Arts and regional reinvention

Friday 18th September 2009

To contribute to the debate on regional development in Northern-Norway, the conference "ARTS & REGIONAL REINVENTION" wishes to focus on the arts as contemporary artistic creation, and on regional development, pointing out on transectorial collaborations.

With the brand new action plan for culture in the High-North from the Norwegian ministry of culture as a background, the conference "ARTS & REGIONAL REINVENTION" gives the floor to different decision makers and stakeholders to share vision and best practices with their colleagues: cultural operators, business sector representatives, local and national authorities and artists.

This conference aims to consider the place and the role of the arts in all sectors of the society or how arts are used or misused in different contexts from cultural policy to corporate policy, urban development to economic development.

Culture is a word that comprehends the range of activities related to properly human creation. The arts are part of culture but are often confused with culture. Culture gained new recognition in the last decades and consequently a flexible definition related to the various contexts it is used for.

Nowadays not only culture, but also the arts are considered as a key element in the development of the identity in our global and multicultural societies. Heritage remains an important resource for tourism; community arts projects blossom; festivals bring artistic contemporary creation as a driving asset for the economy. Many cities market themselves with their festival, providing them with enough recognition to be put on the map of their country, sometimes Europe or even the world. The competition for the label of European capital of Culture Cities gathers local authorities, business, politics and cultural actors considering all together that culture is a major drive to regenerate a region or a city.

By bringing some European experiences into the discussion, this conference aims to provide inspiring practices for the development of the arts in the High North.

The speakers will be:
Laurent Dreano, head of culture department of the city of Lille and former coordinator of Lille 2004, European cultural capital city.
Bendik Rugaas, senior adviser on High-North region to the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, former Minister for Planning and Coordination, National Librarian of Norway.
Johanne Løgstrup, Curator and co-founder of public, contemporary arts for public spaces (Denmark)
Marianne Telle, managing director of Bedriftskompetanse as, North Norwegian business development company and chairwoman of Tromsø Art Academy board.
Julie Chénot, head of international department, Marseille-Provence 2013, European cultural capital city.

The moderator is
Bård Borch Michalsen, chief editor of the newspaper i Harstad Tidende.

The conference will take place at Radisson SAS Hotel, Sjøgata 7, 9008 Tromsø.
Participation fee: 450 NOK, lunch on Friday and 1 SEAS Tromsø festival pass included.
Hotel room booking: our partner Radisson SAS Hotel will offer preferential rate.

Registration to be sent to Lisa Møller E-mail: lisa@tromseas.no