Igor Teršar
Amateur Art in Slovenia
- networking, good practices and
international cooperation
Amateo Conference
Vrsar, May 20, 2016
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Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for
Cultural Activities was founded twenty
years ago.
Fund has 59 local offices and
connections in neighbouring countries.
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Primary activities:
festivals, exhibitions, education and
publishing in amateur culture.
Amateur culture contains 5.000 active
societies with 140.000 members.
 Fund
was one of founding members of
Amateo in Portorož in 2005.
 It is member of various international
organizations: AITA, CISM, EU CANTAT.
 Ten years ago it was cofounder of the
Forum of Slavic Cultures.
 Promotes
cooperation between
professional and amateur culture
– professionals teach amateurs and lead
or direct choirs, theatre groups …
 Euro barometer survey shows that interest
for culture is extremely high even in the
time of economic crisis.
 Fund’s
RESIDENCE CENTER in Ljubljana
has two apartments for visiting artists and
mentors from abroad for promotion of
international cooperation.
 Exhibition and information center KULT
3000 in Ljubljana cooperates with galleries
in Croatia (Rijeka, Pula), Hungary, Austria
(Graz) with exhibitions and poetry
evenings.
 Donations
are also important part of fund’s
activity – mayor donation is from Mr. Mirko
Cuderman, choir leader and professor of
music. It has more than 100.000 units
(mostly music sheets and scores).
 We’ve already digitized more than 10.000
compositions. It will be one of the biggest
digital music centers in South Eastern
Europe.
 Culture
School is one of our mayor
national projects :
It monitors cultural activities in public
schools – more than half of all schools
have already received the title Culture
School for their engagement in amateur
culture.
TLK – Week of Amateur Culture
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It is just now in progress for the third time.
More than 1.000 events in entire Slovenia.
President of Slovenia is its sponsor.
Slovenian Minister of Culture opened it.
Slovenian national television and radio is mayor
media sponsor.
 Fund
proposed to the Slovenian
government to proclaim and coordinate
year 2018 as the Year of Ivan Cankar –
the 100th anniversary of his death. He is
mayor Slovenian literary person – poet,
writer and journalist.
 In 2018 we will organize the Finals of
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in
Maribor.
 Many
contacts are arranged on all levels
for promotion of amateur culture.
 Fund also promotes local, national, and
international cooperation between
institutions and non-governmental
organizations.
 Our
mayor concern is successful
development of amateur cultural activities,
promotion of new programs and ideas in
Slovenian amateur culture and equal
treatment between professional and
amateur culture.
All of us directors in Europe are facing one big
question: Why are amateur cultural activities even
now outside of European cultural politics?
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Amateur cultural organizations have not
sufficiently stressed social role of their activities.
 Amateur cultural activities still do not have
adequate place in national cultural politics.
 Because of their non-confirmed place in national
cultural politics, they are not adequately
recognized as one of mayor factors of European
cohesion.
There are many important tasks
before us:
 We
must fight for adequate recognition
and place in national cultural politics –
each of us in his country. We have made
great breakthrough in Slovenia in previous
years; but new model of culture is
prepared just now – this can be again
dangerous or maybe new opportunity.
 We
must link together our activities on
European level, especially from the point
of view of social functions of cultural
amateurism.
 Maybe we should find new expression that
will replace amateur culture on European
level.
 We
must stress that amateur cultural
activities are the most important defenders
of cultural diversity in Europe. Their power
is based on democratic values.
 Involvement in cultural life is one of the
primary human rights – we must give all
for its realization.
 Amateur
cultural activities contain many
experiences.
 At the national level we must go beyond
traditional “folkloristic” view on amateur
culture and discover its possibilities for
modern times.
 At
the European level we must play more
active role in preparation of documents for
European Council and with help from
national governments address forthcoming
joint declarations.