b Cultural development:

experiences
and policies

Second edition Augustin Girard

in collaboration with
Genevive Gentil

Unesco
Cultural development:
experiences
and policies
The designationsemployed and the presentation ofmaterial throughout this publication
do not imply the expression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part ofUnesco concerning
the legal status of any country,territory,city or area or of its authorities,or concerning
the delimitationof its frontiersor boundaries.

First published in 1972 by the United Nations

Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization
7 place de Fontenoy,75700Paris
Printed by Imprimerie des Presses Universitaires de France,Vendme
Second edition 1983
ISBN 92-3-10202CLX
0 Unesco 1972, 1983
Printed in France
 Preface

The Intergovernmental Conference on Institutional, Administrative and

Financial Aspects of Cultural Policies, organized by Unesco in Venice in
September 1970, showed that governments had decided to meet new require-
ments and accept responsibility for cultural development from n o w on as
an integral part of development in general.
The broad agreement evident at Venice was confirmed at the meetings
of ministers responsible for culture in the different regions of the world,
held in Helsinki (1972), Jogjakarta (1973), Accra (1975) and Bogot (1978).
It therefore seemed appropriate to prepare a book that would reflect
this sense of c o m m o n purpose and attempt to take stock of the many varied
activities needed in the formulation of a cultural policy.
The task involved defining methods that would facilitate the discussion
of planning problems, highlighting priorities and pinpointing the means for
implementing these activities. The authors begin with a discussion of the
ultimate purposes of cultural policy; they then define means and objectives
and conclude with a consideration of the role of the public authorities in
cultural development.
Augustin Girard was invited to write this book. He is in charge of the
Studies and Research Department of the French Ministry of Culture, set
up in 1961, and has also taken part in many international conferences as
rapporteur or in his capacity as an expert. He was assisted by Genevive
Gentil, w h o was rapporteur at the meeting of experts on the European
cultural data-bank project (Bucarest, 1977) and who, for several years, has
followed the project for the French Government.
 Contents

11 Foreword

15 Chapter 1 Ultimate purposes

Quality of life and identity 15 Piecemeal, dehumanizing work 16
Discouraging atmosphere 17 Leisure, a new form of alienation 18
The audio-visual bombardment 18 Machines alter our way of life 19
Multicultured: a c o m m o n problem but a need 19 Ultimate ends 21
Culture is combat 23 What culture means to the young 23 Fine arts
and culture 24 W h o decides the ultimate ends? 25 National cultural
councils 26 Research institutes 30

33 Chapter 2 The cultural industries

The predicament in cultural policy-making 34 Reasons for studying
the cultural industries 34 The new conditions of cultural democra-
tization 34 More culture for more people 35 What, in psychological
terms, are the messages aimed at mass audiences? 30 The cultural
industries represent one of the few ways out of the financial dead end in
which the live performance finds itself 38 The decentralization of
institutions cannot keep pace with the demand for culture 39 The
reappraisal of the status of the creative artist 40 Protection of the
national cultural identity 41 The new ways of extending cultural
influence 42 The cultural industries and the role of the public auth-
orities 43 The diferent phases of the productionlmarketing process 45
Identifcation of the field of the cultural industries: the direrent areas of
activity to be considered 47 Products may also be classified according
to the ways in which they are manufactured. ..47 . . .or according
to the ways in which they are used 48 The term cultural industries
is not synonymous with the industrializationof culture 49 The cultural)
industries are not all cultural 49 The role of the public auth-
orities 51 The resources of the public authorities 53 1980-90: a
new leap forward 53 Cultural industries and the developing
countries 54 The future of a cultural industry: book-publishing 57
 The importance of books 58 The proliferation of retail outlets 58
Electronic libraries and the modern mass media 60 Towards a general
policy 60

62 Chapter 3 Animation
A new situation 62 The need to communicate 62 A growing
appetite 63 From media entertainments to cultural activity 63 Ups
and downs of democratization 65 Popular education in 1980 65
False democratization 66 Culture for the educated 67 One kind of
outsider,or many kinds? 67 Culture with a capital C-or subcultures,
plural? 68 Democratization of high culture-or cultural democ-
racy? 70 De-institutionalization 71 The essential intermediary 72
The small group as intermediary 72 What is cultural animation?74
Animation and creation are inseparable 76 Accept the risk of
politics 77 What is an animateur? 78 Training and career
prospects 81 Animation and the training of animateurs in Third
World countries 82 Cultural animation and community devel-
opment 85 New facilities 86 Bring the public in or go out to it? 87
Many multipurpose facilities integrated into the socialfabric, rather than
a few monuments87

93 Chapter 4 The cultural content of education

Developing sensitivity and the powers of the imagination 93 Learning
about the new audio-visual media 96 Out-of-school activities 98
The integration of cultural institutions and schools 102 Culture,
sport and education in one centre 105

108 Chapter 5 Aiding the creator

Creativity in modern society 108 A paradoxical situation 108 Why
artists? 109 Outsider to community decorator 109 Social progress
and the artist 110 The inescapable dilemma 110 T o assist without
interfering 110 Practical help 11 1 Professional status 112 Copy-
right 1 13 Social beneflts 1 14 Studios 1 15 Resident artists 11 5 The
dissemination of contemporary works 116 Tax relief 119 Art in
architecture 120 Artists in the community 121 Architecture and .
control over our surroundings 125 Creation and the media 127 The
concept of cultural production 127 From the live performance to the
televisedperformance128 Cultural production and nationalidentity 129
The role of the state 131

135 Chapter 6 Instruments of analysis

A more scientific approach 135 Cultural statistics 137 Occupational
statistics 143 Analysis of financial flows 146 Distribution of public
expenditure on culture at administrative levels 157 Cultural accounts 162
Rationalizing options and cost-benefit analyses 163 Continuous
experiment 164 Importance of future research 165 International
cultural co-operation 166 Cultural statistics: bibliography 168
170 Chapter 7 The role of the public authorities
Cultural life, cultural development, cultural action and cultural
policy 170 Decentralization 172 Culture, authority and partici-
pation 176 The role of the central authorities: information, training,
co-ordination,research and creation 180 Research and creation: matters
for encouragementby thelocalauthorities 181 The right to culture imposes
a responsibility on governments 182 The culturalside of development 183

187 List of examples

 P'oreword

This book is an attempt to familiarize all w h o hold positions of responsi-

bility, whether policy-makers,administrators or workers in the field, with
the work and conclusions of those w h o have been giving thought over the
last twenty years to cultural development in the contemporary world.
Our aim has been to consider different approaches to cultural policy-
making and a number of experiences which, in our view, are likely to spur
those involved in cultural action to think about the various issues raised.
This work is not a list of prescribed solutions or a summary of cultural
policies implemented throughout the world; nor is it a personal essay or
intellectual exercise. Rather than formulate a theory on cultural action, w e
have attempted to summarize the results of research or collective thinking
from which those attending a variety of international meetings have been
able to draw objective conclusions.
Thus, the collective effort of which this book provides a passing record
is an attempt to put the whole matter on a rational basis and to introduce
objectivity and, consequently, an organized, experimental approach to
cultural activities. For budgetary experience shows that it is only when
cultural concerns are rationally presented and, like education and health,
assigned their due place in social development that culture is taken seriously
by the financial authorities and allotted its fair share of the national income.
But first we need to know upon what ultimate purposes, aims and
objectives general agreement can be found; after this we can spell out ways
and means in terms of money, men and legislation.It must also be possible,
if only by indicators, to measure the results,that is, the impact on the general
public as a whole.
Once we have clearly defined objectives and know the probable results,
we can formulate criteria of the effectiveness of the various means (social or
even cultural rather than monetary) and, consequently, criteria for deciding
where resources and effort should be directed.
This will give each country practical options linking objectives, means
and results, from among which it is for the political authorities to choose.
The traditional role of the public authorities may then be called into
 12 Foreword

question and re-defined.It no longer consists of fixed responsibilities

inherited from the past, but must be re-conceived in the light of the new
media and the transformation in standards and patterns of living. Once the
ultimate purposes have been defined, the new means and the new demand
call for examination. This is the task of Chapter 2, which deals with the
cultural industries and the audio-visual media.
The traditional institutions being inadequate to cope, something better
has to be found (see Chapter 3): we need a better link between the means
and the people. So we must revise our ideas about the people w h o will
provide this link, and about their training, equipment and the relations
between their work and lifelong education.
Deliberately ignoring museums, music and the theatre because they are
adequately dealt with elsewhere, we devote a chapter to an item that is
always the worst treated in cultural budgets, but on which all the rest
nevertheless depend: creativity,with particular emphasis on the visual arts.
The major cultural challenge of the 1980s seems to revolve around protecting
and fostering endogenous cultural production, by supporting creative
artists and cultural institutions.
As a scientificapproach is impossiblewithout instrumentsfor measuring
and judging,we deal in the penultimate chapter with what various countries
are doing and international organizations should do to fashion such
instruments.
With additional light on ultimate purposes, on what is really wanted,
and on the practical alternatives,the role of the public authorities gradually
becomes clear. This is the subject of the last chapter, which ends with an
examination of the relations between cultural development and development
in general.
In trying to describe the growth of collective thinking in and about the
elaboration of cultural policies, we are conscious of inadequacies. Since the
publication of Cultural Policy: A Preliminary Study in 1969, every month
that passes has brought in a new crop of studies and experiments. Despite
our efforts to find the documentation, w e are far from having assembled
details of all that has happened in the world over the last twenty years. Those
w h o wish to pursue the subject further will find much of what they need at
the Unesco documentation centre on cultural development. In fact,
each of the chapters of this work could well be expanded into a complete
book-inasmuch as the material presented in this volume may prove inad-
equate. This work should not be judged as a representative picture of the
overall situation; it should be seen, rather, in terms of its central purpose,
namely to determine the possible scope for planning.
This study is selective rather than representative. The cultural achieve-
ments and specific concerns of the Third World in particular are not dis-
cussed as such. No cultural administrator from an old industrial nation has
any right to speak for nations that have their own distinctive cultural
identity and are quite capable of speaking for themselves. A few journeys
or fleeting contacts are hardly enough to justify our taking and using the
voice of men and women whose words come forth from their ancestral soil.
 Foreword 13

We have often been astonished to find, during the course of activities

and meetings organized by Unesco, that people speaking quite different
languages seem to have a common process of reasoning and a positive,
objective approach that can be shared with others.
The winds of crisis sweeping the world may prevent any growth in
state cultural budgets, but the demand for culture has by no means dimin-
ished. The only way governments can meet this demand is to engage in a
continual examination of their options and decisions. This work has been
written to assist them in such an examination.
 Chapter 1 W e want to find m a n wherever w e find
the things that crush him.
Andr Malraux

Ultimate purposes
Quality of life and identity
A n acceleration of cultural development is a necessity forced on rapidly
changing societies. The transformations they are undergoing in this latter
part of the twentieth century are threatening the quality of life in the
industrial countries and the personality of individuals and peoples through-
out the world.
In the course of thirty years-one generation-work, housing,schooling,
trade, transport, leisure and standards of living have all been radically
altered. Most important of all is the fact that consumer electronics has
brought the best and the worst forms of human expression into the home and
is liable to wipe out hundreds of years of cultural tradition.
It is clear today, after two decades of economic development-rapid
in some places, very slow in others-and a spate of crises which have only
just begun, that individuals and societies can no longer derive satisfaction
solely from an increasingly higher level of consumption. M a n today
cannot live by bread alone, any more than he could two thousand years
ago.
It follows that cultural development has n o w ceased to be an article of
luxury, an embellishment of plenty, which societiesand individualscould do
without; it is on the contrary linked to the very conditions of general devel-
opment. Its ultimate goals are not determined in the light of any particular
philosophical conception of man; they spring from the intimate needs of
societies in the throes of inner change.
While the rich nations, for the first time no longer doomed to struggle
for survival, are longing in their heart of hearts for the revelation of an art
of living,the most destitute set their national personality, what makes them
what they are, above all other possessions.
The quality of life and the need to retain our individual personality in
the face of the contemporary world are two vital needs to be found every-
where, expressed at times with violence, and in no wise satisfied by economic
development.
 16 Ultimatepurposes

The right to culture has consequently been acclaimed a human right,

not only as a matter of justice, but because it reflects an irresistible need of
the species. Culture is the response to mans highest need, the need which
gives him his dignity, which makes him man.
In order to determine the ultimate goals of cultural policies the first
essential, therefore, is to understand what has given rise to this new need
which societies feel vis-d-visa civilization that is facing crisis because it is a
by-product of industrialization and not the fiuit of deliberate human intent.
The new situation in which mankind finds itself in both the industrial and
the developing countries must be closely examined.
For the living conditions of men determine the culture in which they
live, and the main factors which go to make up these conditions-work,
housing, means of communication-also exert a powerful influence on
cultural development.

Piecemeal,dehumanizing work
By a paradox rarely noted, the most developed countries are those in which
work occupies the biggest place-and in which it most alienates the person-
ality. But, as the representative of the World Federation of Trade Unions
pointed out at the round-table meeting held in Monaco: the m a n w h o is
alienated in his work is equally alienated in his culture. There is an indis-
soluble link between the pattern of ones work and the pattern of ones
leisure. W o r k governs an individuals cultural life in two ways.
On the one hand, the division and rational specialization of labour
results in making his work piecemeal, cramping and repetitive, devoid of
inventiveness and responsibility, and by breaking the bond between work
and its product eliminates the joy gained from a job well done. Whereas
culture traditionally arose from work that involved mastering nature, the
worker in industry is bereft of every form of creativeness, of every means of
shaping matter according to his fancy.
Secondly, the use made of free time,once the demands of physiological
recuperationhave been met, is necessarily governed by the attitudes imposed
during working hours. Those w h o are most creatively employed also enjoy
the most creative leisure, and those most passive in their work are equally
so in their leisure. The paradox can even be noted that women w h o work
over and above their household duties are more active in their leisure time
than those who are occupied only in the home.
Time off is contaminated,fettered by working time,and a cultural policy
which proposes to fill the workers leisure with the cultural activities typical
of the leisured classes of former times is bound to fail. On the contrary, any
policy aimed at using the workers leisure to overcome their alienation of
body and mind, enabling them to realize all their natural potential and accept
their responsibilities in social life, will be likely sooner or later to full their
deepest aspirations. As well as being most desirable, economically speaking,
as contributing to occupational mobility on the basis of recurrent training,
such a policy will, above all, make it possible for broad sections of the people
 Ultimalepurposes 17

to live a fuller daily life, with greater awareness, energy and fellow-feeling.
In this way we find in the various reactions provoked by the fragmentation
of work a first ultimate goal of cultural action?

Discouraging atmosphere
Next to work, it is the setting in which we live that most affects cultural
activity, and it must be acknowledged that in the industrial countries a
century of urban life without town planning has led to a serious deterioration
of our immediate surroundings. In developing countries, unchecked urban
growth has spawned vast shanty towns around the cities; over the years,
tens of millions of people have made their homes in such places, leaving
behind them everything, including the village organization which formerly
ensured that their culture was passed on. The cities have been built, not for
m a n but for industry and profits; with the result that they are one of the
main causes of the alienation of human beings in an industrial economy.
Crowding and ugliness, noise and congested communications have caused
them to be emphatically rejected. Whenever possible, people abandon what
ought to be their place of refuge,their veritable shelter,their home, preferring
their cars to their places of habitation.
The ex-peasant,brutally uprooted,cut offfrom his natural surroundings
and living gregariously,cannot put down fresh roots. He cannot appropriate
space for himself, and help to arrange and improve his home. Cramped
quarters, and lack of space in general, rule out such leisure activities as
practical hobbies and gardening, leaving television and the radio as the sole
possible form of recreation. The absence of associations or of a mechanism
of partnership makes for isolation. The inadequacy of collective amenities
and the distance from the town centres where all the cultural activities are to
be found discourage people from taking advantage of them.
Yet the towns, where nine out of ten human beings are destined to be
living two generations from now, must be brought under control as being
pre-eminently the places for culture, that is, where people meet, discuss and
create. T o regain control of the built environment by taking advantage of
the exceptional chance for creative activity offered by the new towns, at the
same time injecting life into the countryside,in short to design our immediate
surroundings, is the second ultimate goal of cultural action required by
general development, irrespective of any particular ideology.

