In her lecture, Dr Praznik addressed the persistent invisibility of labour in the cultural sector, the precarity of artistic and cultural work, and the relationship between research, cultural policy, and collective organising. Drawing on social reproduction analyses and experiences of organising art and cultural workers in Slovenia and Croatia, the lecture examined how artistic labour is often framed as individual creativity or a ‘labour of love’, obscuring exploitation, unpaid work, and precarious working conditions.

Particular attention was given to the organising experiences of the Zasuk union in Slovenia and the SKUPA initiative in Croatia, as well as to the limitations of decades of policy advocacy and research which, despite extensively documenting precarity in the cultural sector, have often failed to produce structural change without organised collective power.

The lecture was followed by a rich and productive discussion involving researchers, representatives of cultural organisations, and a range of actors from the Croatian cultural and creative sector. The discussion focused in particular on labour conditions in culture, possibilities for collective organising, and the challenges cultural policies face in the context of increasing precarity in cultural work.

The lecture was organized in connection with the publication of the new book ‘Creative and Cultural Work in Europe’  edited by Bård Kleppe, Jaka Primorac, Miikka Pyykkönen and David Wright (published by Routledge).

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What happens when research seeks not only to analyze cultural production, but to intervene in its conditions of labor? This lecture examines the persistent invisibility of labor in the cultural sector through the lens of social reproduction analyses and participatory research conducted with freelance art workers in the post-Yugoslav context. It argues that artistic labor is systematically essentialized as “creativity”—an individualized expression of passion or talent—thereby obscuring the labor process, normalizing unpaid work, and enabling the extraction of value under precarious conditions.

Drawing on organizing experiences with art workers’ unions in Slovenia and Croatia, the lecture shows how this ideological framing is increasingly challenged through collective action that reasserts art work as labor. At the same time, it critically reflects on the limits of decades of policy advocacy and research, which have extensively documented precarity in the cultural sector yet failed to produce structural change.

The analysis suggests that the central obstacle is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of organized power capable of transforming entrenched labor relations shaped by divergent class interests. In this context, participatory research emerges as a politically ambivalent practice: while it can contribute to building collective agency, it also risks being absorbed into institutional frameworks that reproduce the very conditions it seeks to critique.

The lecture ultimately poses a question to researchers and policy actors alike: are we positioned as expert colleagues producing knowledge about cultural workers, or as comrades engaged in struggles to transform the conditions of cultural labor? This tension calls for a reflexive rethinking of the role of research in relation to organizing, class formation, and the future of cultural production.

The lecture is organized in connection with the publication of the new book ‘Creative and Cultural Work in Europe’ edited by Bård Kleppe, Jaka Primorac, Miikka Pyykkönen and David Wright (published by Routledge), and it will be moderated by Dr Jaka Primorac from the Department for Culture and Communication, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO).

The lecture will be held in English, and the discussion will be held in Croatian. You can sign up to attend the lecture by May 18 at kultura@irmo.hr.

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The lecture introduced the concept of invisible cultural policy, highlighting that cultural policy is shaped not only by formal legislation and strategies, but also by broader public values, administrative practices and organisational processes. Special attention was given to cultural federalism in the United States, characterised by strong decentralisation and the key role of state, local and non-profit actors.

Drawing on examples from programmes implemented by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Dr Redaelli demonstrated how values such as diversity, accessibility and inclusion are translated into concrete policy measures. Emphasis was placed on the role of pluralistic public culture in fostering dialogue and participation.

The lecture concluded with an interactive discussion, focusing on differences between American and European, particularly Croatian, cultural policy models, the role of public funding, the complexity of institutional frameworks and challenges related to insufficient funding.

Dr Redaelli’s book “Invisible Cultural Policy: A Public Policy Perspective on Culture in the United States” is available in open access here:
https://www.elgaronline.com/monobook-oa/book/9781035330232/9781035330232.xml

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This presentation examines the often-overlooked role of the U.S. government in shaping cultural life. Drawing from her recently published book Invisible Cultural Policy in America, Dr Redaelli explores how public administration fosters a pluralistic cultural landscape through multilevel governance and diverse democratic values. Focusing on the arts, humanities, and historic preservation, the talk traces key legislation that legitimised federal involvement and the evolution of cultural federalism across national and state agencies. To illustrate this process, the presentation provides national examples of programming as well as cases from Oregon, Minnesota, Maryland, and New Mexico. It also highlights intellectual debates that influenced shifting interpretations of cultural domains. Amid this fragmented governance, the concept of a pluralistic public culture emerges as a unifying principle aimed at strengthening democracy.

The lecture will be held in English. You can sign up to attend the lecture by February 25 at kultura@irmo.hr.

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The chapter examines the relationship between democratic traits and the normative promises of cultural policy versus its actual practice, viewing this relationship through the lens of participatory governance in culture as one of the key contemporary directions in cultural policy development. The authors analyse how participatory models can contribute to democratizing cultural policy by redirecting decision-making from centralized and bureaucratic structures toward shared, context-responsive, and collaborative governance arrangements. Using the concepts of embeddedness, institutionalization, and Participatory Institutional Design, the chapter offers an analysis of Croatian cultural policy with particular emphasis on civil society initiatives and the civil-public institution Pogon (Zagreb) as a fifteen-year case study of participatory governance in practice.

