Mass Media Overview
Severstal and British Council have launched “Cultural Upgrade” programme in Moscow
25.03.2014 08:19
http://www.britishcouncil.ru/
The international cultural management project “Cultural Upgrade”, developed by Severstal and the British Council, was officially launched on Tuesday 17 September at the State History Museum in Moscow.
The event was attended by Igor Butman, Konstantin von Eggert, Sofia Trotsenko, Alexey Levykin and other decision-makers of Russia’s cultural sector.
Guests at the event were told about the upcoming stages of the programme, which will comprise cultural management workshops in four Russian regions (Karelia, Vologda, Murmansk, Komi) led by British experts in cultural industries. Managers of local libraries, museums, music organisations, theatres and other cultural venues in these regions have been invited to take part in the workshops. After completing the workshops, the participants will be invited to submit project proposals, and through a competition winners would go on a study tour to the UK in March 2014.
The speakers noted on the unique qualities of the programme, which employs the leading practices and technologies in the sector.
Severstal is one of the largest Russian companies that support the development of the cultural sector and human capital, as our most valuable resource is the people.We would like to move further despite the difficulties in the economy at present
Alexey Yegorov, Deputy Director of Severstal
“We carried out the cultural mapping in four Russian regions and established two main areas for the professional development of the cultural managers in these regions. One of them is fundraising and finding new sources of revenue. The other is audience development. This is the case for the regions, where the cultural sector has limited funding and the managers need to find ways to attract audiences to their theatres, museums, galleries. The success in this programme very much depends on finding the right partner and I think that Severstal is the kind of partner who understands the importance of cultural exchange and its role in strengthening cultural relations”.
Paul de Quincey, Director of the British Council in Russia
Such projects are essential. Culture brings us together. Across the world musicians and artists use a universal language of notes and gestures. We need to develop arts managers with international experience, who understand equally as clearly the language of artistic management. I’m very glad that some of the workshops will take place in Karelia, which is renowned for its cultural traditions.
Musician Igor Butman,
participant of the Festival of Chamber Music in Kostomuksha</p>
The next stage of the “Cultural Upgrade” will be the start of this series of workshops in cultural management. The first of these takes place in Petrozavodsk, Karelia, on 23-26 September 2013.