1. The fundamental problem of restoring value to individual tasks in the division of

industrial labourwill not be touched upon here,for all that it is essentially a cultural
problem,and a more important one than the cultural use of leisure.A solution for it
lies,however,outside the range of the culturalpoliciesdiscussed in this work.On this
point, the reader is referred to the impressive research work and experimentscamed
out in Sweden.
 18 Ultimatepurposes

Leisure, a new form of alienation

It was hoped by some that the various forms of alienation arising from work
and the immediate surroundings might be overcome by a better use of
leisure; they assumed that increasing productivity would release a certain
amount of time and so form a civilizationof leisure. But it has recently
become clear that such optimism is unfounded. The working week, which
had been considerably shortened between the end of the nineteenth century
and the 1930s, has become stabilized in the last thirty years, and is hardly
diminishing, whereas productivity continues to rise. The fact is that, faced
with a choice between leisure and purchasing power, most people choose
the latter. In a nation like France, a working week of twenty-four hours
would suffice for the people to enjoy the same standard of living as in 1936.
But the working week is one of forty-six hours, which means that the popu-
lation has preferred to increase its expenditure rather than improve its art
of living. W o r k has become the means of buying more, or buying something
else, and leisure offers the occasion for greater consumption. Buying a car,
holidays by the sea or a winter holiday in the mountains have become the
mandatory symbols of access to the consumer society so glorified by adver-
tising. In this way leisure, far from assuming a cultural value, becomes the
occasion for further alienation and helps to aggravate social inequalities,since
it is precisely the less favoured w h o lack the resources underpinning such a
form of leisure.The preference given to weekend leisureor an annual holiday,
a form of leisure based on consumption and gettingaway from it all, rather
than daily leisure, which costs less and offers a particularly favourable
occasion for sociability and personal enrichment, merely increases the
predominance of leisure that is bought and consumed. Society secretes less
time for leisure than time for consuming.
A third ultimate goal of cultural action has its source in the need to give
leisure back its value as an element of culture,that is, its role in the re-creation
of the personality, individual expression and social communication.

The audio-visualbombardment
This already embattled field is subjected to bombardment, day after day,
by radio and television messages. Every age naturally carries within it the
seeds of destruction as well as the seeds of salvation, and the mass media
present the outstanding challenge to the culture of the twentieth century.
Television makes for passiveness, superficiality, voyeurism, reduction to the
lowest c o m m o n denominator, yet may at the same time open a window to
the world, afford direct access to men and their works and a possibility of
universal communication, but on one unavoidable condition: in order to
overcome the dangers inherent in it-the replacement of the actor in life by
the looker-on,the equal relevance and importance of all items of news, the
deterioration of attentiveness,memory and powers of expression among the
viewers, manipulation by remote control-to overcome these dangers it
must conform to the criteria of a cultural project desired by the public and
 Ultimate purposes 19

make use of a body of methods which bring back participation, independence

and creativity,
In regard then to the major new factor in cultural life constituted by
mass communications, the needs of individual and community development
call for action in the cultural sphere, and the nature of the call makes it
possible here again to determine-as in the case of work, housing and
leisure-the ultimate goals of cultural development.

Machines alter our way of life

All these transformations of people's lives-and consequently of their
cultural lives-spring from more fundamental causes which also Cali for
counter-measures:mass production and consumption, and the increasing
tempo of change.
At the material level, large-scale industrialization produces a chain
reaction which has a considerable effect on cultural life; a negative effect
when it fragments work, breaks the link between work and its product,
makes the objects which form our daily surroundings increasingly uniform
and artificial, encourages superfluous commercial consumption, in short
creates what the younger generation rejects under the name of a consumer
society.Industrialization exerts a positive influence when, turning to cultural
objects, it introduces consumers to innumerable cultural possibilities of high
quality by means of mass audio-visual reproduction. The machines have
changed the relationship between men and the world in which they live. Mass
production and consumption call for a reaction in favour of differentiation,
personalization, creativeness, direct contact with the materials and the men,
so many ultimate goals of cultural action.
Where the inner life is concerned, the increasing tempo of change, by
transforming scales of values and breaking up self-contained systems (the
village, the family, work, religion), is leading society to examine its reasons
for living. Opening a new cultural centre in France, Andr Malraux asked
What is essentially our problem? First of ali, it is an absolutely total change in
civilization. We are the rst to have seen the world transformed in a single
generation. .. .Not only has the new civilization destroyed the former conditions
of work, it has also destroyed the structure of the former civilizations which were
based on spiritual values.
Change consequently adds two ultimate goals essential to cultural action.
The first is to equip every individual to face such change, to make use of it
as opportunity and enrichment, not to suffer it as loss and mutilation. The
second is to enable him to recover his personality, roots, self-sufficiencyand
reasons for a full acceptance of life.

Multicultured: a common problem but a need

The problem of individual-and national-identity in the face of change
has to be tackled in both industrial and non-industrialcountries, for in every
country a cultural policy has to cope with the difficulties inherent in one
 20 Ultimate purposes

form or another of bi-culturalism. In the developing countries it must

safeguard and develop the local culture and at the same time open the way
to a more universal culture. Both cultures have their own particular language,
and consequently their o w n way of thinking, their o w n mental structures.
It would be the path of impoverishment as well as unrealistic to try to unify
them, or to sacrifice one to the other; the aim of a cultural policy is to
establish a dynamic equilibrium between the individual culture and universal
culture.
Meeting in 1973,the Asian ministers of culture recommended to Unesco
that it help the countries of their region to preserve the cultural heritage
and popular traditions of these countries with the aim of creating harmony
between traditional cultures and modern civilization. In the coming years,
such equilibrium is in great danger of being upset. The strength or weakness
of cultures depends less on the strength or weakness of the values they
convey than on the power of the means of communicationwhich disseminate
them. Cultures with a highly developed set of values may thus deteriorate
in contact with others whose information media are very powerful. In many
countries,the younger generation is inclined to adopt fragile foreign values
without assimilating them. It is therefore the task of a cultural policy to fix
the objectives and means for a fruitful interaction between the two cultures
and to set up the appropriate means of communication.
Tacitly accepted forms of domination are dangerous. Prohibitions may
prove fatal. The suppression of local cultures and the exclusion of outside
cultures are equally unacceptable, not only on moral grounds in terms of
human rights, but from the practical viewpoint of maintaining peace in the
community. Unfortunately, this has been borne out on all continents in the
past ten years. The repression of national or regional cultures invites savage
retaliation which has led to the loss of human life in Corsica, Ireland, the
Islamic Republic of Iran and Quebec. At Bogot in 1978, Mr MBow,
Director-General of Unesco, made the point that, far from posing a threat
to national unity, cultural pluralism and diversity enrich it and are the sign
of a genuine democracy.
The problem can be expressed in almost the same terms in countries
that are industrialized,but whose culture and national language are restricted
to only a few millions. Once again, in the case of these peoples, there are
two cultures, and the second is imported, not because of the values it brings
with it, but by reason of the economic forces that produce it. All societies
do not necessarily have sufficient creative power to meet a national demand
that is nowadays multiplied, or, where creation is expensive, sufficient
economic power to amortize the cost. That is why we see second-rate
cinema and television films in circulation, the exportation of which to the
entire world is proof rather of the power of the merchants who manufactured
them than of the creative capabilities of their authors.There again, a cultural
policy must know how to protect local culture without reducing it to the rank
of folk-loreand revitalize its creative force by contact with other cultures.
For the millions of migrant workers, their wives and their children,
culture is again a problem of bi-culturalism,that of enabling them to assimi-
 Ultimatepurposes 21

late the new culture of the host country while at the same time building on
their original culture. Neither rejection nor absorption, but a balanced
command; there again is an ultimate goal for cultural action in many
countries.
Countries which have possessed two or more cultures, two or more
languages over several decades-or several centuries as in the case of
Switzerlandand Belgium-can doubtless offer numerous examples of policies
of cultural interaction which enrich rather than impoverish.
But the problem is widespread, and it was in England, the country
whose language is most widely spoken the world over, that the question of
two cultureswas raised by C.P. Snow. For him, the problem was one of
the divorce between literary culture and scientific culture, but the expression
may be retained to designate a gap that is still more general and is steadily
widening, the gap between culture as experienced and the culture that comes
from learning. The world of the specialists has no language in c o m m o n
with that of the average man. At a congress of physicists held in 1971, half
a day was devoted to young students in the city, but no satisfactory com-
munication could be established. The gap is still more obvious and still
more dangerous in the case of sciences concerned with action. Even a
member of parliament no longer uses the same tools as the technician of
government action. With still more reason, the citizen is bewildered by the
decision-makingwhich directly concerns him.
A n d so, all over the world, the problem of dual belonging, of having
roots that nevertheless do not prevent mobility, of possessing two or more
languages, is the universal key to cultural equilibrium and the mastery of
ones own destiny. The future lies in the multiplicity of cultural possibilities:
multiculturalism and lifelong education are closely related-by the need to
face up to change-and that need again denotes an ultimate goal of cultural
action.

Ultimate ends
The new conditions of living-work, housing, leisure,mass techniques and
a changing mental approach-are therefore so many cultural challenges, in
that they bear within them both dangers and opportunities. The ultimate
ends of cultural development are determined by whatever makes it possible
to neutralize the dangers and take advantage of the opportunities.As Andr
Malraux said The masses are potentially fertile and potentially sterile: one
of our tasks is to restrict them to fertility.
As against what is rootless and escapist, culture shows the way to
individual and group identity: it satisfies m y need to know who I am, or
rather, m y need to become what I want to be, by embracing two cultures:
a universal and a group culture.
As against passivity, cultural development suggests self-discovery and
growth, and mastery of ones fate. It must, in Malrauxs view, from m a n
fated raise up m a n free and, by giving him the mastery of towns, leisure,
means of communication and work, retune to a new civilization.
 22 Ultimate purposes

T o the aloof and bewildered, cultural development suggests discovery

and solidarity. Solidarity with the Third World, and all which that implies
in the way of understanding other peoples and of feelings of peace and
fraternity,is one ultimate end which could focus the energies of the young.
As the Senegalesefilm-makerSembene suggested at the round-tablemeeting
in Monaco, culture is then the discovery of our neighbour, his modes of
expression and the way of living, respect for his wisdom and his wishes, and
self-enrichment by accepting anothers identity.
The overdeveloped world, exposed both to the intrusive puerility of the
audio-visualassault and the nihilism of a pseudo-intelligentsia,has much to
learn from traditional civilizations. If crazy heresies appear in a world
devoted to the religion of economics-like the hippy movement and its drug
satellites-it is because culture is not the exaggerated sophistication of
themes indefinitely repeated with fashionable current variations, the use of
fashion-codedlanguage,the passwords of every kind of intellectualsnobbery,
but something re-rooted in the universal nature of m a n and in his spiritual
heritage.
There is a great void and a dangerous void [in the m o d e m world],
exclaimed Ren Maheu, former Director-General of Unesco, in his closing
address at the Conference of Ministers of Culture in Venice?
First and foremost, it is made up of unsatisfied needs and aspirations. Modern
man experiences, knows and expresses needs and aspirations of unprecedented
magnitude,and, far from exercising patience, he is astonished and even indignant
when they are not met-rstly, because he observes that his power over nature is
increasing daily and,secondly,because he sees that this power and the consequent
benefits are very unevenly distributed among the nations and the different classes
of society.This gap between things as we would wish them and things as they are,
or more precisely, between what is possible and actual reality, and the even more
serious gap between the haves and the have-nots are a measure of the wilderness
of frustration,misunderstanding and hostility that separate man from himself and
from others. Perhaps it is the bleak prospect of this wilderness that has caused
some modem schools of thought-and it is significant that these are the ones that
have the greatest audience among young intellectuals-to enthrone nothingness at
the very heart of man and even to deny that he exists,in the form in which centuries
of humanism had gradually fashioned an image of him.

We must get rid of the idea that culture is a learned and refined pursuit for
a hereditary, moneyed or intellectualaristocracy. Culture concerns everyone
and it is the most essential thing of all, as it is culture that gives us reason
for living, and sometimes for dying.

1. Intergovernmental Conference on Institutional,Administrative and Financial Aspects of

CulturalPolicies, Venice, 24 August to 2 September 1970. Final Report, Appendix In,
p. 55, Paris, 1970 (doc. Unesco/SHC/MD/13).
 Ultimatepurposes 23

Culture is combat
As against a hedonism whose self-indulgence is finally auto-destructive,
cultural policy must set itself resolutely to fight for creativity and defend
what it brings forth.
It might even be said: Noculture without combat. A culture that is
not the individuals never-ceasing revolt is just another industry, said
Jean-Marie Domenach.
This is not the view of an idealist or ideologist. It is a verifiable fact
that where culture is not fought for, to give more meaning as well as more
beauty to every moment of living, it quickly becomes one more form of
consumption, like Sunday clothes or air-terminal style decoration, a luxury
that avoids vulgarity only at the cost of becoming esoteric.
There is, in all of this, nothing which builds up a civilization,nothing
that leaves its mark, or a legacy for the affections of generations to come,
nothing that can give meaning to the deeds of today.
Unless culture confers dignity on m a n it will arouse no enthusiasm, it
will engage no one, it will not deserve-and will not be given-a nations
suffrage.
It follows that cultural policy cannot be simply a matter for handling
by the academies of fine arts, however enlightened. Unless it is explicitly
associated with a number of ultimate ends accepted by society and linked
to a blueprint for civilization, unless it is a combat which can fire the minds
of the young, it does not deserve to take its place alongside economic policy
and social policy and confer on them their ultimate purpose and justification.

What culture means to the young

Can w e be surprised that the young are the first to react to the ills and
failings of the society they discover at 18 years of age? An untroubled logic,
an ignorance of the compromises life imposes, and above all a sure instinct
make them see this world that is losing its human values as a world which
they have no desire to make their own,a world undeserving of all the efforts
required to adapt to it. The warmest-hearted fail to find in the increase of
consumer goods, the accumulation of the means of production and the rise
in a standard of living which seems to them satisfactory as it is, any ideals
which merit their championship or give meaning to their lives.
The crisis of youth is basically nothing other than the crisis of civiliz-
ation. All its possible forms-hippy, revolutionary, suicidal or drug-
taking-merely conceal a profound, frenetic, besotting yearning for a plan,
purpose, ends which add a meaning to life, that is, which both guide and
give significance. Culture, as Andr Malraux said, is the answerto mans
question: why a m I here?
The funds expended on youth could be increased tenfold, the youth
centres could be made ten times more luxurious or more numerous, all to
no effect, as witness the fact that the centres, whether big or small, are
sooner or later wrecked or abandoned. The unreality of the activities they
 24 Ultimate purposes

offer leaps to the eye, in relation both to the patterns of living presented
by the powers that be and to the profound aspirations of youth. A society
that does not care about the hierarchical relationship of its objectives soon
ceases to care about anything at all.I
It is not a mere matter of chance that the young regard the artists way
of life as highly acceptable; they are strongly attracted by the lives of
painters, musicians and film-makers,with their implied rejection of social
conditioning and search for a contemporary truth, an unencumbered and
creative mode of life. The strength of this is felt to such an extent that the
romanticized lives of artists, the spurious performances and the pseudo-
commitments of the commercialized type exert a powerful, albeit bogus
attraction.
Of course, the age-old history of youth offers numerous precedents for
this bewilderment, this emptiness,these feelings of revolt and frantic search-
ings, but one of the ultimate purposes of culture is to enable each generation
to face these phenomena in a spirit of informed awareness,to help the young
instil substance and truth into their questionings and to offer not an auth-
oritative answer but possible answers and firm plans.
In the words of Jacques Duhamel, French Minister of Cultural Affairs,
in an address to museum curators:
Being young was for long a matter of assimilating transmitted experience. Today,
it means demanding before accepting, being surprised rather than convinced,
rejecting rather than consenting. We see, and not without dismay, the young
people around us refusing or disdaining the heritage which we have done every-
thing possible to transmit to them.It would be as stupid to defer to such a refusal
as to repudiate it. After all, the young are entitled to call us to account for the
use we have made of that heritage and the real value we assign to it. From
Rembrandt, Turner or Czanne we learn that creativity is perhaps, in the first
place, a refusal which has been surmounted,a negation become assent,a responsi-
bility emerging from confusion.It is easy to see in the agitation of the young only
disturbance and rejection, but we should realize that they have need of our cer-
tainties, not so much in order to adopt them for themselves, as to use them as
warp in weaving their own certainties.
Offering young people reasons for living is the ultimate of ultimate cultural
purposes, and sums up all the others.

Fine arts and culture

But, it may be asked, what is the place of art in these ultimate cultural ends?
The art of what?, says John English, Director of the Midlands Art Centre
for Young People, and his immediate answer is: The art of living. Culture
is therefore not the acquisition and dissemination of the fine arts, but the
attitude which civilization obliges us to adopt vis-&vis life.