The edited volume Cultural Democracy contains 11 chapters in which authors consider the ramifications of the term ‘cultural democracy’ from a variety of perspectives. In recent years, the concept of cultural democracy has gained traction in cultural policy and academic discourse, while manifesting itself on a practical level in cultural practice, but has not been uniformly defined. This book proposes that it is a system of production, participation, support and policy of the arts acknowledging the right for all citizens to produce, access, and experience culture. Starting from this premise, the book goes on to elaborate on how the fields of cultural policy and cultural production could be aware of and relate to the cultural life-world of people. This is in opposition to the traditional top-down approach of cultural policy, distribution and cultural education systems, which depart from the canonical value of artworks and the institutional power of producers and venues. Cultural Democracy advocates a fundamentally bottom-up approach towards organising, supporting and educating arts and culture.

The chapter by Dr Vidović and Dr Žuvela is available here, while information about the book, as well as other scholarly papers published in the edited volume, are also available on the publisher’s website.

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In her lecture, Dr Hanania provided an in-depth analysis of the Convention’s evolution — from its origins in the early 2000s “trade and culture” debates to its implementation in today’s digital environment. Reflecting on two decades of the Convention’s influence, Dr Hanania discussed its impact on cultural policy-making, international cooperation, and sustainable development. She also addressed current challenges related to digital context, such as algorithmic bias, data protection, and discoverability of diverse cultural expressions online. Particular attention was given to recent initiatives, including UNESCO’s Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment and the work of the Reflection Group on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the Digital Environment.

The lecture was followed by a discussion with researchers and cultural policy professionals, highlighting the Convention’s continuing importance as a cornerstone of global cultural governance.

The presentation and related references from Dr Hanania’s lecture can be found on the webpage of the Culturelink Centre Repository.

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The lecture provided an overview of research data on how young people are both the present and the future of cultural creative industries, and on the ways they are dynamically shaping creative sectors such as the film industry.

The lecture was based on the research data from the Horizon Europe REBOOT project, which focuses on understanding and emphasizing the European film industry’s (EFI) international competitiveness. The key goal of REBOOT is to explore the institutional frameworks defining the competitiveness of the European film industry and to highlight how audiences, particularly young people and children, comprehend the notion of a competitive film industry today. The research addresses existing gaps in literature, noting a scarcity of recent studies on film literacy support programs and a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding youth perceptions, preferences, and engagement with film.

The research employed mixed methods approach, utilizing a large quantitative survey with 4,453 participants (Children aged 12-18 and Young Adults aged 18-24) and qualitative insights gathered from 508 young people in focus group interviews. The research encompassed nine European countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Turkey. The findings reveal that streaming has redefined how young people consume films. A significant majority (75.6%) prefer watching films on Video on Demand (VoD) via TV or computers, noting that streaming platforms offer a wider range of options compared to previous traditional models. Film plays a central role in their lives, with 77.6% watching films weekly or a few times per week. While VoD is dominant, cinema remains a valued and irreplaceable experience, often linked to social occasions with friends, family, or romantic partners. Young people are selective and critically aware of the film range, generally expressing satisfaction with the variety offered by streaming services. However, some youth report disappointment with newer films, perceiving them as repetitive, formulaic, and driven merely by profit. For young people, emotional attachment, inspiration, and connection are the most important things in films, and they are drawn to engaging plots and characters from different backgrounds. Comedies are their most preferred genre (61.8%).

Regarding preferences, young people generally recognize differences between European and US films. US films have become the standard reference point for many young European audiences due to wide availability and popularity. While European films are sometimes criticized for having lower production values, slower pacing, and being less commercial or spectacular, youth also perceive them as artistic, biographical, and thoughtful. Many believe European cinema is of higher quality precisely because it is less commercial and less propagandistic, offering deeper storytelling that may require more analytical engagement from the viewer. The dominance of American content is reflected in the list of the top 15 youth’s favourite films, which consists mostly of long-standing, modern mainstream American box-office hits and franchises, such as Harry Potter, Interstellar, and Star Wars. The research found that European films lack sufficient visibility and promotion outside their country of origin among young people.

Furthermore, prof. Sarikakis highlighted the emergence of youth as creators. Almost a quarter of young people (23.1%) produce and share video content online. This signals a new filmmaking paradigm where young people are democratizing video and filmmaking education through autodidactic models and everyday equipment, primarily smartphones (79.2%). They share their content on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, often producing material in English for greater accessibility. However, young people express interest in professional work while simultaneously reporting barriers to filmmaking, such as the lack of proper equipment, resources, and institutional connections.

In conclusion, prof. Sarikakis underlined several policy recommendations for fostering competitiveness of the European film industry, based on the REBOOT project research results. These include urging the European Commission to increase the visibility of European films on social media by collaborating with content creators and influencers. It is also suggested that the Commission fund streaming services that prioritize European content for youth, foster the annual production of films aimed specifically at young audiences in national industries, and incorporate comprehensive film education into compulsory schooling across European State Members. Finally, the European film industry must embrace and adopt the democratic filmmaking paradigm now employed by young creators.

