Audiences are playing an increasingly active role for institutions and organizations in the cultural sector. We are seeing demands from visitors and audiences for more relevant and participatory content and for this reason, cultural organizations need to examine their values and assumptions about their audiences and make the proper changes. Are we ready for this?

Adeste Plus aims to develop a blueprint for organizational change for the audience-focused organizations. It delves into the need of transformation and develops a methodology for change that encompasses:

Listening to and understanding users
Challenging assumptions
Redefining situations and problems
Creating innovative solutions
Prototyping and testing

The Adeste+ European Conference was supposed to have taken place in Rijeka, Croatia, but the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown forced us to digitize Adeste Plus actions and so, the European Conference became digital.

Audience development took on greater significance in these circumstances and the crisis forced us to address the role of cultural organizations in this changed world. The digital conference entitled “Change within Change. Re-examining the role of the cultural organization and its relationship with the public” took place between June and September 2020.

The digital conference series was organized in six episodes: Thirty five speakers, twenty five sessions and almost seven hundred applicants from fifty nine countries. In a nutshell, seventeen hours of content to reflect on the impact of the new normal in the everyday relationship of citizens and cultural organisations.

Episodes

Please find below all resources related to the conference series.

preEC episode: Culture and the public at a turning point

June 15th

Culture and the public at a turning point

Panellist: Eleonora Belfiore, Pier Luigi Sacco and Giuliana Ciancio moderated by Niels Righolt.

https://vimeo.com/430287661

1st episode: Culture's place in our lives

August 31st

Culture’s place in our lives

Panel session: Nicolas Barbieri, Mafalda Damaso, Anne Torreggiani and Alessandra Gariboldi (moderator).
LongTable session: Valentina Montalto, Jordi Pascual and Lene Struck-Madsen.

—

Overview

People centred approach, making culture relevant to people, the antidote to face “corona crisis” in cultural sector »

—

Video

Panel session:

https://vimeo.com/454011348

—

LongTable session:

https://vimeo.com/453973346

2nd episode: A new vision for culture? Integrity, direction and relevance.

September 7th

A new vision for culture? Integrity, direction and relevance.

Panel session: Sajida Carr, Arjo Klamer, Francois Matarasso, Ana Žuvela and Macarena Cuenca (moderator).
LongTable session. Parallel session 1: Sajida Carr, Francois Matarasso, Goran Tomka and Macarena Cuenca.
LongTable session. Parallel session 2: Philipp Dietachmair, Davor Mišković and Lana Pavlović Aleksić.

—

Overview

Building a new vision for culture from the conflicted visions of democratisation of culture and cultural democracy »

—

Video

Panel session:

https://vimeo.com/481772645

—

Long table session. Parallel session 1:

https://vimeo.com/456863813

—

Long table session. Parallel session 2:

https://vimeo.com/460167351

3rd episode: The cultural institution – what needs to change?

September 14th

The cultural institution – what needs to change?

Panel session: Teodor Celakoski, Félix Dupin-Meynard, Victoria Durrer and Dea Vidović (moderator).
WorkLab session. Parallel session 1: Christian Jull Wendell from Institut for X (Denmark).
WorkLab session. Parallel session 2: Janja Sesar from Pogon (Croatia).

—

Overview

Losing control and confusion: The dilemma of participation in cultural institutions »

—

Video

Panel session:

https://vimeo.com/485628022

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 1 – Institute for X:

https://vimeo.com/458131239

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 2 – Pogon:

https://vimeo.com/458133193

4th episode: Rethinking participation strategically

September 21st

Rethinking participation strategically

Panel session: Lise Korsgaard, Chiara Organtini, Ben Walmsley, Daniel Wetzel and Jonathan Goodacre (moderator).
WorkLab Session: Jeannette Ehlers, Matteo Lanfranchi and WochenKlausur collective.

—

Overview

From engagement to development: The notion of hospitality and digital engagement »

—

Video

Panel session:

https://vimeo.com/460179465

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 1 – Wonchenklausur:

https://vimeo.com/462538573

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 2 – Matteo Lafranchi:

https://vimeo.com/486162605

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 3 – Jeannette Ehlers:

https://vimeo.com/486083302

5th episode: Tempestuous times – the crisis – recovery and change

September 28th

Tempestuous times – the crisis – recovery and change

Panellists: Nico Carpentier, Richard Evans, Arundhati Gosh, Olga Wysocka and Inês Bettencourt da Câmara (moderator).
WorkLab session: Melissa Dibble, Søren Friis Møller, Marcin Poprawski and Daniel Wetzel (Rimini Protokoll).

—

Overview

How do we make sense of the new normal? Re(Imagining) cultural organisations »

—

Video

Panel session:

https://vimeo.com/462671524

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 1 – Marcin Poprawski:

https://vimeo.com/469724894

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 2 – Melissa Dibble:

https://vimeo.com/469725536

—

WorkLab session. Parallel session 3 – Søren Friis Møller:

https://vimeo.com/469725816

Change Within Change.

Re-examining the role of the cultural organisation and its relationship with the public

Exploring the big questions and debates for a larger number of people in 6 independent online episodes.

The conference was open to cultural operators, artists, practitioners, activists, scholars, researchers, policy makers and funders, directors and decision-makers working in the field of arts and culture. It took place in June, August & September, and all the recordings and resources are available on this page.

Download the European Conference Programme