1. Pierre Emmanuel, Quelques Remarques sur la Politique de la Culture lOccasion

du VIePlan, Paris,Fondation pour le Dveloppement Culturel,1971,53 pp. (mimeo.).
The poet was Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Sixth French Plan.
 Ultimatepurposes 25

Thequality of lifeis an everyday phrase, but should not be understood

in the commercial sense that distinguishes between a better quality and a
poorer quality. The quality of life is indivisible: television broadcasts, the
pollution of the countryside and resistance to change do not affect only
some and not others. The quality of life concerns the entire population at
one and the same time, and all aspects of life. As the Venice Conference
affirmed: Culture is an inalienable and indivisible human right; it pervades
all aspects of life.
There is no such thing as a cultural policy divorced from the real world
of living men; all cultural policy necessarily reflects the living world, defines
and endeavours to realize its aims. So there is no question of an lite.
Similarly, since culture no longer means the fine arts, it is no longer reserved
for the lite. It stands for communication in a society which is inevitably
interdependent.It necessarily involves dialogue and is indeed identical with
it. In the words of Jacques Duhamel: Because it consists today in finding
the way back to exchange and sharing, it is a source of joy and carries
within it the hopes of men.
The question of the ultimate purpose of what governments do for
culture was consequently the first to be raised by the ministers of culture
in Venice in 1970. The Minister of Education of Cameroon declared: For
us culture is inseparable from the real life of the people; it is culture which
defines their dignity, their roots in history and their dynamism in facing the
future. It is the basis of our doctrine of development. The Bulgarian
Minister afrmed that culture is regarded in our country as an indivisible
part of social life, dynamically linked to the economy, to science,to politics,
and the Belgian Minister added: Culturalpolicy is the leaven which ensures
the growth of society by making it capable of self-expression, self-analysis,
self-criticism and self-reform. On his return from Venice, the minister
responsible for the arts in the United Kingdom made the following statement?
For the first time the mass of the people are asking for a share in life of a
quality that satisfies the expectations aroused by better education and the defeat
of poverty. . . .
To advance towards a society in which the quality of life is as important as
economic growth calls for a new social strategy. So politics must change, and
governments ga beyond the satisfaction of material needs and show an increasing
concern for the imagination and spirit of all the members of the community.

W h o decides the ultimate ends?

Cultural development on a national scale therefore does not find its ultimate
ends in a particular concept of culture, since various conceptions reflect
different sets of values that are not accepted by all. The reluctance to define
cultural policies may be due to the false view that they depend on philo-
sophical or aesthetic predilections (which are necessarily subjective). In
reality, the force of cultural needs and the ways chosen to satisfy them

1. Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool, October 1970.

 26 Ultimatepurposes

depend on the same conditions as apply to development policy in general.

Aims are determined in the light of the observed data and not of a priori
reasoning,and, being rational and objective, they can be accepted on either
side of ideological divides.
But the definitions are of necessity precarious. Based on the observation
of social phenomena and trends, they change as society changes, or differ
from one society to another. W e have devoted more attention to a develop-
ment than to a consumerculture in this chapter because w e felt it provided
a better illustration;for most societies, whether industrial or not, are going
through the crisis of civilization, which w e have tried briefly to describe.
It is certainly true that cultural development aims in contemporary Chinese
society are not the same as those in Japanese society. M a n y further variations
are possible.
The points to remember are that, in establishing cultural policies, the
necessary formulation of ultimate purposes may be collective and objective,
even if it implicitly or explicitly incorporates specific ideologies, and that
c o m m o n agreement may be reached. This is not easy in pluralist societies,
for the ends have to respond to differing underlying sets of values. A n d
when a society is undergoing rapid change, new aims may appear and old
priorities may change. It is therefore essential, if there is to be a cultural
policy,for a permanent body to define in terms of cultural aims the c o m m o n
wishes of the various groups of citizens, periodically revise the earlier aims,
and check whether the avowed or implied initial aims are in fact compatible
with them and with the means available.

National cultural councils

National cultural councils exist in several countries and are being set up
in others. The diversity of the following five examples reflects the fairly
broad range of options available.
In Sweden,the National Council for Culture was set up in 1974. This body is
composed of fifteen private citizens, and is responsible for defining the ultimate
aims of the national cultural policy and ensuring their implementation. On
1 January 1969, a commission had brought out a report entitled Anew cultural
policy. This report prompted a sweeping public debate that culminated, in
March 1974, in a bills being laid before Parliament and being passed as the first
stage of a three-year plan for the development of a national cultural policy. Its
objective is to promote a more egalitarian society that will offer its members ways
in which they may enrich their lives. The National Council for Culture was made
responsible for the long-term implementation of this cultural policy. It plans
cultural policy with a definite eye to the future;it studies cultural-policyissues and
keeps abreast of research and development in this field.It also allocates funds for
specific cultural aims; distributes state subsidies and grants for culture and
co-ordinates cultural expenditure; provides information for the general public;
and advises local councils,general councils,associations,cultural agents,etc.
The different committees of the council include representatives from the
traditional areas of cultural activity, the political parties, the local councils, the
general councils, the trade unions and associations as weli as cultural agents.
In Colombia, the law setting up the COLCULTURA also provides for the
 Ultimate purposes 27

establishment ofthe National Council of Culture as a body attached to the Ministry

of National Education. Its task is to advise the ministry on the preparation of a
policy for the protection, enrichment and dissemination of the cultural heritage;
to present recommendatians to the government on methods of developing culture
in ail its forms;to hear the views of the representativesof all the cultural sectors
of the country in special meetings and to give its own views on the cultural plans
and projects of the ministries and of the public and private institutions subsidized
by the state.
The concern for co-ordinatingthe various duties is shown in the structures
laid down for the council which must include: (a) the ministers of national edu-
cation and foreign affairs or their permanent delegates; (b) the directors of the
Colombian Institute for the Development of Higher Education, of the Colombian
Institute for Educational Grants and Technical Studies Abroad, of the Institute
Caro y Cuervo, the National Broadcasting Institute and the Colombian Institute
of Hispanic Culture;(c) the presidents of the Colombian Academies of Literature,
History and Jurisprudence;(d) four representativesof the associations and organ-
izations of persons or institutions belonging to the various areas of culture
recognized by the Ministry of National Education; these persons are nominated
by the institutions themselves.
In Peru,the General Cultural Council,provided for by the law setting up the
National Cultural Institute of Peru, is a consultative body to the institute and
helps its director-generalto prepare the cultural policy of the state; it is also
responsible for giving its opinion and making recommendations for the application
of this policy.
It includes representativesof the Higher Council for Education, the Peruvian
University, the General Directorate of Extension Education, the Directorate of
Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National System for
Support to Social Mobilization;three other personalitiesfrom the world of culture,
appointed by the Minister of Education, are also included.
In Bolivia, one of the most recent creations is that of the Governing Council
of the Bolivian Cultural Institute,on which sit representativesof the Presidency of
the Nation,the Ministry for Planning and Co-ordination,the Ministry of Finance,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religion and the Ministry of Education and
Culture.
The Minister of Education and Culture or his personal representative is
ex-oficioPresident of the Council;the Executive Director of the Bolivian Cultural
Institute is also a member.
The council's main duties are to approve the natianal cultural policy and the
plans and projects for cultural action, to control the work of the institute and to
deal with ail operational and budgetary matters.
In Quebec,the government set up a ministerialstanding committeeon cultural
developmentby an order in councilin 1976.It had become clear that the traditional
co-ordinationand decision-making machinery was inadequate.State intervention
in an increasingly wider field of responsibility brought an added urgency to the
problem of establishing coherent government policies and an effective decision-
making process. The burden of departmental responsibilities did not leave min-
isters and deputy ministersthe time needed for an inter-ministerialcontribution to
policy-making that, in many instances, concerned several ministries. Each week,
the Council of Ministers had to deal with a crowded agenda involving ever more
urgent les,without having the informationneeded for swift,clear-sighteddecision-
making. The present government therefore decided to strengthen the structural
 28 Ultimatepurposes

framework of the ministerial committees. It placed them under the chairmanship

of a full-timeMinister of State, who would have more opportunity to adopt a
comprehensive approach to the problems in the sector.
One of the consequences of this step was to introduce a political dimension
into cultural development.Culturehad ranked low among the concerns of previous
governments;cultural development had often occurred on the sidelines of govern-
ment activity. All too frequently,culturehad been contrasted with the standard of
living, and intellectual sensibility with business shrewdness, with the inevitable
result that cultural policy suffered disparagement.
In this context,the establishment of the Ministerial Standing Committee for
Cultural Development, attached to the Executive Council, took on particular
significance. The government linked cultural development to Quebec national
development and to economic and social development. By placing the Ministers
of Cultural Affairs, Communications and the High Commission for Youth,
Leisure and Sport together on this cultural development committee, it lent new
weight to their opinions. By involving the Minister of Education with the com-
mittee, it recognized the true meaning and underlying principles of culture.
The trial introduction of the office of Ministerof Statewas another inno-
vative step. Besides providing analysis and co-ordination in government policy-
making,the Minister of State is required,as Chairman of the ministerial standing
committee,to play a positive role in innovation and to set up and promote new
projects.
Cultural development does not concern merely the ministers on the com-
mittee. It also engages the attention of the Department of Industry, Trade and
Commerce. In the immediate future, the cultural industries will have to become
a priority if the other aspects of cultural policy are not to be put at risk.Cultural
development also concerns the Department of Tourism, Hunting and Fishing,
which is particularly responsible for ensuring that foreign visitors appreciate
Quebecs distinctive identity and culture. Furthermore, the Immigration Depart-
ments programmes and policy of integrating new immigrants into the majority
culture may also be seen as fitting into a comprehensive cultural policy. . . .
Accordingly,an effort should be made to proceed with the exploration of the most
effective ways of forging relations with all the government departments.

The Canadian federal policy review procedure is also worthy of mention. One of
the landmarks in the history of Canadiancultural policy was the inquiry conducted
between 1949 and 1951 by the Royal Commission on National Developmentin the
arts, letters and sciences,known as the Massey Commission.Its work led to the
establishment of the Canada Council for the Arts, Letters,Humanities and Social
Sciences and to the formulation of the guiding principles of all Canadian Federal
Government action since then.
Thirty years later, in 1980, it seemed opportune to conduct a fundamental
review of Canadian cultural policy. In this context, the Federal Cultural Policy
Review Committee was set up in 1980. A n important aspect of this committee
is its approach to its role: rather than merely select various specialists to join this
committee, which was expected to dene an ideal cultural policy-ven though
such specialists be competent and representative-it was decided to extend an
invitation to be on the committee to everyone who felt closely or remotely con-
cerned with culture.
A document was prepared as an invitation and guide. It begins with various
ideas on culture and a number of brief observations on the past. It goes on to
 Ultimatepurposes 29

survey some of the problems and challenges of the present. Lastly, it discusses
several major themes and makes a number of observations on the resources
available to the government. The aim was to fuel the discussion rather than
influence it.
This document, which sets out the research programme undertaken and
defines its principles and themes, has been very widely circulated. It represents a
callto every Canadian (notjust to artists or culturalagents)to think seriouslyabout
the present state of Canadian artistic and cultural life and put his or her obser-
vations and suggestions for the future. The committee operates at two levels. At
one level, it carries out its own studies and discussions, engages in consultation
on its own behalf, conducts dialogue with federal departments and agencies and
provincial organizations, and commissions studies on specific problems. At
another level, which represents the most original aspect of this research, the
committee invites all Canadians who wish to become involved to inform it of their
problems and needs and the way they see the future.It has proposed that anyone
wishing to do so should submit a briefon these matters (a deadline has been set
for these briefs, which should not be more than twenty-five pages long). The
committee conducts public hearings in the different regions of Canada. The
timetable for the public hearings is drawn up on the basis of the briefs received.If
a very large number of briefs is received, a certain proportion of the authors is
selected so that the different viewpoints are evenly represented.Needless to say,the
bearings are open to the general public. So that distance should not be an obstacle,
part of the travel expenses is borne in some cases.
The final report of the committee,which will be the basis of a White Paper
defining the Federal Governments new cultural policy, will thus be the product of
a genuinely collective inquiry involving the broadest possible form of pa1ticipation.

The preceding examples clearly show that the national cultural councils are
not to be confused with ministries of culture or the arts councils in the
Commonwealth countries,whose role is essentially to manage funds allocated
by the government. The national cultural councils are responsible for giving
a direction to the cultural policy of the government as a whole (not only the
ministry responsible for cultural affairs but the ministries of education,
youth,foreign affairs, etc.). They do not come under the ministry responsible
for culture;they are often interministerial and include persons w h o are not
associated with the public authorities,Bodies of this kind-another example
is the Arts Council in each state of the United States of America-may, by
means of changes in their membership or the way in which they are run,
be made better able to discharge their main task of selecting ultimate aims
and establishing the corresponding priorities. If this is to be done in a
rational manner, making full use of contemporary possibilities, the social
sciences must be brought in. A quantified analysis of cultural situations, and
a knowledge of the mechanisms by which culture is transmitted and of
social phenomena in general, are as important for such councils as the
experience and c o m m o n sense of their members, however admirably they
m a y be selected. For the members-politicians, administrators, m e n of
practical experience and research workers-must be capable of eliminating
or bringing into the light of day whatever is normative in their attitude, and
of interpreting their personal experience in terms of action. It is therefore
 30 Ultimatepurposes

necessary for the national or higher councils to have a research and docu-
mentation unit to provide accurate information succinctly, drawn from a
number of countries, on any topics the council wishes to discuss.

Research institutes

These research and documentation units must be able to fall back on proper
cultural development research institutes (as called for by the Venice and
Helsinki Conferences and by the regional conferences on cultural policies).
These institutes have four tasks: the collection of objective data on cultural
life and the various forms it takes, and on cultural policies abroad;tendering
advice on the basis of research carried out; assessing results and ensuring
that there is conformity between the ultimate ends, initial aims and the
means employed; and providing, in each sector, the necessary training and
information for cultural staff, research workers, administrators and policy-
makers.
Documentation and research are thus not an end in themselves, but
are intended to form a library available to whatever body is responsible
for selecting the ultimate ends which determine cultural policies. Policies
can then be built on foundations that are as objective and rational as
possible. Three examples of such establishments are given below.

The Bratislava Institute of Culture (Slovakia)

In 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic founded an Institute of Culture in

Bratislava.Its primary objective is to analyse the social function of culture. This
institute currently consists of the following departments:
The Directorate, which includes the Economic Department, the Department of
ScientificInformation and the Publications Centre.The scientificboard of the
institute,which has fifteen members,acts as an advison body to the director.
e Laboratory for the Theoretical Analysis of Culture and Cultural Forecasting,
which includes the Department for Theoretical Studies on -ture and the
Department for the Scientific Forecasting of Cultural Trends.
e Laboratory for Sociological Studies relating to Culture, which includes the
following departments: Sociology of Culture and Education, Sociology of
Art and Aesthetic Education,and Methodological and Technical Research.
e Laboratory for Economic Studies relating to Culture, which is subdivided into
two departments: Cultural Management and the Economics of Culture.
Sinceits establishment,the institutehas launched an ambitiousresearchprogramme
in three directions: the fundamental research programme of the state (five-year
plans); the regional research programme in accordance with specific directives
from the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Socialist Republic; and the particular
plan of the institute, conceived in the light of the scientific and methodological
tasks which it sets itself with a view to improving the abilities of its members and
carrying out creative work involving studies and significant evaluation.
In particular, the institute has conducted a theoretical and practical analysis
of the cultural and social profile of the Slovak population; prepared a compre-
hensive history of education in Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1975; set forth the
 Ultimatepurposes 31

ultimate aims and principles of the economics of culture;and prepared an adult

education guide.
In conjunctionwith the Prague Institute of Culture and other research estab-
lishments and institutes of advanced studies,it examines such important themes as
the definition of the social function of culture and the theoretical problems that
it poses; culture as a model-buildingfactor in the process of the formation of the
socialist profile of social categories and groups; the economics of culture as a
means of raising the cultural level in the socialist context;and the dissemination of
cultural values and its effectiveness as a means of educating the socialist citizen.
The institute also organizes seminars that serve as a means of promptly
passing on research findingsto culturalworkers (whether administrators or activity
leaders); it also organizes conferences and briefings on cultural events under the
sponsorship of different youth institutions and educational activities in the
secondary schools and technicalcolleges.
Lastly, the institute is progressively developing several highly advantageous
forms of co-operationwith other countries,particularly under the aegis of Unesco.
While the Bratislava Institute of Culture has been chosen as an example on
the strength of its own particular excellence, it is, in fact, typical of the kind of
institute to be found, performing the same role, in most of the peoples democ-
racies of Eastern Europe.

