DEVELOPING AUDIENCES FOR PUBLIC CULTURE AND ARTS EVENTS IN MOLDOVA

A policy brief for the Culture & Creativity EU-Eastern Partnership Programme.

According to the District Youth Strategy report in 2012 many young Moldovans do not go to cultural events in public concert halls and galleries because of young people’s limited access to cultural programmes or their low level of knowledge. 

Another factor is the cultural programmes of public cultural institutions do not interest young people. At the same time young Moldovan audiences are not familiar with culture and classical and academic art because cultural education includes too few school trips to theatres and museums from an early age.

Public institutions do not have dedicated marketing budgets and the management are unfamiliarwith targetted marketing that could significantly improve communication and promotion of their activities, while commercial events are able to fill concert halls. The problem is not the public, the problem is the poor advertising of the event by the public sector.

Six Steps to Developing Audiences in Public Institutions:

1. Government investment in the professional development of the staff working in the cultural sector

2. Implement more projects that would cultivate love for academic art in children

3. Familiarise the public with culture and the arts

4. Improve cultural programmes in public institutions

5. The public sector should hire marketing companies to promote their own events

6. Use tax credits for PR companies to encourage re-branding and promotion of public institutions 

Recommendations:

For Cultural Institutions

Public cultural institutions should change their focus onto their audiences.

Forthe Ministry of Education, Culture and Research

The education system should be more involved in the development ofthe creative potential of children and youth. Develop a sustainable long-term policy on young people’s access to culture. Increase budget allocations to public cultural institutions. Coordinate the entire activity of systemic regulation for the cultural sector. Coordinate public opinion surveys on cultural consumption. Allow publicly funded culture organisations to hold outdoor events in public spaces.

Policy Brief (EN)

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