic consciousness, cultural citizenship and cultural diversity are covered,
as well as the relationship between art and economy, technology and education.
Online community for art, science and technology
BAM is developing an active community for art, science and technology, whose members
include media artists, organisations, researchers and companies. The goals of this active
community are to encourage the exchange of knowledge and information, to improve the cooperation between the different parties, and to learn more about methods and good practices
of cross-disciplinary co-operation.
Research will be carried out into the use of standards, key words and web-2.0 applications
when mapping out the community around art, media and technology. Research will also be
carried out into the opportunities for design in a virtual environment, especially interfaces and
network visualisation, employing community creation, exchange and co-operation. This
research will be tested and implemented on the BAM website, under the heading ‘digital
platform’.
This research project will be carried out by the artist Thomas Laureyssens in co-operation
with Liesbeth Huybrechts and Fred Truyen, within the IVOK (Institute for Research into the
Arts), under the title ‘towards an artistic interface for the media art’ (2007-2009).
Art and heritage
Archiving and storing contemporary artwork and documents on art is important for nourishing
and contextualising contemporary creation (as a source of inspiration, for re-use), for
providing a framework for everyone who is interested in art, and for creating a historic
awareness about art and society in general. Digital media offer numerous possibilities for
making these works and documents widely available for different uses: consultation,
education, rich contextualisation, linking institutes across borders, and for re-using. This
requires a lot of knowledge on the part of the parties involved, such as artists, producers and
organisations that are not primarily involved in archiving.
Goals:
- To make an inventory of players, projects and studies relating to heritage and art
works within the arts and within the heritage sector;
- To develop the bridging function between the arts and heritage in terms of fields of
expertise and heritage communities;
- To carry out research into the needs of users, archiving and selection in arts and
heritage, and in media and heritage, standards for meta-data and exchange formats,
management of rights of digital objects, architecture for digital storage and
development of a common innovation platform within the framework of the research
project ‘maintenance and availability of multimedia data about Flanders’ (research
project IWT, Institute for the promotion of innovation through Science & Technology
in Flanders);
- To discuss the development with heritage specialists in the arts and heritage, of a
toolbox (practical guide) on (digital) archiving of information relating to people and
organisations, as well as on sharing information in a network of providers and users;
- To improve the availability of art and documents about art through digital archiving
and accessibility to it.