The Quebec Institutefor Cultural Research

The institute was established by an act of the legislature,22 June 1979. Its object
is to contribute to the cultural development of Quebec by conducting,encouraging
and supporting research and studies on the different aspects of culture.
In the pursuit of this object, the institute may in particular:
Design and implement plans and research programmesneeded for a better under-
standing of the cultural changes in Quebec.
Foster co-operation and concerted effort among research workers engaged in
cultural research and study.
Make available to researchers any services and information that may be useful in
the implementation of cultural research and studies.
Hold meetings, symposia or briengs and publish the ndings of studies and
research carried out by the institute or other bodies with similar aims.
Contribute to the formulation and review of cultural policies by publishing the
findingsof its researchand studiesand its various forecasts and opinions.
The Minister of Finance was authorized to pay the institute $600,000 for the
government financial year ending on 31 March 1980; $1,200,000for the nancial
year ending on 31 March 1981; $1,500,000 for the financial year ending on
31 March 1982 and, for each subsequent financial year, the sum paid in the pre-
ceding financialyear increased by 10 per cent or by a higher percentage fixed by the
government which may not exceed 25 per cent with respect to any financial year.

The Studies and Research Department of the French Ministry of Culture

The Studies and Research Department was established in 1963 on the initiative of
the General Commission of the Plan. Its main aims are to provide a clear idea of
the long-termrole of culture in the nation;to describe the different forms of cultural
life of the population;to study the cultural action of the public authorities;and to
create the tools of analysis,evaluation and management necessary for the develop-
ment of cultural policies.
 32 Ultimatepurposes

Its originality lies in the fact that it integrates its research, statistical and
documentation functions on the basis of specific inquiries from the ministry,
directorates and departments.Replies to ad hoc inquiries (studies)are based on
data that are permanently gathered in accordance with the requirements of the
scientific programme of the department:cultural statistics,data banks on culturai
agents, analysis of cultural expenditure,the economics of culture,analysis of the
various professions and occupations connected with culture, cultural behaviour
and practices, innovations and evaluation, and documentation.Such studies are
carried out either directly by the department or under its supervision if they are
commissioned from outside organizations.
A centralized system of statistics on the different sectors of French cultural
life has been organized. It facilitates the publication of a statistical yearbook on
culture and the preparation of cultural accounts. At the same time, the recent
establishment of the internationalcultural policy fund and documentationnetwork
gives researchers an opportunity to take advantage of the various experiments,
evaluations and studies in this field.
Lastly,the department provides advice and information for local authorities,
the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies and non-officialFrench
bodies as well as international organizations, such as Unesco and the Council of
Europe.
Over the past few years, besides conducting fundamental research, it has
concentrated on developing an analysis of the cultural expenditure of central
government and the departments to complement the analysis of local-government
expenditure.
Recently its work has taken two further directions:the study of the economics
Qf culture (particularlythe cultural heritage and the cultural industries) and the
analysis of the various professions and occupations connected with the arts,
together with a study of professional training and career opportunities.Headway
is being made in the design, construction and use of computer files on cultural
facilities with a view to the establishment of cultural data banks. Several projects
on audio-visualcommunication are under way.
Permanent relations with the local authorities have been developed by
increasing the number of technical advice missions and by the implementation of
three types of activity: involvement in the comprehensive analysis of the cultural
policy of a number of towns; the evaluation of the impact of ad hoc cultural
experiments,particularly in terms of their innovative aspects;and the preparation
of a practical guide on cultural administration for elected representatives and
local authorities.
The Studies and Research Department is also involved in scientific life at
national and international level through co-operationwith working groups set up
within the ministry, with interministerial bodies whose activities are closely
connected with its own concerns and with international agencies concerned with
cultural development.In this context,it organizes symposia,one-daystudy sessions
and meetings of experts. Several of its officers are involved in training work and
give lectures and courses at various universities. They publicize the work of the
department by publishing articles in specialized journals and taking part in radio
and television broadcasts. The department publishes an information bulletin,
Dveloppement culturel, which has a circulation of 15,000.
 Chapter 2

The cultural industries

Recent studies on the cultural life of the population at large (statistics on
cultural behaviour and household consumption,l semiological essays or
sociological surveys) have increasingly highlighted the importance of
industrially manufactured cultural products in giving access to cultural
goods to the largest number of people.
Cultural equipment may be said to have changed the cultural life of
the vast majority of the population-excluding the intellectual lite-more
during the last thirty years than in the previous hundred years. On one
evening in January 1978, a performance of Beethovens Ninth Symphony,
given by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, was heard by an audience of
120 million people across Europe. Every year, a number of books, films or
records may be read, seen or heard by more than one million people. Every
evening, in every country,the audience of a film, play, musical work or even
a literary work may be as high as several million people.
Over the past ten years, however, cultural policy analysis has focused
almost exclusively on public authority involvement with a handful of
institutions and has disregarded the significant development of the com-
mercial side of cultural activity.
In the 1980s, it is possible to discern two concurrent, parallel cultural
trends that seem to have no inuence on each other. On the one hand, an
explosionhas occurred in the cultural life of the different sectors of the
population, which has been extensively-if not radically-changedin terms
of the time spent on cultural activities,the culturalfacilities of households
and the consumption of cultural products. On the other hand, public
authorities are firmly intent upon the development of traditional institutions
that cater only for a small, cultured or educatedsector of the urban
population.
The lack of any point of convergence between the two trends stems from
the fact that attempts to study cultural policies have concentrated on the
traditional forms of dissemination and envisaged the democratization of

1. See below, Chapter 7.

 34 The cullural industries

institutions which have hitherto been the preserve of an lite. They have
almost completely disregarded the highly significant development, over
the same period of time, of the commercial broadcasting corporations
and the cultural consumer goods purchased by broad sectors of the
public.

The predicament in cultural policy-making

Through a strange twist of circumstances, some cultural policies, while
reflecting a concern for democratization, bring about an extremely serious
predicament. The activities of the public authorities ostensibly aimed at the
most deprived sectors of the population living farthest from the capitals
(which have increased at the rate of 100,200 and 300 per cent) have at the
same time favoured those w h o are catered for by high culture and have
bloated central institutions to the point of atrophy. By contrast, the target
populations have no time for public facilities. Instead, they fill their homes
with culturalequipment and consume the products of mass culture in the
comfort of their living-rooms.
It is possible to think in terms of reversing this turn of events and
correcting such an imbalance. A policy that took into account the technical,
economic and social factors which have emerged in the past five years would
envisage the marriage of cultural values (which the public authorities strive
to promote) with the broadcasting media (which enjoy public support and
can be funded with the greatest degree of public approval). New relationships
would have to be forged between creative artists and the public, so that
the latter gain an opportunity to see or hear first-rateworks. To this end, it
is necessary to renew the role of institutionsand the professionals who work
in them and to re-examine their aims and practices. At the same time,
management in the cultural industries should be brought to invest their
work with a cultural purpose, radically to improve the quality of their
programmes and to take more into account the opportunities for cultural
development that may be afforded by programmes carefully geared to
audience receptivity.

Reasons for studying the cultural industries

The new conditions of cultural democratization
Over the past fifteen years, it has been possible to discern three concurrent
patterns: a twofold, fivefold or tenfold increase, according to the country,
in public expenditure on culture in twenty years; a parallel decline in the
attendance of cultural institutions; and a twentyfold, hundredfold or
thousandfoldincrease in public access to literary and artistic works through
industrial cultural products.
These three simultaneous patterns pose a problem for cultural auth-
orities, as all cultural policies,the world over, are aimed at broadening public
access to culture: democratization and decentralization are the twin watch-
 The cultural industries 35

words wherever a determined effort in this direction is made by the public

authorities.
Adorno and Horkheimer were aware of this phenomenon, and used
the term culturalindustryas far back as 1947: and Unesco called attention
to this theme again in 1972.2Nevertheless, cultural policy-makers persisted
in closing their eyes to the role gradually being played by the products of
the cultural industries in the leisure-timepursuits of the general public. In
the case of children, adults and the elderly alike, the pattern is at once
overwhelmingly clear and falls within the bounds of each persons o w n
experience. It is reflected by some alarming figures: for several hours a day,
a large part of peoples available leisure time is spent in the company of
pieces of cultural equipment. The obvious, it has been said, is the hardest
thing in the world to notice.

More culturefor more people

O n this basis, it has to be observed that any headway being made in wider
democratization and decentralization is due more to the industrial products
in the market place than to productssubsidized by the public authorities.
Commercialized mass culture is the first democratic culture that Europe
has known, observed Adrian Van der Staay, the Netherlands delegate to
the Conference of the Council of Europe on Cultural Decentralization
(Nuremberg, 1976). And,he continued, it is egalitarian in the sense that
all social classes accept it and are involved in it.
It will be argued that such a quantitative approach is a misrepresentation,
that a transmitted or reproduced cultural product does not have the same
culturalvalue3 as a work directly experienced in a theatre or auditorium,
and that a distinction has to be drawn between the different areas of cultural
activity (theatre, cinema, music, public discussions,exhibitions).
But what exactly is the difference, in terms of culturaleffect, between
seeing a film in a cinema and watching the same film at home on television
(which will soon have a screen as large as the cinema screen)? H o w many
music-loverswould rather listen to a quartet in the peace and quiet of their
home, with the sound quality given by a hi-fi system, than in a concert hall
with all its distractions and distortions? W h e n 60 per cent of the Polish or
British population watch a first-rate play once a week at home, may it not
be said that contact with the theatre is more developed than when barely
more than 15 per cent of the population attend a performance once u year
in a theatre? Leaving aside insidious forms of snobbery, the answers to such
questions merit close consideration.

1. M.Horkheimer and T. W.Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment, N e w York, Herder

and Herder, 1972.
2. A. Girard, Cultural Development: Experiences and Policies, pp. 27-45, Paris,Unesco,
1972.
3. Culturalboth in the aesthetic sense and in the sense of the rst steps in an appren-
ticeship in sensitivity and creativity.
 36 The cultural industries

TABLE1. Listening and viewing patterns in the different European countries

O
k

Television
Number of national
channels2 3 3 4 2 3 3 2 1 2 2
Number of foreign
channels2 - 7 9 5 1 - 3 2 - 5
Average number of
availablechannelss 3.1 5.3 8.9 4.6 3.5 3 2.7 1.5 2 -
Average viewing time
per person (in
minutes)4 124 105 139 100 137 155 96 132 105 114
Radio
Average listening time
per person (in
minutes)4 110 118 132 180 171 80 81 114 125 153
1. Applies to Flemish-speakingBelgium.
2. Applies to channels received by more than 10 per cent of the population.
3. Average number of channels received per household.
4. Average listening and viewing time is the average daily listening and viewing time of
the adult population concerned.
Source: Jacques Durand,L a consommation audiovisuelle dans les diffrentspays dEurope,
Centre dgtudes dopinion,November 1980, 10 pp.

Despite several years of determined effort to build up an audience for

works of art in a large number of countries, cultural institutions seem to
have met with only limited success in this respect. Over the same period of
time, industrially produced works found a much broader audience. These
facts are proved by statistics, and cultural organizers are fully aware of
them. In the United Kingdom, the Midlands Arts Centre for Young
People1 is doing very well; but that does not prevent its director, John
English, from declaring:
. . .if, however, you take a measure of modest social and cultural activity right
across the board-if, in other words,people came out of their homes for enjoyment
of this kind twelve times a year and stopped in front of the television set for the
other 353 days-what percentage of people could be accommodated? It turns out
to be less than one per cent. There is not room for ninety-nineper cent of the

1. Cited by M.Green and M.Wilding in CulturalPolicy in Great Britain, p. 59, Paris,

Unesco, 1970.
 The cultural industries 37

people even if they wanted to do it, and because existing facilities are hardly ever
full we have to assume that ninety-nine per cent of them could not care less.
We have to accept that people participate in these things through the mass
media-through television,radio and recorded music.

The example of music is significant: in a period of ten years, the record

audience more than doubled among nearly all sectors of the population,
whereas no change was registered in the concert audience which continued
to be litist.
Today, discussion is not merely inevitable, but eminently desirable. It
should be pursued at all levels, from the modest district centre to the top
cultural administrators,and should concern everyone engaged in intellectual
work. The connections between cultural policies and the cultural industries
have to be thought out anew, all the more so as these industries are still only
in the early stages of development.
However, such thinking cannot make any headway or even be pursued
seriously unless it is grounded in data and facts which make it possible to
transcend those distinctions, that are as spurious as they are easily drawn,
between trade and culture and between art and industry, Before passing
judgement, or even pronouncing our anathemas, it is necessary to examine
the facts.
TABLE2. Household audio-visualequipment in Europe

Equipment
3
p : Q
e
-

for individual 9 .s
or household use & $
Television 93 93 98 96 96 98 93 94 91 97
colour 45 66 42 68 65 59 75 44 6 7
multi-purposesets 12 3 17 14 26 19 20 13 10 8
Video recorder 1 5 ... 1 3 1 2 .........
Video games 8 6 ... 10 8 10 ............
F M Radio 55 88 90 89 94 65 ... 97 40 73

...Data unavailable.
1. Out of 100 adults (France and Switzerland, persons aged 15 or over;Federal Republic
of Germany, 14 or over; Hungary 18 or over).
2. Out of 100 households.
3. With the exception of the figures for F M radios, these figures apply only to Dutch-
speaking Belgium.
Source: Jacques Durand, Lu consommation audiovisuelle dans les diffrentspays dEurope,
Centre dgtudes dopinion, November 1980, 10 pp.
 38 The cultural industries

What, in psychological terms,are the messages aimed at mass audiences?

Secondly, the inadequacy of the network of cultural institutions and the
shift towards the cultural industries are also evidenced in qualitative, rather
than quantitative, terms. Only after ten or fifteen years of an institutionally
orientated policy is it recognized that the cultural message does not get
through: it meets with resistanceamong the lower-income sectors of the
population (who are its priority target audience), whereas these sectors of
the population are receptive to other messages pertaining to life-styles and
consumer goods. Such resistance is passive; it passes for indifference and
borders on apathy. Nevertheless, it is deep-rooted.The issue may therefore
be discussed in terms of cultural policy: whereas the most active cultural
policies are generally designed to develop institutions that are gradually
seen to give yet more privileges to the culturally and financially advantaged
and go no further than facilitating their access to forms of culture in which
they are already versed, the least privileged sectors of the population also
show signs of experiencing a cultural explosion, although they do so by
consuming goods supplied by the cultural industries.

The cultural industries represent one of the few ways

out of the Jinancialdead end in which the live performance jnds itself
A third reason for making a close study of the practices and prospects of
the cultural industries is the present crisis in the performing arts. The well-
known analyses of Baumol and Bowen have shown that the live performance
is the product of a service industry which is economically doomed by the
fact that its costs have been put up by wage increases without there being
any possibility of increased productivity. In point of fact, without compensa-
tory subsidies, the losses of performing arts companies can only grow as
their activities are developed. Thus, opera houses become all the more
expensive to run as their repertoires are broadened and their audiences
increase.
The theatre is n o w experiencing the same difficulties, and studies are
being undertaken in many countrieswith a view to surmounting the economic
dilemma described by Baumol and Bowen either by commercial means or
through public support. Cultural institutions have tried out marketing
techniques into which they have often channelled considerable resources.
One such cultural centre has a full-time staff of ten and a computer in its
public relations department, without success.
As in education or health, there comes a moment when institutions
spend increasingly more staggering sums to make increasingly more marginal
gains in productivity.
These institutions have a built-in deficit. In this context, one cannot
help recalling the story of the water-carrierwho sells each glass at a loss and
expects to recoup his losses on the number of glasses he sells.In both opera
and the theatre, there is a financial way out, which may be the only way out:
it involves a marriage with the cultural industries. Video recording offers
 The cultural industries 39

the chance to broadcast to millions of viewers, provide telerecordings for

opera- and theatre-lovers and offer archive services for specialists. Such a
marriage is certainly difficult, since the stagelaudience relationship, which is
an essential element in the dramatic work, cannot be transferred to the small
screen.Nevertheless,this marriage simply has to take place, not only because
the transmission of the recorded performance of a play-or its adaptation
for television broadcasting-can recoup its production cost in one evening,
but also because the size of the audience reached-hundreds of times larger
than a theatre audience-measures up to the breadth of the playwrights
ambitions.Thus, a move in the direction of the cultural industries is justified
both on economic grounds and as a means of furtheringcultural development.

