On Mobility and Other Inflexibilities

One of the challenges presented by a globalised knowledge and information society is to equip people with the key competencies and skills that they will require for the future in an increasingly competition-oriented Europe.

Flexibility and acceleration are considered central phenomena of globally connected information societies, in which mobility can be considered a function of social and cultural development. Mobility, creativity and spontaneity are attributes that originally were mainly ascribed to artists, but are now being used increasingly in economic contexts. On the second theme evening, the discussion focussed on the significance and relevance of mobility for the contexts of production and networking in a Europe where education and culture are of central importance.

Irrespective of the basic possibility of travel, an important question discussed was whether the targets of the mobility programme framed by the European Agenda for Culture, such as the fostering of creativity and productivity, or the exchange of experience and information, could be implemented in a way that would benefit people working in the artistic sphere, and what obstacles needed to be overcome in order to do so.

In their presentations, the Kosovar artist Driton Hajredini; Gerhard Kowař, Director of KKA; Bettina Leidl, General Manager of the Kunsthalle Wien; and Veronika Ratzenböck, Director of the Director of the cultural policy analysis institution “österreichische kulturdokumentation. internationales archiv für kulturanalysen”, dealt with the following central questions: In view of numerous obstacles such as limited financial resources, existing visa regulations and restrictive residence permit requirements, especially for artists from outside the Schengen area, how can the objectives of the mobility programme be implemented? How and to what extent do mobility schemes and experiences affect local art scenes?

The general discussion, moderated by Günter Kaindlstorfer, focussed for a time on the East-West divide in the context of artists’ possibilities for production and marketing. According to one observation, longtime experience indicates that interest in Eastern European art in the West is usually related to existing media attention on political events. There is not only a shortage of adequate, long-term scholarships and other programmes, but sometimes also a lack of long-term interest in maintaining an exchange on an equal footing. The experience gained by KKA working in this area shows that Western Europe still has a knowledge deficit with regard to the artistic and cultural landscapes of Eastern and South Eastern Europe.

Regret was also expressed that Austrian artists were much less interested in working in the region than vice versa. Apparently the main reason for this is the lack of attractive locations in Eastern and South Eastern Europe. The situation cannot be expected to change substantially until an attractive art market, with galleries and good conditions for production, is developed. The discussion participants agreed on the necessity of further developing suitable platforms for the formation of networks and the stimulation of professional exchange, both in the West and in the East.