Marc Sands (Tate) Invites the Cultural Institutions of Latvia to Open Up and Become More Interesting

On 30 May in Riga, at the “Artelis - gandrīz teātris” seminar entitled “Cultural Institutions of the Creative Age: New Audiences, New Partnerships”, experienced representatives from state cultural institutions and new companies which are involved in the creative industries came together to search for new cooperation models and modern approaches in order to address the cultural audience.

The goals of the seminar were to look for positive experiences and answers to the challenges that have been experienced by the traditional cultural institutions during the age of creative economics.

At the opening of the seminar, the Republic of Latvia Minister of Culture, Sarmīte Ēlerte, emphasised the main themes that were scheduled for discussion and all the problem issues. The minister pointed out that everyone, especially now in the twenty-first century, has to learn to use the creativeness that each and every person has from their earliest years, the concept of which has expanded on the background of the century, one which affects not only the art sectors, but also a vast variety of everyday areas. Sarmīte Ēlerte emphasised the fact that the ways in which society can be addressed about any subject have changed, but the cultural institutions are those that still have to provide a meaningful content, merging democracy and quality.

The key speaker at the seminar was the Director of Media and Audiences at the Tate Museum Network of Great Britain (www.tate.org.uk), Marc Sands. He introduced the participants of the conference to the experience he acquired while working for the main provider of the British cultural discussions, The Guardian newspaper (www.guardian.co.uk) for ten years, as well as while he later worked for one of the most significant museum networks in the world, Tate. Referring to his experience in both institutions, Sands emphasised that it is important to take risks and not to fear the discovery of new approaches to a free flow of ideas. The marketing expert spoke about expanding the role of a cultural institution, providing Tate Modern as an example, which has changed from a traditional museum into an open social space. Sands shared successful examples of social media application and spoke about the popular blogging practice as an alternative to a web site. He invited the representatives of other cultural institutions to search for new ideas outside their sector, gaining fresh experience in communications with society as a whole, as well as for technological solutions.

Sands closed the discussion with the conclusion that “a traditional cultural institution does not have to be a boring one”.

After meeting Sands, participants of the seminar discussed the role of social media in the cultural institutions of the twenty-first century, the more profound involvement of audiences, the necessity for new partnerships and studied former practices, and the possibilities offered by inter-branch cooperation. Special attention was devoted to the cooperation of cultural institutions with the private sector.

The seminar was organised by the British Council in Latvia, CREATIVE METROPOLES Project and the Cultural Education and Non-Material Heritage Centre and Association, “CultureLab”.