The decentralization of institutions cannot keep pace

with the demandfor culture
Even if the built-indeficit of cultural institutions(drama companies, orches-
tras,cultural centres) did not rule it out, there is no way in which the number
of such institutions could be increased quickly enough to meet the demand
created by school education and the mass media. Not only cities, but also
smaller urban centres, will henceforth demand to receive a level of facilities
comparable to the level provided in the capital. The phenomenon arising
from mass-media dissemination of economic and social models and needs
also occurs in connection with cultural models and needs.
The growing demand for quantity and quality prompts the question
whether any country has enough talented people at nationallevel to run
so many decentralized institutions. Such a question may seem Malthusian,
bearing in mind the acute level of underemployment in the arts. However,
it is necessary to recognize a contradiction arising from the very existence
of the cultural industries:before the era of electronic communication, a local
company could put on Tosca to the intense enjoyment of small-town
audiences with undaunted performers w h o were second-rate in comparison
with artists working in the capital or who were below todays international
standard. N o w that these audiences can hear the worlds best actors and
performers on records, listen to them on the radio or watch them on tele-
vision, second-rate local productions have become unacceptable and
financially unviable. Theatre companies and orchestras no longer play to
full houses; the audiences are no longer satisfied.l
The problem of meeting increased local demand can no longer, there-
fore, be resolved merely by multiplying cultural institutions and local
companies. It calls for some form of cultural industry; and it may be that
this particular form of cultural industry has yet to be devised.2

1. Even in N e w York-the richest capitalin the world-the recent attempt by a courageous

administrator at the Metropolitan Opera to cut costs by hiring national artists rather
than great international stars failed because of both audience and critical opposition.
2. Reference may be made, by way of example, to the current attempt to present national
cultural (and sporting) events promoted by the large media organizations on the big
screen, in a congenial spectator atmosphere,in under-usedcinemas.
 40 The cultural industries

The reappraisal of the status of the creative artist

The fifth reason for striving to understand and come to terms with the
development of the cultural industries is that, contrary to c o m m o n belief,
these industries will be taking a far more positive approach to the status of
the artist and creative art in contemporary society. As the system of cultural
production must of necessity keep up with rapid developments in com-
munication, and as both the communications media and cultural industries
give rise to a considerable demand for cultural products, the artist-whether
a creative or performing artist-will, as competition steps up, be assuming
a role that was paradoxically beyond his reach in the system of middle-class
high culture.
In Victorian and Edwardian eras, the artist was supposed to be satisfied
with being read, heard or exhibited. His reward was essentially psychological;
any royalties came later, almost as a bonus. Even today, there is an under-
lying current of feeling among the general public and, consequently,among
many politicians and administrators, that giving an artist the opportunity
to become known is in itself no mean service. It is rarely admitted that he
might be entitled to a regular annual income, like any other citizen, like the
designer of a new industrial product or a scientific researcher.l In the minds
of most people, even (off the record) of those w h o claim to be lovers of the
arts, the artist is either a fabulously, almost magically,wealthy star or has
to lead a hand-to-mouthexistence in return for the chance to live the life
of an artist-to do, in the true meaning of the expression, as he pleases.
Is it inconceivablethat,with the growing demand for cultural production,
creative art should become part of a large-scale,profitable economic process
and so become increasingly more valuable, with the result that those who
buy it will have to pay for it at its true value? Is it inconceivable that the
relations between author, publisher and programme controller, at a time
when a single creative idea may be disseminated by several media (television,
cinema, books, cassettes) and in several countries, should be covered by
more equitable contracts that ultimately reflect a fairer approach to trade
and commerce?
It would be recognized, then, that intellectual and artistic creation
(like oil in the past) is not accorded its true value;that in terms of time spent,
energy expended and risks taken, creative activity is remunerated, not half
as much but ten times less than it should be; that, while design consultants
charge for industrial designs on the basis of their true cost, a composer has
to finance the composition of a symphony out of his o w n pocket.
Such an enhancement of the status of the artist should embrace both
the best seller and the long seller. It may be hoped that in a more pros-
perous system of cultural production, with a more active market, publishers
and programme controllers will be in a position to give an opportunity to a
larger number of artists,to take more risks and to finance works that will

1. In Pasteurs day, scientificresearch was looked upon as a pastime,in which the scientist
engaged at his own expense,and not as a socially useful occupation.
 The cultural industries 41

not be taken up by the system of cultural industries, which has its o w n

particular disadvantages. Such an approach would mean that there would
still be room for creative renewal and avant-garde and experimental work,
where creative art would remain a solitary act practised in the silence of an
unyielding night.l

Protection of the national cultural identity

The last-and not the least-of the reasons for a discussion of the cultural
industries pertains to their international character. In terms of equipment,
the international division of labour is world-wide, with production and
distribution being shared by a number of huge multinationals based in
Japan, the Netherlands, the United States or the Federal Republic of
Germany, with factories and retail outlets all over the world. In producing
the programmes that have to feed these millions of pieces of equipment
(400 million television sets throughout the world in 1978, 800 million
in 1985; 5,000 television broadcasting stations), artists, publishers and
programme organizers now have to step outside national frontiers or
linguistic areas which are too limited for production to be profitable. In
one year, an artists name can become well known in many countries, for
his publisher has to do business at international fairsin a world market.
While the supply machinery necessarily becomes world-wide, in its
technological and economic aspects, the demand for programmes,cultural
material, fiction and music from audiences all over the world has no less an
effect on international products. Viewing time currently doubles every
five years; but the pace will quicken once broadcasting satellites are in
orbit: the demand for programmes will grow at the s a m e rate, just as the
consumption of recorded music has increased at the rate of 30 per cent a
year over the past ten years.
Each countrys share in this rapidly expanding market will be pro-
portionate to the strength of its cultural industries and the quality of its
cultural production. A particular country or region will have the chance to
broadcast the most universal aspects of its culture, which may be the most
distinctive,the most national, the most profoundly human. (In this respect,
the name of Ingmar Bergman springs to mind.) However, countries with
little programme-makingcapacity may simply become more dependent on
countries with a powerful cultural industry.
There is not the slightest chance that cultural self-sufficiencywill exist
by the end of the twentieth century. Even if this were desirable (and it is
not, for cultures have always been transnational and have always mutually
enriched each other), such self-sufficiencywould not be possible: regardless
of jammingand the various other forms of censorship, the young and
not-so-youngalike have always managed to come by the literary and musical
works that they want and need. It is necessary,however, to speak of cultural
non-dependence,that is to say, the ability of a country both to keep down

1. See Chapter 5.
 42 The cultural industries

superfluous imports and to ensure competitive national production. Today,

such a challenge can be taken up only if a country has flourishing,versatile
cultural industries.

The new ways of extending cultural influence

In the years 1980 to 2000,a country will no longer be extending its cultural
influence in the way that it did at the beginning of the century, or even at the
time Unesco was established.Formerly,artistic exchange essentially involved
an exchange of persons: speakers, soloists, theatre companies, exhibitions.
A new era in the dissemination of cultural influence was inaugurated by the
American cinema immediately after the Second World War. American
films were exported on a large scale to countries all over the world at rock-
bottom prices because their costs had already been recouped on the Amer-
ican market. This trend corresponded to a massive increase in the demand
for films in the years between 1950 and 1970. Since then, the television set
has taken over from the cinema, and telefilm series are made in preference
to films for the big screen. However, the effect is the same in terms of the
extension of cultural influence. Drama and literature are powerful vehicles
for the transmission of ethical, ideological and practical models, the pol-
itical influence of which is far-reaching.
Artistic exchange and traditional forms of cultural relations catered
for narrow circles of intellectuals-not even for all the intelligentsia,
including students and teachers, but only for the lites whose culture was
already international. By contrast, the exportation and importation of the
products of the cultural industries do not merely affect the far broader new
intelligentsia (thus, the paperback book popularizes Hemingway, Faulkner,
Dos Passos and Steinbeck), for virtually all young people listen to the records
that are played over and over again on the radio. The increasingly lower
cost of electronics has meant that the majority of households (and soon
virtually the entire population) is on a diet of television series, with imported
material working out ten to a hundred times cheaper than national
productions.
The altogether natural phenomenon of cultural exchange made easier
through industrial products may be seen as a step forward or as a step
backwards.
It is a step backwards if the consumption of imported products is
inconsistent with the cultural models that the educational system is striving
to develop. It is a step backwards if it inhibits and paralyses a system of
national production which has become too expensive or cannot provide
material that is as attractive as material produced abroad at considerable
expense (in the audio-visual media, a products power of attraction is
largely proportional to the investment involved). In the countries of
Northern Europe, where the language areas are small, consideration is
being given to the need for protection against the shoddier products of the
cultural industries.
However, the phenomenon can be beneficial if appropriate national or
 The cultural industries 43

international measures can ensure that the national system of cultural

production is brought up to the level of the international competition.The
products of the cultural industries then become powerful factors in the
extension of cultural influence: Ingmar Bergman, through his films (but
not through his stage productions), or Van Gogh (through reproductions,
rather than through exhibitions alone), has played a greater role in the
dissemination of Swedish or Dutch culture than all the painstaking efforts
of the cultural attachs in the embassies of the respective countries.
Video libraries, record libraries and film libraries are more important
today, in cultural institutes abroad, than the temporary exhibitions of
masterpieces;and the arrangement of a hundred hours of viewing time on
a foreign television network is far more valuable in terms of extending
influence than the arrival of an academician for a tour involving a hundred
lectures.
Present-day efforts still fall far short of what is needed to ensure the
possibility of integrated co-productions in the main regions of the world.
Moreover, inter-regionalbroadcasting agreements are very rare. However,
in the case of drama, music and light entertainment, it is preferable to
broadcast the finest productions in each region on the various national
channels rather than to put out third-rate national productions or imports
whose only good point is their cheapness.

The cultural industries and the role

of the public authorities
There is an abundance of writing on mass culture, in the form of aesthetic,
semiological or humanistic essays. The subject has given rise to countless
theories and aroused strong feelings, since values are at stake. Until now,
however, cultural production has hardly been analysed in economic terms.
The communication and broadcasting media, diverse as they are
(books, records, radio, television, cinema), have in c o m m o n the fact that
they bridge two worlds: creative art which, even if it is less and less the work
of a single person, still engenders a unique relationship between the creators
and each member of the intended audience; and the rapidly changing
technology of the reproduction and broadcasting media, which are fashioned
and managed by corporations capable of reaching audiences of millions.
Throughout history, it is this combination of creation and dissemination
that has permitted the emergence of art in society. For centuries, creation
and dissemination were the work of craftsmen. Gutenberg (in the case of
writing) and Edison (in the case of sound) ushered in the era of mass, or
industrial, dissemination. These days, creative art itself relies on industrial
processes.
Adorno spoke out against the rise of the world of commerce and
announced that culture and art were in decline. Nothing could be further
from the truth in the case of writing and music. The book industry, which
replaced the copyists, has admirably served the creation of literary works.
Records and the radio complement the live concert and have done wonders
 44 The cultural industries

in whetting the public appetite for music: the renewed interest in listening
to music has led to a revival of playing and singing, and the music schools
have never been as full as they are today.
Thus, distinctions are already to be drawn between different types of
cultural industries. There are industries in which individual creative artists
produce work of which large numbers of copies (books, prints, records) are
disseminated through industrialprocesses: these are the publishing industries.
In other industries (film, television), the creative act itself involves the use
of substantial industrial equipment from the outset: such industries are
sometimes known as the programme-makingindustries. Lastly, another
noteworthy example is photography. A complex piece of industrial equip-
ment, the camera with a built-in microprocessor, gives a large number of
persons the chance to create with the freedom of a craftsman and to play
with light and colour with a view to achieving a distinctive recreation of the
world before their eyes, even though they subsequently have to use other
equipment to develop and print the exposed films.
A m o n g these different levels of industrialization, various forms of
Co-existence and interaction already exist and are rapidly developing. They
will only be better understood, seen in the proper context and, perhaps,
positively accepted if they are known and publicized.
What exactly are the constraintsinvolved in such technology? Are there
intrinsic drawbacks that are a threat to creativity? Although four hundred
years of book publishing and one hundred years of record production have
had a positive outcome, the course of their development was unforeseeable
at the outset. It is normal that new products should provoke debate on
cultural policy. Is their development to be determined by public tastes? Or
by technological advances? Or by the decisions of businessmen? Should the
public authorities become involved? Such questions are of fundamental
importance for the future cultural life of the population at large. In fact,
they are far more important than questions such as the amount of subsidy
the national opera is to receive. They call, as a matter of urgency, for
thorough socio-economic,historical and political studies.
However, a further difficulty in any consideration of the cultural
industries arises from the fact that the symbolic and aesthetic value of their
products is so significant that current studies pay practically no regard to
their commercial value and cost factors.The art critic is essentially concerned
with aesthetic questions: he refers to the values or pleasure of the reader
(or viewer), not to the way in which the work is manufactured and marketed.
The publisher (or the record producer, art dealer or television programme
organizer) is seen not as a businessman w h o produces and sells goods, but
as a glamorous middle-man standing between the talent of the creative
artist and the pleasure of the public, as a sort of patron of the artist and
benefactor of the consumer. The mystique surrounding him is akin to that
surrounding universities,education,and in fact all the places and procedures
associated with the transmission of knowledge and the cultural heritage of
mankind.
Cultural-policy-makershave to take their analysis beyond this mystique
 The cultural industries 45

in an attempt to assess the economic factors involved at each of the phases

in the production/marketingprocess. They have to determine the precise
role of the agents that play a part in this economic process-investors,
entrepreneurs,authors and other creative artists,artistic directors,promoters,
broadcasters and marketing personnel. A closer analysis of the different
phases of this vast production process may yield an insight into those strong
points on which a policy might be built and any weak points that call for
consolidation. The weakness may lie at the beginning of the production/
marketing chain-with the creators and artists themselves or the circum-
stances in which they produce their work. It may lie at the end of the
chain-international exports-or at any other phase in the economic process.
In the case of books, retail sales may not be up to the mark; in the case of
video recordings, the production facilities may be inadequate; in the news-
paper industry,the crisis may occur with the printers or in local distribution.
The different horizontal or vertical patterns of concentration and inte-
gration must be closely monitored if the various forms of expression and
creativity are not to disappear for the simple reason that they are
unprofitable.
The cultural industries cannot, therefore, be discussed as a whole: the
field has to be divided up. Such a division should be twofold in the sense
that it should reflect the different phases of the production/marketing
process and, as these phases vary with the medium, should distinguish
between the media, each of which produces and markets in accordance
with its own specific logic.

The direrent phases of the productionlmarketing process

The distinction between the different phases of the production/marketing
process found in Table 3 arises as much from theoretical considerations
as from the practical necessities related to the analysis: if the aim is to
analyse a particular branch of activity, to locate specific crisis points or
problem areas or to determine suitable areas for public support, the overall
process has to be divided up.
It would be possible to distinguish only two phases: production, which
would include the work of the creative artist and the responsibility of the
publisher or programme organizer, as well as the actual making of the
product; and marketing, which would include the promotion of the product
(advertising, the creation of public demand), wholesale distribution and
retail sales.
However, this simple two-phase distinction does not permit either
analysis or public intervention.In the case of the film industry,for example,
keen, able film-makersmay well have to contend with ineffectualproducers.
In the newspaper industry, editorial excellence may be accompanied by
publishing problems and considerable difficulties in the modernization of
the production and printing process.
At the distribution level, effective wholesale distribution (in the case of
records, for example) may be undermined by inadequateretail outlets. In the
46 The cultural industries
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 The cultural industries 47

film industry,distributors may thrive while exhibitors are in desperate straits.

Three functions have also been included in the table because they
likewise have a significant effect on the health of each branch. Exports and
imports determine the strength of a countrys cultural influence abroad or,
on the contrary, its cultural dependence. Lastly, there is the archives field,
whose profitability only becomes evident in the long term,but which may
significantly affect the development of a specific branch: for example, the
video disc industry can only come into its o w n if it is underpinned by a
rich and varied film library.

Identifcation of the field of the cultural industries:

the diflerent areas of activity to be considered
In Table 3, nine areas of activity of the cultural industries are identified
(books,newspapers and magazines, records, radio, television, the cinema,
new audio-visualproducts and services,photography and advertising). Each
of them alone represents a vast area of study. Moreover, they are closely
and powerfully interconnected.
In any attempt to study possible forms of public intervention in a given
country, the best course will be to adopt a pragmatic approach and extend
the field of study or public intervention only when necessary. Attention
will then be focused on a given medium or branch of industry because one
of the phases of its production/marketingprocess is beset with difficulties.
Any other sector that plays a fundamental part in the cultural life of the
nation may subsequently be incorporated into the field because it calls for
public intervention. Each area will be tackled differently according to the
specific situation in each country.
However, the unity of the field and the close links (financial, human,
professional, market-related)between all these industries is readily percep-
tible. The operations of large corporations already take in all these areas of
activity.

Products may also be classifiedaccording to the ways

in which they are manufactured. ..
The book trade, the record industry and the film industry are branches that
do not really pose any problems from the point of view of identification:
they are the oldest industries where the most traditional phases of the
production/marketingprocess are found.
On the other hand, it is more difficult to pinpoint the specific charac-
teristics of radio, television and the new audio-visualproducts and services
which incorporate several forms of expression (literary, musical, cinema-
tographic, etc.) and several branches of industry which are disseminated
on an even vaster scale and have an even greater turnover. They form
networks that are apparently indifferent to the nature of the cultural products
disseminated. However, the fundamental relations between the different
agents (financiers,programme organizers, authors and performers) have to
 48 The cultural imdustries

be precisely and judiciously determined, as their influence is decisive in

cultural terms. The respective roles of the public authorities and the private
sector, particularly the advertising industry, are more difficult to analyse;
their commercial and promotional relations with the publishing industries
of the first group are more complex.
Taking the mode of production as a criterion, a distinction may be
made between one group of industries in which a work of creative art, while
remaining a craft product and a medium of personal expression, is repro-
duced in a very large number of copies (books,prints, records) by industrial
processes,and another group in which the use of a vast amount of equipment
is part and parcel of the creative act (cinema, television) and products
are disseminated to a mass audience.
Amateur photography and film-making represent an interesting combi-
nation. The consumer buys, on the market, an industrial product which is
nevertheless a blank. He uses it to give expression to his personality in an
activity which is creative to a varying degree. He then hands his exposed
film over to another industry which gives him back a developedpicture
that is both unique and reproducible and, in any event, personal.

