Critical diversity in the cultural sector

Publication
Reflections from the Forum Fair Culture

With the event "Critical Diversity in the Cultural Sector?" on March 3, the series Forum Fair Culture came to an end. For more than a year, kulturen in bewegung and the Austrian UNESCO Commission dedicated themselves to the connection between internationalization and work with and in communities in the context of art and cultural production. Against the background of justice, the series posed the questions "How diverse is the cultural sector in Austria? Are all population groups represented in the so-called three Pas - program, audience and staff - of cultural institutions?" The cooperation partners* sought answers in four events that took place between December 2020 and March 2022 and aimed to address different target groups. If the first addressed the impact of the pandemic and thus the issue of mobility from the perspective of larger stakeholders, organizations, and those affected, the second event primarily targeted those affected by discrimination. The third event aimed at transferring the collected findings and demands from those affected at the level of the arts and culture sector, cultural administration and -policy.
This collected material can be found in the publication presented here, which would not have been possible without the active participation of deprived art and culture professionals. However, this is only one stage of a long struggle - the struggle for recognition and social/legal/symbolic equality of minoritized and marginalized art and culture professionals in Austria and in Europe.
In addition to the collected experiences and analyses on the part of affected communities, the publication includes a conversation between activist Sara Hassan and cultural producer Jumoke Sanwo, which places the whole issue in a much larger context - that of de-colonial practice.

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