The discussion after the lecture touched upon the gaps between audiovisual policies and practices at both national and European levels, the need to design new models of youth involvement in film production, and the issue of expanding film education programs and strengthening support for youth filmmaking. In addition to the issues of methodology and methods used, and the challenges of conducting such complex research at the European level, the need for a broader understanding of the concept of media governance (beyond the institutional approach) was also discussed, as was the need for greater communication of scientific research data not only to the industry, but also to other stakeholders.

The moderator of the event was Dr. Jaka Primorac from the Department of Culture and Communication, IRMO.

On the website of the The Culturelink Centre Repository, content related to Culturelink Guest Lecture Series by Prof. Sarikakis can be found: https://kultura.irmo.hr/culturelink-en/repository/

The lecture was organised in collaboration with the CresCine project, on which you can find out more at: https://www.crescine.eu/

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The lecture will provide an overview of how young people are both the present and the future of cultural creative industries, dynamically shaping creative sectors such as the film industry. Existing literature on the role of children and young people as young audiences and consumers underlines the lack of studies capturing youth’s voices and providing a comprehensive understanding of young people’s perceptions on preferences, interests and challenges, regarding film consumption and engagement with film-related interactions, which range from film clubs to filmmaking itself. To address this gap, the current REBOOT project study uses mixed-methods, combining survey data of 4.453 responses and focus group interviews of 508 young people aged 12 to 24 from nine countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and Türkiye.

The findings of the study point out that young people’s preferences are associated with emotional attachment and films with which they can feel related and connected and evoke strong emotional responses, inspiration and personal projection. Young audiences value complex and alternative film narratives, nostalgic films related to their childhood and authenticity over artificial storytelling. Additionally, young people are not restrained to film consumption but rather adopt an interactive approach to film by generating conversations via sharing film-related cultural perceptions and experiences on social media platforms. Similarly, platforms like Letterboxd provide space for active engagement in a collective meaning-making of the movie.

A further layer of interaction with films is young people’s engagement with video- and even filmmaking. Film production is a multifaceted process combining from the one hand, skills development and professional exploration and expanding on the other hand, to creativity boundaries, identity discovery, self-expression and social engagement. Finally, young people are shifting learning paradigms towards the democratisation of video and filmmaking education through autodidactic models and everyday equipment, such as smartphones, generating an informal, alternative and self-motivated creative path.

This lecture is organised in collaboration with the CresCine project, on which you can find out more at: https://www.crescine.eu/

The lecture will be held in English. Please sign up to attend the lecture by September 22, 2025, to kultura@irmo.hr.

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The lecture focused on presenting and critically assessing the innovative programme launched by the Irish Government, which tests the introduction of a basic income scheme for artists and cultural workers in the period 2022-2026.

Prof. Mc Quaid first presented the broader socio-political context and the public policy background that led to the establishment of the aforementioned model while also highlighting key discourses within the discussions of the cultural sector that preceded the introduction of the pilot project. He then outlined the objectives and methodology of the pilot project, presenting preliminary results and discussing implementation challenges to open a discussion on its potential social and cultural impacts.  The lecture generated considerable interest from the audience, particularly given the current discussions on the status of independent artists in Croatia and the challenges related to the position of artists and cultural workers in Europe and beyond. The data from the project evaluation report shows a statistically significant impact of the basic income for artists on almost all indicators: on the development of artistic practice, retention in the sector, general well-being and deprivation. Artists were able to focus more on their own work (12%) and experimenting (14%) and create more works of art (in 65% of cases). Further discussion opened questions on how the results of the pilot project can be used in the talks on Universal Basic Income, on the sustainability of such a model in Ireland within the current political climate, and on the applicability of such a model in other socio-political contexts. Prof. Mc Quaid also opened up questions about the problem of competition among artists, the collective action of artists in a given context, and to what extent models like the one presented can bring about significant change within the current neoliberal capitalist paradigm.

We are also sharing Prof. Mc Quaid’s presentation from the lecture: link to the presentation.

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The lecture will look at the Basic Income for Artists (BIA) scheme implemented in Ireland in the context of cultural policy. In particular, it will attempt to shine a light on what set of political, economic, cultural and social circumstances gave rise to such a scheme, which raised considerable interest internationally. The lecture will present some analysis of the policy discourse surrounding the implementation of the scheme, analysis of the proposal documents, ministerial press releases, etc. It will look at the questions surrounding why artists should be singled out for such special treatment, and it will look at how the scheme relates to Universal Basic Income. In addition, the lecture will present an overview of the research that has been commissioned to assess the impacts of the scheme. Policy problems will then be explored; such as – how this scheme, if continued, would impact the Arts Council and other forms of artist financial support, how will means testing be applied, which government agency is best placed to administer the scheme? The lecture is based on an article co-written with Satu Teppo (University of Melbourne) for a special issue of the international scientific journal Cultural Trends in 2025.

The lecture will be held in English. You can apply until 1st September 2025, to kultura@irmo.hr.

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