...or according to the ways in which they are used

T w o groups of industries may also be distinguished according to cultural,
and not merely economic, criteria. The book, the sound recording and the
video recording offer the user a positive choice between a wide range of
products. The user acquires these first three products as durable goods; he
forms a strong and lasting emotional attachment to them. He uses them
at his own pace; he lends them, borrows them, copies them and uses them
over and over again. The personality of the publisher plays a more important
role in the supply of this first category of products. Supply stili exceeds
demand:products that are only profitable in the long term (poets,philosophy,
ancient or contemporary serious music) are still manufactured. In this area,
the publishing function is less dominated by the distribution function. In
this context, one may speak of publishing industries.
On the other hand, while cinema, radio and television audiences are
normally up to 10,000 times larger, they are each evening offered a limited
choice of undemanding programmes, which cannot be reproduced (although
video recorders have recently become more widely available). These pro-
ductions are more akin to mass consumer goods which are no sooner
produced than they are out of date, sandwiched as they are between adver-
tisements that associate them with all the other non-culturalconsumer goods.
Perhaps it would be more useful, with a view to an analysis, to refer, in this
case, to cultural servicesrather than cultural goods.
In the case of videotaped television programmes which involve current
affairs rather than dramatic and musical works, there is a steady flow of
well-made material which is hardly worth preserving. They are akin to the
newspaper,the daily look at world events, which is quickly read and thrown
away,
 The cultural industries 49

However, it should not be forgotten that radio and television treat the
products of the more serious publishing firmsand live performances as their
culturalstock-in-trade,and necessarily help to promote them. In this sense,
they gradually become the driving force of cultural production as a whole,
whether it takes the form of live performances or reproduced material.

The term culturalindustries is not synonymous

with the industrialization of culture
In order to avoid misunderstandings,it has to be made clear that the term
culturalindustries does not necessarily refer to industrializationin the way
the term building industry does, for example. Industrialization occurs
when a product is made by assembling mass-produced components on site
or in a factory.
This aspect of the word industrialis not relevant in the cultural
industries, even though some of the processes involved would suggest that
it is. The division of labour in the production of strip cartoons,the repeated
use of a small number of oversimplified, universal themes in the film
industry, the assemblage of reproductions in art books published in several
languages, a songwriters slavish imitation of the latest rhythms (disco,
for example) are not in themselves enough to create a work that is auto-
matically profitable, let alone a best seller. The talent of a creative artist
and a sense of public receptiveness, both of which are unique and irrepro-
ducible, are essential if a cultural product is going to be successful.
Cultural products, even mass-audience cultural products, embody a certain
something pertaining to the essence of culture which precludes their
industrialization.
Even if the cultural product is an item of merchandise in terms of its
promotion, distribution and marketing, this merchandise differs from other
forms of merchandise and, in cultural matters, the laws of the accumulation
of capital do not operate as they do elsewhere. This has been clearly shown
by historical analyses of the record market or the film market.

The culturalindustries are not all cultural

While books, records, films, art reproductions and radio and television
programmesmay be said to pertain to the cultural industrieswhen considered
in economic terms, various fundamental distinctions may be drawn if they
are discussed from a specifically cultural point of view. The role of infor-
mation in television and radio (where it represents up to one-third of the
air time but not one-third of the costs), the purely educative role of text-
books (a significant market) and industrial (or advertising) films may be
considered either to reflect or not to reflect the aims of cultural policies.
Such distinctions are significant in the context of the different forms of
public support: for example, an art filmmay be exempted from tax, while
an advertising film is not; a grant may be given for a book of poetry, but
not for a manual.
 50 The cultural industries

Similar concerns prompt the question of whether daily newspapers and

magazines should be classified as products of the cultural industries. It will
be observed, firstly, that the cultural influence of these mass media on all
levels of the population is considerable (the cultural pages of magazines
and newspapers,book reviews,record reviews and film reviews, viewing and
listening guides in the television magazines). It will then be noted that the
people employed in these media are, to some extent, the same. It will be
calculated that these media draw upon the same sources of revenue (adver-
tising charges on the one hand and household leisure budgets on the other).
It would therefore appear legitimate to classify daily newspapers and maga-
zines as products of the cultural industries.
A similar question arises in connection with advertising: it represents
a major source of revenue for the mass media; it uses a considerable amount
of publication space and air time;it is necessary for the products of the
publishing industry; to some extent, it employs the same people (directors
and technicians from film, television and radio industry, graphic artists)
and exerts a cultural influence on the public, its imagination and its ways of
perceiving images and language. An ambitious conception of the cultural
industries should therefore include advertising, which generates a sub-
stantial turnover in a number of countries.
Lastly, it is absolutely necessary to keep abreast of developments in
the new audio-visual products, services and networks (video recordings,
satellites and all the processes made possible by the combined use of data
processing facilities, the telephone and the television screen) as they will
sooner or later determine the future of all the other cultural products.
Thus, the field of the cultural industries will be defined, limited or
extended in each country depending on whether an economic, technical or
cultural approach is emphasized. The approach will be adopted on the basis
of the goal being pursued: the economist or the media theorist will not have
the same criteria as the person responsible for the future of a particular
branch (the trade unions in the film or book-publishing industry, for
example) or a person responsible for decision-makingwithin the framework
of a public cultural policy.
Within each branch of the cultural industries, the distinction between
the different phases of the production/marketing process will make it easier
to pinpoint particular problem areas in a branch and to identify areas where
decision-making strategically affects the whole branch, where integration
occurs.
The word strategicwill mean different things to the marketing execu-
tive and the representative of the public authority.For the businessman,the
identification of the strategic linchpin in a branch of industry-often
distribution-will afford him a clear idea of his position so that he can
enter into agreements with competitors and try to gain a hold on the market.
Well-established marketing techniques may subsequently lead him to alter
his production,the types of cultural products that he publishes or broadcasts,
in relation to the rest of the system. The disadvantages involved in such a
system are such that the small bookseller/publisher, unlike those of bygone
 The cultural industries 51

days, is no longer able to have works printed that he likes; the system is
now geared to the industrialist who produces more than a thousand titles a
year. The inevitable drawbacks are well known: the superstar cult, the
publication of best sellers rather than long sellers,the need to break into
intemational markets and media integration.

The role of the public authorities

The public official-the natural custodian of the creative artists at the
beginning of the industrial chain and the consumer public at the end of
it-will conduct his analysis in relation to other strategies, which are not
necessarily at variance with those adopted by businessmen and industrialists
but often have a counterbalancing effect. On the one hand, he will have
to ensure that the maximum number of opportunities are offered to the
largest number of creative artists and that the plurality of tastes, ideologies,
traditions and forms of expression are reflected.On the other hand, it will be
his task to see that, in practice, all the sectors of the population have access
to a high level of living, creative culture that generates growth in awareness
and genuine self-development.On the one hand, he must judiciously help
branches of industry which are essential for modern cultural life, the
disseminationof culture abroad and the cultural independenceof the country
as well as for the modernization of outdated cultural institutions. On the
other hand, he must promote the quality of a cultural life which becomes
the cultural life of all and must impede the natural drift towards the kinds
of circus tricks which illustrate the debasement of the people and the
decadence of a nation.
Thus, the main criterion to be adopted by the public authorities in
deciding to focus on a certain phase in the production/marketingprocess in
a specific branch of the cultural industries will be dictated by one or other
of the six major objectives which may be aimed at in a m o d e m cultural
policy:
Broadening access to culture; democratizing, decentralizing and developing
the cultural life of the population by improving the presentation of
high-quality works and information on present-day artistic affairs.
Improving the quality of the mass media, and developing group media and
self-media.
Promoting pluralistic creative activity, fostering a better use of talent and
raising the living standard of artists and professional cultural agents.
Modernizing the traditional institutions concerned with cultural dissemi-
nation and the establishment of comprehensive cultural archives.
Strengthening the countrys potential for cultural production.
Ensuring the extension of cultural influence abroad and protecting the
cultural independence of the country.
 The culturalindustries
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 The cultural industries 53

The resources of the public authorities

For the achievement of these major objectives in the field of the cultural
industries, the public authorities have five categories of resources:
Direct assistance, which essentially takes the form of grants or subsidies or
the financing of purchases of goods and services out of the general
budget; these must be kept to a minimum since red tape and the
centralizationof the statemachinery are detrimental to culturalcreativity.
Indirect assistance, in the form of fiscal and similar measures, which vary
considerably from country to country. Examples of such assistance are
special tax reductions, a low VAT rate and outright exemptions. H o w -
ever, there are also more sophisticated systems involving specific or
additional forms of taxation, levied in connection with a tax reduction,
where the revenue is channelled back to the branch of industry con-
cerned through a special, extra-budgetary support fund. Such indirect
assistance is preferable, as it serves to decentralize decision-makingand
increase the number of decision-making bodies.
Statutory measures (specialterms of business, programmecontracts, etc.)
whereby certain branches of industry are obliged to comply with public
service rules, concerning such matters as the limitation of the number
of foreign films to be shown on television,the number of channels to
be reserved for local television, etc.
International conventions, particularly the copyright conventions.
Other means of encouragement, such as festivals, awards, and lotteries.
The extension to the cultural industries of the bank guarantee and export loan
schemes which are available for other branches of industry in difficulty.
For each area of the cultural industries it is thus possible to draw up a
double-entry table (Table 4), in which the ultimate aims of cultural policy
are matched with the possible forms of assistance from the public authorities.
W h e n a particular branch is studied in this way with a view to providing
support, it is necessary to establish the phase of the production/marketing
process where the funds will give the maximum payback in the light of the
cultural policy aim envisaged. For planning purposes, Table 4 is constructed
on the basis of Table 3.

1980-90: a new leap forward

Over the past twenty years, the electronic communication, recording and
broadcasting media have completely changed the field of culture. They
represent the most significant breakthrough in terms of cultural action
aimed at the broadest spectrum of the population. In the next ten years,
the accelerated rate of innovation and the spread of the new technology
(television broadcasting satellites, cable networks, video recorders, video
discs, teledata systems) are likely to cause a similar upheaval and radically
alter the present system of cultural communication.
Access to culture and the very cultural heritage may be fundamentally
changed through the diversity and versatility of the equipment and the
 54 The cultural industries

broader range of choices that will be offered by the new audio-visualmedia.

It is possible that the culture which emerges from this new technology will
be more diversified than the culture of the preceding era. On the other hand,
it may serve to perpetuate its shortcomings (standardization, cosmopoli-
tanism, a dearth of creative talent).
The need for the public authorities to look ahead is all the more urgent
today as these innovations do not merely upset the balance between the
various media: they may accentuate the trends currently observed among
users. Furthermore,cultural-policy-makershave to understand that a know-
ledge of the languages and media of communication and an ability to use
them is one of the essential elements of cultural life. The approach adopted
towards these new media will govern the quality of their influence on the
future of mankind as a whole. Only governments and the international
bodies to which they belong will be able to implement, in close association
with users, the measures that are called for in this sphere.
The cultural agenciesat all levels have the fundamentaltask of evaluating
the potential effect of each technological innovation in relation to existing
technology, launching and monitoring full-scale experiments and system-
atically and constantly observing technical advances and social practices in
different parts of the world.
What is the cultural outcome of access to forty-soon to be a hun-
dred !-programmes through a cable system? W ill not the television viewer
opt for the easy-viewingprogrammes and ignore the more creative or more
instructive programmes?
In view of the fact that the number of television broadcasting stations
has increased, in ten years, from six to seventy-five in Algeria and from two
to ten in Saudi Arabia, surely it is necessary to visualize the state of affairs
when broadcasting satellites-which are already on order-reach much
vaster cultural areas than those reached by the old broadcasting stations?
Will the video disc have as powerful and stimulating an effect on
culture as the book had in the past, or will it lead to the proliferation of
insubstantial, shallow programmes?
Should barriers be set up? Should certain systems of communication be
favoured by means of grants or taxation? Or should the solution of the
problem be left to the market and the law of profit?
The answers to such questions cannot be left to technicians and engin-
eers. They form an integral pari of any cultural policy.

Cultural industries and the developing countries

In countries where vast distances make communication difficult, where the
population still includes a great many illiterates and where education,infor-
mation and culture are indissolubly linked,the modern mass media obviously
play an even more important part than in highly industrialized c0untries.l
1. This section is taken from the working document used for the preparation of the Dakar
meeting on cultural policies in Africa,which was based on a study by Mr James Ngugi
(Uganda) (Unesco/SHC/CONF.40/3,Annex III, p. 6).
 The cultural industries 55

Their manifold advantages are well known. They can be used in edu-
cating the public as a whole, in small groups, or individually, and can
contribute to the revival of traditional arts. It must, however, be emphasized
that it would be a serious mistake to consider them merely as instruments
of dissemination. They can and should contribute to the creation of new
art forms.These possibilities are particularly interesting in countries with an
oral culture, where locally based artistic development would be unlikely to
accommodate the distinctions between genres which are customary in the
West.
In fact,the modern broadcasting media perform five specifically cultural
functions which all merit consideration. Besides the traditional functions of
dissemination, education and creation-to which we shall return in
Chapter &they also serve as a means of preservation. Radio and tele-
vision possess sound and visual archives that document some of the funda-
mental events of contemporary history. In our day and age, it is vitally
important to preserve these riches and to pass them on to public bodies or
cultural institutions @ublic or private), schools, socio-culturalinstitutions,
associations, cinemas, film clubs etc. Lastly, these media should also serve
to increase public awareness of culture and provide information on cultural
life: newspapers and news magazines (which carry considerable weight),
television series and serials offer a culturalslant on the situations and values
encountered in everyday life which can reach the broadest imaginable
audience.
In Africa, radio is the most developed (55 sets per 1,000inhabitants)
and most immediately usable of the broadcasting media, answering better
than any of the others the present needs of this region. It carries on oral
traditions in modern form and, since the advent of transistors,reaches the
remotest areas where there is as yet no electricity. In countries without a
written language it is the only instrument of linguistic research and
development.
The cinema can play a very useful part in the task of cataloguing and
preserving popular traditions that risk extinction. But it also has a more
purely artistic function. As pointed out by J. Koyinde Vaughan (LAfrique
et le Cinma): Atrue picture of African life, with all the opportunities it
offers for dramatizing the past and the present, rich in aspirations which
the world should know, can be given only by Africans aware of what we
can bring to the art of the cinema. Many problems arise regarding pro-
duction, distribution, equipping indoor or open-air auditoriums, manage-
ment, and so on,and the founding of a Pan-AfricanFilm Institute,as recently
proposed, would certainly be extremely useful.
Television combines some of the advantages of radio and cinema. But
it requires large investments on the part both of the public authorities
(broadcasting stations)and of the population (televisionsets). It will probably
take a long time to solve these problems on the African continent as a whole.
As for the public in regions covered by a television network, even only as
an experiment, a solution might be to install television sets in public places,
form groups of television viewers, or set up rural or urban television clubs,
 56 The cultural industries

which would have the further advantage of facilitating the organization of

discussions on these programmes.
Within a comparatively short time new prospects will be opened up,
thanks to telecommunication satellites.
After several days of discussions, the experts meeting in Dakar to
determine the main outlines of cultural policies in Africa reached the
following conclusions:
There was general agreement on the tremendous potentialities of the mass media
in popularizing indigenous culture, and helping its growth by encouraging the
creation of new forms.Radio in particular stood in a unique position since much of
African culturewas oral-in words or music.
It was emphasized that, in order to play their part successfully, the mass
media must try to understand the culture which they were disseminating and
developing. It was lamentablethat most media operators had received professional
training in advanced countries,and tended to be limited by this fact in the forms
and systems they applied in their approach to indigenous culture.
Many participants expressed the view that the use of new techniques should
not be allowed to distort the content of culture. N e w developments must express
the essential character of the cultures of Africa and not become mere extensions of
foreign imported culture.
There was general awareness that radio and televisionstations and the cinema
were dominated by poor-qualityforeign productions, thus restricting the exposure
and growth of native forms. One participant mentioned that in at least three
countriespublic authorities had decided to control the distribution of ns in their
circuits.
Several participants stressed that the mass media should therefore promote
research into African culture at all levels,and base their subsequent activity on the
understanding arising from such research. They should also encourage artists to
join their staff, and provide such artists with the material means and the freedom
to carry out real research and to create new forms.
The mass media should raise the African artistsposition and ensure the devel-
opment of African art forms by offering equitable performance fees to indigenous
artists. The public authorities should take steps to ensure that copyright on the
works of indigenous artists was enforced.
There was general agreement an the need for the co-ordinationof mass media
action at Pan-Africanlevel and for the exchange of material, especially between
radio and television networks.
A participant wanted emphasis to be placed on the need to acquire modern
techniques of cultural action since without technique there could be no develop-
ment. But since technique quite often tended to overshadow material, technique
must be adapted to conform with local culture.

