The pandemic comes and goes, and the cultural and political dilemma continues

– We know that there is a need for digital enhancement in the cultural sector. In addition, the access requirement for art and culture becomes even more important. What treatment do we need and do not have today? Then we have the dreaded part of the boost mission: is there anything we should stop doing, something that could make way for work towards new development rates? These are big and difficult questions, Danielsen says when she talks about creating new spaces for art and culture.

quality requirements

Opinion polls The Cultural Council expressed opinions that the public is positive for physical participation in cultural life. Three out of four say they want to develop digital habits even further, but few prefer to experience culture digitally.

At the same time, and perhaps most importantly: eight out of ten say the quality of the cultural presentation is one of the three most important criteria for participation.

The audience knows what they want. It’s not enough just to open the doors, Danielsen said, the show has to be good.

It places demands on both practitioners, but also on institutions, municipalities and county municipalities as facilitators. It was their representatives who made up the majority of the approximately 160 participants in the cultural conference.

Municipalities are the foundation

The Cultural Council developed four scenarios for future cultural life:

“The only thing we know is that none of this will happen,” Danielson said of trying to look at the crystal ball.

But it started thinking processes about where we want to go and what we should prioritize. Stian Davies is Chairman of the Main Committee for Culture, Sports and Integration of the Vestland County Municipality and opened the conference by talking about the institutions.

– There are many municipalities here. Thanks! They form the basis of cultural life and create opportunities for cultural life to grow. Now we need ambition, innovation and innovation, he said.

He should think about what’s new about the facilities

Ola Mattson of Danish Lokale og Anlægsfonden was one of those who inspired innovation on behalf of the sport, which can be compared to the Norwegian Games plan.

He asked if in 2020 we really should build gymnasiums according to the same model as in the 1950s. Today, he said, we are largely creating athletics arenas in the same way that the Greeks did long before our era.

The Norwegian gambling system is unique and must be taken care of. But perhaps part of the scheme is focused on development? What those sitting on the purse want is very important. It also depends on how one works with established standards. The criteria are based on yesterday’s knowledge and user style. We must act on the basis of the problem. What problem do we want to solve? What do we want to achieve? Why build there? in Mattson.

Vestland County Municipality cooperates with Lokale og Anlægsfonden in Innovative activity facilities of the project.

Today’s surprise

Another category of physical meeting places are culture houses, not least hostels, as there are many around Vestland County. Here is the great need for promotion and qualification, and the day before the conference, the Main Committee for Culture, Sports and Integration 15 million more for cultural buildings with regional events.

On the day of the conference, Christopher Knagengelm brought another good news of the same kind: Sparebankstiftinga in Sogn og Fjordane increased its support for the Huset i Bygda project from 800,000 kroner to 2 million NOK in 2021.

Improper use of buildings

Marian Wayne of Kulturalliansen, the umbrella organization for voluntary cultural life, stresses that there is a great need to develop buildings owned by the organisation. A survey by The Cultural Alliance showed that 76 percent of their teams train in acoustically inappropriate rooms. Additionally, only 22 percent of the buildings they practice are adapted for people with disabilities.

There are buildings, but they are not directly used.

Nina Hodeniland of Norsk Culturehouse believes funding is key.

The vast majority of culture houses have between 0 and 20 percent subsidies for employment. If they don’t have any support, they have to make money every night. We are trying to raise this to the national level, to understand that the House of Culture is part of a national infrastructure. There she urged that we need help from everyone in the municipal sector.

– Lots at the ready

Physical space exists, but what about speech space? Anke Kristin Gerhardsen of Nord University and the Committee on Freedom of Expression asked questions about whether the Norwegian cultural sphere today cultivates the gray area and freedom of expression and answered himself:

– No, at least there was no impression left. Many of them, she said, are on guard, one is afraid to make mistakes, and set limits on what is acceptable and what is not.

It was Knut Skansen, director of the Deichmann Library in Oslo, who had to take a stand on these limits. He believes that in the future it will be the task of libraries to promote democratic efficiency and teach people to differ and debate.

Everyone should be able to raise their voice and feel safe. One should not be kept secret in the library, but many want it, because not all talk is welcome to everyone. We must from time to time allow ourselves to be tolerated, he said, concluding that the most important task of the library is to be a social and meeting place in the neighbourhood.