It is not surprising,therefore,that Unesco has notedl that the audio-visual

media are already exerting a profound influence on the nations and offer an
unprecedented opportunity,but also dangers,for the various cultures of the
world.

1. Resolution No. 20 of the Intergovernmental Conference on Institutional,Adminis-

trative and Financial Aspects of Cultural Policies, Venice,1970.
 The cultural industries 57

The conference considered that foreseeable technical progress, whether

it takes the form of satellites, television networks or other electronic appar-
atus, is sure to have a profound effect on the forms of access to culture and
of artistic creation, in particular by making available to an ever larger
number of creative artists increasingly refined, increasingly easy to use and
increasingly inexpensive tools. It took note of the unequal distribution of
these media and of the limited possibilities that are open to developing
countries for turning their advantages to account.
The conference accordingly recommended that Unesco study the possi-
bility of overcoming the differences in the degree of development of audio-
visual media in individual countries,particularly by: (a) preparing an inven-
tory of the audio-visualmedia adapted to the needs of small communities
and encouraging experiments with these media; (b) assisting Member States
to evaluate their needs in the matter of technicians and audio-visualcultural
programmes; (c) encouraging, through international exchanges of cultural
programmes, a knowledge of foreign cultures, in order to make all nations
conscious of their c o m m o n heritage and to help them to understand one
another; (d) offering technical assistance in this field to the developing
countries;and (e) taking,in particular, ail useful steps to help the developing
countries to produce, in a systematic and planned fashion, films and radio
and television broadcasts on the various aspects of traditional cultures, and
to make films specially designed for children and young people in those
countries.
This is an ambitious programme, but undoubtedly more realistic than
an attempt to implant in the developing countries institutions based on
those of nineteenth-century Europe.
Cultural development in these countries can well do without the major
setbacks experienced by the industrialized countries; it should lose no time
in having recourse to modern techniques,which are particularly well adapted
to oral cultures.
These techniques are not given away free, of course; but they are less
costly, more mobile, more easily decentralized than, for example, the great
theatre-houses of the last century. What really matters is that the tech-
nologies men learn should be carefully chosen and that frequent exchanges
should take place between all countries. Here lies much scope for action by
Unesco and the development aid programmes.

The future of a cultural industry: book-publishing

For centuries, the book has been the unique means of preserving speech; is its
existence threatened? Will it be eliminated by the new media, or will it succeed in
keeping its place-if not its supremacy-at the cost, perhaps, of radical renewal?
This is a vital problem,to which those who earn their living from books, whether
they be authors,publishers or bookseilers, must nd a reply, since this will deter-
mine the coming pattern of publishing and, in particular, the future structure of
this important sectar of cultural life.
 58 The cultural industries

In the years to come, books will, generally speaking, no langer be the sole
end-productof the publishing business;publishers will increasingly come to use a
variety of media for the diffusion of thought and culture, concurrently or simul-
taneously.Disc and tape recordings, microiilms, cine ims or video-taperecord-
ings wiil also become products of the publishing world and may well be found side
by side with books on the shelves of public or private libraries.
In addition, the possibilities offered by television, especially in the field of
information, will give rise to new methods in the production, distribution and
storage of intellectual activity. These new sources and outlets wiil not supersede
the traditional distribution system but will be complementary to it.

The problems involved in book policy-or rather,printed material policy-

are clearly formulated by this extract from the sixth French Plan report
on publishing.l

The importance of books

Very few countries have a coherent means and aims policy covering books,
authors, public reading and audio and visual reproduction.
Of all means of access to the world's masterpieces, the book is the only
one to combine the following qualities: high aesthetic value, maximum
freedom of choice, active individual participation, low price, compactness
and maximum decentralization.
In the theatre, high quality means high cost, which only the great cities
can afford. Aesthetically, every production has an element of chance; it is
rare that an evening at the theatre leaves as lasting an impression as a book.
Quantitatively, the book, together with television, the press and the
cinema,is the principal means of access to culture.Psychologically,it is more
highly esteemed than the other media, since everyone feels that the personal
effort involved in reading is precisely what true culture demands.
Unlike radio and television, the book, as a means of communication,is
chosen, not imposed. It does not lead to saturation or indiscriminate con-
sumption as do the other media. In the all too likely prospect of a universe
of the mind literally swamped by the deluge pouring from the mass media,
books remain one of the surest means to individual culture.
Contrary to what happens in the visual arts, the quality of a book does
not decline proportionately with the cost of its production or inversely with
the number of copies produced. It offers the highest artistic quality for a
trivial outlay; today you can buy a copy of War and Peace for the price of
a packet of cigarettes.
Finally, books go everywhere.They do not depend, as do theatres and
cinemas, on the existence of a community of several tens of thousands of
people. Books can be read, and kept, in the most isolated farmhouse.

1. Rapport du Comit de l'dition pour le VI" Plan, p. 18, Paris, La Documentation

Franaise, 1972.
 The cultural industries 59

The proliferation of retail outlets

Are we aiming towards a bookpolicy or a reading policy? Both, but they

should be differentiated. Book policy is concerned with supply-it is really
a policy for publishing and retailing-while reading policy is concerned
with the public demand. Demand, however, is the main concern of any
contemporary policy for cultural action;that is to say,it is aimed at increasing
the number of those who want to read books.
The basic axiom of any cultural policy is to join in the dialectical
interplay of supply and demand, and the technique of cultural action-the
promoters art-consists in reconciling two opposed considerations, the
quality of the material offered and the size of the audience reached.A reading
policy, then, would be aimed at increasing the size of the reading public and
at the same time improving the quality of material offered to them.
In France, a country generally regarded as cultured, 13 per cent of the
population read qualitybooks, 48 per cent read books-without quali-
fication-and 52 per cent read no books at all. The aim of reading policy
should be to transfer readers from the second category into the first and
from the third into the second.
It is easy to see the extent to which this demand-oriented policy will
affect supply-orientedpolicy, that is, book production and distribution.The
latter policy is no less necessary today than the former, however, since both
the organization of publishing and bookselling,in a rapidly changing society,
date largely from the nineteenth century. W ill the adaptation of this cum-
bersome, heterogeneous and scattered machinery to present-day require-
ments take place rationally or by a natural process? The entire development
of the modern economic system shows that only by a degree of rationaliz-
ation can a sector adapt itself rapidly to changing circumstances. It is
difficult to see why books should be different. A n d rationalization implies
policy.
It is, in any case, illusory to suppose that a policy can be dispensed
with; since millions are spent every year in this sector, an implicit policy
already exists. The reasons why it cannot be called an explicit policy are
that: (a) its aims are not clear; (b) the means employed are not co-ordinated;
(c) it is applied on a day-to-daybasis.
A change to an explicit policy would lead to action based on longer-
term considerations,co-ordinateduse of available means and the integration
of reading in a comprehensive cultural policy. The public would be better
off and the professionals stand to lose nothing; what more can the public
authorities ask?
A policy for reading must not dissociate the sale of books from their
lending; libraries, bookshops and non-specialized retail outlets must not be
considered as separate entities. All three must be viewed simultaneously as
distribution points; their roles in relation to the new society can then be
more readily assigned to them.
In relation to present-day living standards the book is no longer a rare
and costly article, beyond the reach of the masses. The time when public
 60 The cultural industries

libraries afforded the only access to books for the sons of peasants or work-
men is over. Mass production and distribution allow a very wide variety
of points of contact with the public, and in this matter business may prove
more resourceful than government.For example,a French petroleum concern
which gave a free book, chosen from a list of twenty high-quality works, to
every purchaser of fifty litres of petrol, gave away 4,250,000books within
two months and increased its petrol sales by 20 per cent! In Quebec, where
reading books is the second favourite leisure activity (after sport, but before
watching television), there are twice as many bookshop customers as public
library users.
In Poland, cafs have become newsagents sales points and television
clubs: in which the consumption of books and reviews is replacing that of
vodka. M a n y other measures could be taken, without cost to the state, once
the aims of cultural action have been defined.
In France, the art and experimentalcinemas (cinmasdart et dessai)
are commercial enterprises which undertake to provide a cultural service;
they are allowed partial tax remission and generally find that their turnover
increases. This example might suggest an interesting formula for bookshops
which were similarly prepared to accept a certain social role.

Electronic libraries and the modern mass media

Public libraries must also change; if they continue to limit themselves

exclusively to high culture, they may find themselves cut off from active
cultural life-and, of course, from the young.
The products of the new audio-visualtechnology will be beyond the
financial means of private individualsfor a few more years; here, the library
can fulfil the same role as it did seventy years ago when books were still a
luxury. Libraries, for example, should be the first to install the collective
antennae necessary for reception of satellite transmissions, lend out video
cassettes and video discs and have films on permanent circuit, as well as slide
magazines in conjunction with discs on all subjects, educational and
recreational alike; moreover, all these facilities should be in self-service
form.
Lastly, libraries should take the lead in installing local or national
data-bank terminals for public use and in familiarizing the public with the
different uses of electronic data-transmission facilities. In its role as an
information and documentation centre, the library will serve as a general
clearing-housefor information.
In the library of the future, books will take second place. They will
still have a precision, density and quality of information unequalled by the
audio-visual media; but they will become instruments of reference only,
while public access to culture will be provided by electronic equipment.

1. The Ruch newsagentsservice.. See the Franco-Polishstudy, Cultural Activity in Leisure

Time,Paris,French National Commission for Unesco, 1968.
 The cultural industries 61

Towards a generalpolicy

It is clear that public authorities cannot afford to ignore these developments

and indeed do not do so. They cannot avoid becoming involved in many
ways: taxation, copyright protection, public reading. But such measures
should relate to specific aims which are linked to the aims of general cultural
and industrial policy.
A national council on books, reading and the audio-visual media,
assisted by a research group, could be set up in every country to define the
wider policy issues, direct modernization, co-ordinate legal and fiscal
measures, centralize statistics and evaluate action.
 Chapter 3 W e understand only the world w e have
ourselves moulded.
Nietzsche

Animation
A new situation
If cultural life is now dominated by the cultural industries and undertakings,
as we saw in the preceding chapter, to an extent which will be further
illustrated below, will culture become merely another form of mass con-
sumption, swallowed whole like the rest by a civilization unable to digest
its leisure? This would be highly undesirable; but it is unlikely to happen.

The need to communicate

People have a profound need to communicate. Mass communications serve
only to reinforce that need. The sociology of culture and the psychology of
art may continue to draw an ever clearer dividing line between tastes,
aspirations and needs (dependingon whether those needs are real or artificial,
explicit or latent, and so on); but we already know that at the root of the
need for access to culture lies a profound urge to communicate. This can
hardly be fulfilled by the mass media, which offer an abundance of material
but no help in its choice or appreciation-nor any means of participation.
H o w many elderly and lonely people actually talk to the radio announcer,
or see in him a person with w h o m they feel an overwhelming desire to
communicate?
It is c o m m o n knowledge-supported by opinion-poll statistics-that no
one likes to go to a theatre or concert alone;at some point in the biography
of every individual, we invariably find an intermediary through w h o m his
apprenticeship was begun. I began going to art exhibitions, said one of
those interviewed, because I met someone w h o took me there; otherwise
how would I have known where to go, what to see, or h o w to appreciate
what I saw?
There is no such thing as a solitary apprenticeship. Mere physical
exposure to the arts does not necessarily imply any real contact from which
cultural development could begin. There are as many ways of watching a
television programme as there are viewers. W h e n 10 million people see
 Animation 63

Aeschylus The Persians, there is no single unified perception; the play is

perceived in different ways by 10 million viewers, some of w h o m barely see
it at all. H o w many museum or theatre attendants, after so many hours
passed in contact with works of art, can be described as cultured-taking
cultureto mean, not what is left over when the rest is forgotten, but
that by which all knowledge can be acquired?

A growing appetite
According to the most recent surveys,viewing television does not give rise to
increased passivity-contrary to the assertions of its detractors-but rather
to an accentuating of natural inclinations;the violent seek more violence,
the non-violent less; the educated seek more culture, the uneducated less.
The overriding factor-especially in the young-is the individual receiver
and his background and attitudes;this is far more important than the nature
of the transmitted material.
The cultural aim is not to saturate the receiverwith an amorphous
mass of audio-visualmessages, which fail to penetrate, or form a kind of
inorganic background in his memory and sensibilities, but to embark with
him on a cultural apprenticeship.
This is not merely a question of method or approach;it is apsychological
and sociologicalnecessity.The saturationresulting from this mass production
and transmission is already causing a reaction; individuals are demanding
more spontaneity, more direct contact with creative workers and media
personnel, greater autonomy and more active participation. In the long run,
the young, being raw material biologically, will not and cannot accept a
computerized culture in which the world has become nothing but a homo-
genized show, a spectacle where everything is relative and no involvement
is possible.
Mediation between man, his works and the world is made necessary by
the realities of psychology as well as by the need to raise cultural standardsto
a higher level.
The cultural aim is therefore to mediate between the spate of audio-
visual messages and the receiver. H o w should this be done? At what age?
Where? And by what means? A n attempt to answer these questions is made
below.

From media entertainments to cultural activity

Figure 1, on cultural practices in Finland-similar tables could be drawn
up for Hungary, Austria, France, Sweden and Canada (the tools of analysis
will be discussed in Chapter 6)-clearly shows the magnitude of the non-
public in the areas of traditional culture, which are also livingarts, and the
magnitude of the audience reached by the media, which represent repro-
duced culture.
The main problem in cultural-policy-makingfor the 1980s is therefore
to reduce such disparities,in terms both of production and creation and of
 64 Animation

O 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100.1
----r--r----r-----n

Classical concertdin concert halls ....

....

.... ... ... ... ... ... ............................................

Classical concerts on radiohnd television ..
.....
....
.....
....
.....
....
.....
....
. ..
....... ..
.......
.........................................

Pop/jazz concerts in concert halls

Popljazz concerts on radio andltelevision

Ah
.- d

Plays at the theatre I

Plays on television

Exhibitions

Libraries
=
I/
39

35

I Non-public: persons never reached

E- .............
.............
..............
.............
..............
.............
..............
.............
..............
.............
..............
.......................... 1-5
.............. times a year

More than 5 times a year

Audience reached by television

FIG.1. Cultural practices in Finland, 1976-77 (after Central Statistical Office of

Finland, Cultural Statistics, Helsinki, 1978, 256 pp.).
 Animation 65

the forms of consumption and practices of the general public. Leaving the
question of creation to a later chapter, we shall devote this section of the
book to a consideration of the following questions: H o w can the television
viewer become an active viewer? H o w can he make the step from being one
consumer among many to being an individual learner? Is it enough to make
cultural goods available to the public, on television or in cultural institutions,
for all the levels of the population to appropriate them, as Malraux believed
they would or as it is patiently hoped they will in the peoples democracies
(such is the useful utopia of cultural democratization)? Or would it not be
better to take different population groups as targets, and match their
possibilities with different educational approaches founded on their needs
and their ability to define them (such is the practice of animation and cultural
democracy)? Numerous enlightening experiments based on this cultural-
policy-makingalternative were carried out in the 1970s.Our line of approach
requires that cultural policies should no longer be discussed by starting with
existing institutionsand facilities and then establishing h o w mass technology
is to be added,almost as an afterthought.The opposite approach should be
adopted: starting with the actual cultural life of society and mass-oriented
electronic technology that dominates it, we shall consider the role to be
played by institutions, the new types of mediation and animation to be
developed and, therefore,the new requirements in terms of personnel and
facilities.This approach stands in marked contrast with the genera1 tendency
of ministries of culture to begin by creating or strengthening large, central,
prestige institutions.
From the moment certain ultimate purposes are accepted by a society,
a desirable state of affairs is defined, or the probable terrainis recognized,
it has to be ascertained whether the old resources and time-honoured insti-
tutions are still valid or whether they should be seen in a new context and
others, perhaps, be devised.
Adult education activities and experiments in the democratization of
institutions have led to the emergence of a new concept: the concept of
cultural democracy. The fundamental thinking, methods, facilities and
personnel associated with such a new approach have to be defined.

Ups and downs of democratization

Popular education in 1980
This is not the place for a history of the past hundred years of adult edu-
cation. It would, however, be a good moment to write it, n o w that millions
of adults spend twenty hours a week at the peoples university:the television
screen. What is the significance of those few spare hours devoted by a
minority to adult education? A very useful training, both for it and for
society;but hardly the result hoped for by the founders of this vast move-
ment, who hoped to give access to culture to those outside the lite. In this
sense, adult education in its traditional form has failed. The reasons for its
failure are many-lack of means, lack of teachers, political instability-but
 66 Animation

the fundamental cause is a lack of understanding of people, their hopes,

needs and intentions. The paternalism implicit in this movement, the idea
that the benefits of high culture could be showered down on the people if
only the right teaching methods could be found, seems to have been a
profound psychological error.Thispatronizing didacticism,with its emphasis
on language,undoubtedly ruled out any possibility of cultural apprentice-
ship for common people.

False democratization
Dissatisfaction with the ponderous inefficiency of the educational system,
and the belief in mans instinctive ability to perceive truth and beauty if
only he were given readier access to the institutionsof high culture,led to
the idea of culturaldemocratization.If,after a hundred years of municipal
theatres, grand opera and state museums, fewer and fewer people visit
these places, despite the considerable rise in educational and living stan-
dards,then the reason must be that they are poorly managed,old-fashioned,
bourgeois and out of touch with the modern public. More democratization
is the obvious answer: seek out the people where they are, in the factories
and offices!
The objective now becomes mass distribution of the products of high
culture at prices within the reach of all and in places where they were
never available before. Decentralization follows; generous subsidies are
granted-especially in provinces and suburbs-and public-relations tech-
niques are developed to the maximum to reach the elusive common people.
In this way it is hoped,without taking any account of sociological contexts
or psychological and semantic barriers, that energetic, ingenious, demo-
cratically inspired action will provide access for the general public which so
far shuns the process of acculturation.
But what has really happened? In the theatre, for example,thanks to
price reductions resulting from subsidies running as high as three-quarters
of real cost,access has become possible for those whose culturalbackground
already gave them the desire and the need to come. But the general public
still stays away.
After a year of operation,the cultural centre in C.,a brand new building right in
the towns administrativecentre,was astonished to find that only 4 per cent of
its public was of working-classorigin;an inquiry was made among localworking
people and those interviewed listed, among many other 0bjections-e.g.a
district we dont go to for fun,a type of building we dont go into,thekind
of clothes we havent got-the fact that the price of entry was too high: With
seats at 20 francs,that makes 40francs for two-we cantafford that.In fact,the
price of entry was shown in advertisements all over the town as 5 francs-the
same as for the cinema,including readmission. At the same time,a popular
singer was filling the local theatre,with seats at 20 and 30 francs.
The same applies to the theatre as to the museum: the obstacle is not the
price ofentry but thecontents-or, more precisely,thelanguage,that complex
code of symbols to which the uninitiated public does not have the key.
 Animation 67

Price reductions-or even free entry-will never remove cultural

inequalities;quite the contrary, subsidy actually increases them, since it
benefits those who already have access and the desire and means to ensure it.

Culturefor the educated

Paradoxically,the so-called democratization of culture ends by subsidizing
the privileged from public funds obtained by taxing the whole popu-
lation-including the underprivileged.
At S.,a provincial town famousfor its interest in music,the authoritiestake pride
in their expenditure on music: 60 francs per inhabitant,the highest figure in the
country.But they ignore the fact that 97 per cent goes to the opera house,which
presents six operas yearly from the traditional repertoire to audiences who are
already music lovers and belong to the citys cultural,social and economic lite.
At the same time,in the new districts appearing on the outskirts of the town,
neither parents nor children think of coming to the citys noble and gilded opera
house;hastily built schools have no music teachers and youth and cultural centres
no musical organizers. Here,then,we have a musicalcity, in which the greater
part ofthe populationis deprived ofmusic and works so that a privileged,fortunate
and cultivated minmity can have its exclusive music at minimalcost.
Cultural centres,too,have succeeded in attracting only those who already
share the culture they offer, and have failed to win over the non-initiated.
Our problem now is to conceive a programme which, instead of
subsidizing the privileged, would help that part of the population most
vulnerable to the onslaughts of the modern world-fragmented and unre-
warding work, crowded living conditions, audio-visual saturation-and
most lacking in the means to begin a cultural apprenticeship.

One kind of outsider,or many kinds?

Most of the population continues to shun even the latest facilities.For this
absenteeism-or simply absence-cultural activities organizer Francis
Jeanson suggested the word non-public.lThis is a useful concept,since it
has helped to focus the attention of those responsible on that part of the
population which never attends and takes no part in the culturallife financed
from the public purse.
It soon became obvious,however,that the theatresnon-publicmay be
in the cinema and that the cinemasnon-publicmay be watching television.
Organizers discovered a fact known for years to marketing specialists;the
public is segmented and subpublics exist which are virtually subpopulations,
with their own needs,desires and particular forms of consumption.
In an analysis of the various cultural activities in the urban area of
Lyons,Jean-ClaudeBarthez distinguishesbetween three categories of users:2

1. Francis Jeanson, Surla notion de non public , in Laction culturelle dans Ca cit,
Paris,Seuil, 1973.
2. J.-C. Barthez, Les activits culturelles dans la communaut urbaine de Lyon, Lyons,
Groupe de Sociologie Urbaine, 1970, 121 pp.
 68 *Animation

unconditional users, who participate in the whole range of activities,

wherever they take place; potential users, who participate only in activities
which fulfil certain conditions of place and price (medium and lower-grade
employees); and non-users(lower social categories, especially working
class): unreceptive, they belong to one or more subcultures which are
outsiders to the dominant subculture and its culturecomponent;and they
want no part of this culture,which they feel is foreignto them.
It is this last category, the non-users,which should be the primary
concern of cultural development policy. Barthez notes, however, that
existing arrangements are ill adapted to cope.
Similarly, the Swedish sociologist Harald Swedner, who has for ten
years been carrying out research into the sociology of culture, observed a
marked antagonism to high culture among the Swedish working class.
Attendance at theatres, concerts or exhibitions seemed to them to imply
membership of an lite culture, to which they did not feel they belonged.
Such culture is costly;ordinary education does not give the key to the cultural
messages; the events take place in high-classbuildings far from working-
class quarters; the works performed are middle-class and deal with middle-
class problems; lastly, mass culture is much better distributed and easier
of access.After several years of experience,Francis Jeanson has the following
to say: Ifthe non-cultured do not speak the same language as we do, it
is not only because their intellectual baggage has been less developed than
ours; it is also because their experience of the world is different from ours,
and a certain type of culture results therefrom to which we have no direct
access.
There is not, then, in any given country, at any given time, a single
culture with a capital Cy; there are several cultures, which anthropologists
refer to as subcultures.

Culture with a capital C-or subcultures,plural?

Continuing this line of thought, ethnologists and research workers have
developed the idea of the subcultureand its analysis in various societies,
advanced or otherwise. At Namur, in Belgium, organization is being gradu-
ally defined in relation to the existence of subcultures. The object is not to
shower working-class districts with a divinely revealed culture straight
from the cultural centre but to help each subculture-whether of manual
workers or white-collar workers, of the young or the old, of foreign immi-
grants or uprooted peasants-to develop, express itself and produce leaders
and artists. This technique, whose preliminary results are now being evalu-
ated,could be useful in many industrialized countries,and in the developing
countries.
Manual workers in the West, for example, are impervious to educated

1. Cited by Bengt Soderbergh in La Sude en question :la culture et l&tut, pp. 4 and 41,
Paris, Seghers, 1971.
 Animation 69

cultural consumption and are progressively being deculturedby the media.

Any cultural policy aimed at such people has to be geared to the specific
working and living conditions, educational opportunities and commercial
realities of the working-class environment. Moreover, it should reflect a
number of fundamentalaims, namely the recognition by each individual of
the true value of his freely chosen work and effective control of his time
(lifelong education offers the means to achieve this); respect for the informal
development of affinities (on the basis of experiments involving a constructive
approach to the environment,for example); and recognition of the true value
of a groups ability to express itselfthroughits own creative efforts according
to its o w n criteria?
In his analysis of cultural life in Lyons, Barthez writes as follows in this
connection:
There is no single culture,but only subcultures.If both cultural-policy-makersand
users were asked to participate in the preparation of a programme of cultural
action,the needs felt by the groups forming these subculturescould be determined;
but there is a risk that some might not take part. This risk could be limited by a
systematicstudy of the non-participatinggroups and by giving preferentialsupport
to any associations or other bodies representing them.In most cases,however,they
wiU not be culturalin the conventional sense; if, therefore,we are to take into
consideration the latent needs of those who do not patronize cultural activities, a
fundamentalchange of attitude is necessary. Instead of bringing culture to all-in
any case an illusion-our aim must be to help all groups, even the most marginal,
to live their own subculture to best advantage.

The experience of the last twenty years has shown that no single culture
with one public exists, but many cuItures with many publics;this is true for
all nations collectively and within the social categories of each nation
individually. This finding must form one of the bases for cultural policy.
N o w w e can see clearly the difference between cultural democracy and the
democratization of culture. A similar conclusion was reached at the 1970
meeting of experts in Ottawa:
it became clear that it was necessary to consider the public as a collection of
different publics. These included societies with defined or less defined class struc-
tures as well as those with a mixture of indigenous and introduced cultures;
although in some cases the imposed cultures might have lost their originalimpetus,
on balance the cross-fertilizationof different cultures seemed to have produced
positive and valuable results.
Urban and rural publics, young, middle-aged and old publics exist, and all
differ one from the other. Each has its own interests and needs and must nd
symbols for itself.
This variety of publics demands a culturalplurality in which there is an
opportunity for selectivity among individuals and groups.z

1. Pierre Belleville,Attitudesculturelles actuelles des travailleursmanuels, in Les cultures

populaires, Toulouse, Privat Ed., 1979, pp. 92-104.
2. Unesco, Meeting of Experts on Arts Education for the General Public, Ottawa, 1970,
p. 2 (Doc. Unesco/SHC/CONF.37/14).
 70 Animation

Similarly, Mr MBow, Director-Generalof Unesco, speaking in Africa

on behalf of the African ministers of culture,recalled that:
such participation is based on the assumption that the individual has means of
access to culture in all its forms,and that he is aware of belonging to a culture
which reflectshis identity.Hence,the need emerges for a gradualdecentralization
of efforts,institutions and funds . . .made all the more urgent by the variety of
formsof expression.

Democratization of high culture

-or cultural democracy?
Two assumptions are implicit in the idea of the democratization of culture;
first, that only high culture of sacrosanct value is worth while;secondly,
that once the (undifferentiated) public and the works are brought face to
face,culturaldevelopmentwill follow.These two axioms entail as a corollary
that priority should be given to professional writers and artists, and to
decentralizationby major institutions. After many years of experience,this
policy has shown itselfineffectivefor practical and also for deep-setreasons:
cultural life is made up of subcultures, each having their own language;
high cultureis but one ofthem and a man isnot shuntedfrom one to another
merely by crossing the threshold of a theatre or a museum. High culture is
predominant for historical reasons and because of its implied values; but
it is incomplete-it does not embrace science, for example, or econ-
omics-and this one-sidednessresultsin the disaffection or non-involvement
of large sectors of the population.
The aim of cultural democracy,on the other hand,is to promote the
self-expressionof particular subcultures and relate them to other, more
universal subcultures,through the communicationsmedia. Francis Jeanson
explains the matter as fol1ows:l
Such an attitude impliesa conception of cultural life that is upheld by the demand
for a practical demonstration of it in world terms. It points to a culture in the
process ofevolving,as opposed to one that is stagnant,already there,ready-made,
a sort of sacred heritage which it is only a matter of conservingand transmitting.
It even rejects-or at any rate goes way beyond-the nave idea of a more just,
more egalitariandivision of the cultural heritage, so far as the non-public
distinguishes itself precisely by its more or less marked indifference to cultural
values,which do not seem to it to bear the slightestrelation to its actualproblems
of existence.
But,ali the same,it does not go so far as to condemnout of hand a cultural
past on which it is itself dependent and whence it draws its deepest motivations.
O n the contrary,its aim is to arrange things in such a way that culture becomes
today for everybody what culture was for a small number of privileged people at
every stage of history,where it succeeded in reinventingfor the benefit oftheliving
the legacy inheritedfrom the dead;that is to say,each time it was able to assist in
bringing about a deeper sense of reality and closer bonds of communication
between men.

1. Jeanson,op. cit., p. 101.

 Animation 71

The point is not to increase the size of theatre audiences or the number of
visitors to museums,but to provide those hitherto excluded from traditional
culturewith the means ofcultivatingthemselves,according to their individual
needs and specific requirements.
Cultural action cannot be limited to the maintenance of traditional
cultural facilities or the encouragement of avant-garde activities to the
exclusion of everything else. It also presupposes a kind of social work and
the provision of training in the widest possible range of culturaltechniques.
In other words,it is necessary to devise new approaches,adapted to the new.
realities,to replace the traditional means for the dissemination of cu1ture.l

De-institutionalization
The inanity of purely quantitative solutions is now apparent (as if doubling
the number of cultural centres and the size of their budgets, or, for that
matter,increasingthem tenfold,were enough to cu1turize-to use Dubuffets2
expression-the entire population). First,there will alwaysbe an unreachable
majority;those who dont want to come or cantcome will stay at home,
leaving the halls two-thirdsempty. Peoplestheatres are well aware of this
phenomenon of declining audiences; once the novelty has worn off, the
public,which still does not possess the key to the language of high culture,
stays at home and watches television.Further,this quantitativepolicy results
in the creation of vast machinesy,whose operatorsacquire excessive
influence and whose fixed costs eventually dictate the nature of their artistic
output;we have seen this with opera houses throughout the world,and with
a great many national theatres.The people who work there are obliged-often
in spite of themselves-to create fiefdoms,and thus a new aristocracy comes
into being,whose members understand only each other; no account need
be taken of the public, since commercial considerationsare of no account.
One is answerable solely to onesadministration,and to the categorical and
inviolate principle of creative freedom and the theatre as public service,
like the school.
In the longrun,institutionscannotavoid rigidity;inevitably,they present
ready-madeculture,rather than culture in the making, and their concern is
for the works, not the public. But works of art should be considered as a
means of fertilizing an apprenticeship,not as ends in themselves.The point
is elaborated by Marc Netter, former director of a cultural institute,in the
following words?
The important thing is communication,not the work of art itself. Culture is an
attitude,not a piece of real estate or a monument to be visited. At the risk of
scandalizingconservatives and some others,I suggest that the Mona Lisa-or any
other work of worldwide reputation-has no value in itself, or at any rate none

1. Colloque de Nuremberg sur la dcentralisation culturelle, Strasbourg, Council of

E w o ~ 1~97,6 (C.C.C./D/C/(76)55-F).
2. Jean Dubuffet, Asphyxiante culture,Paris,Pauvert,1968,152 pp.
3. Marc Netter, Approche dune politique culturelle en France, Communications,
No. 14,1970,p. 45.
 72 Animation

that need greatly concern us. What counts is its image in the minds of those who
contemplateit, the message it transmits,in fact.Today,the Mona Lisa is no longer
merely a work of art designed to embellish the world of the cultivated lite,but a
medium through which man can rediscover himself-a catalyst of mans new
relationship with himself and the world. If not, its interest is historical, artistic or
touristic,but not cultural.
From this point of view, the theatre does not differ from the other arts. Of
course, a play has a short-lived,emotive, deeply felt effect not shared to the
same extent by paintings or music, and the producer is more likely to be
aware of the presence of his public than the writer, for example. But the
structure of todays theatre is not designed to develop a creative attitude on
the part of the individuals making up its audience; and we should not forget
that, before now, plays have been used as a public tranquillizer.
Our aim should be to play to an audience whose visits to the theatre
are part of an active and continuing process of education, not merely an
evenings passive entertainment. The object is not to transform a people
into a public, but to make a people out of the mass-media audience.l

The essential intermediary

Cultural action is concerned with mans sensibilities, his power to express
himself and communicate with others; works of art are on the same footing
as science broadcasts or economic debates as means of helping the individual
to discover himself, express himself more precisely, understand his own
problems and, thus, his place in the world. One form of activity leads to
another and gradually the individual acquires a new attitude, a new way of
living every part of his life,whether on holiday or at the television screen, at
work or with his family. Cultural apprenticeship has now begun: it may not
bring happiness, but at least it enables us to decide what happiness we wish
to pursue.

The small group as intermediary

Here, it may be said, is a task beyond the means of society; how on this
basis can we reach the individual, in all the fullness of his inner being?
Surely this will take hundreds of thousands of organizers (animateurs)-as
many as there are teachers?
The answer is not institutional,but lies in the nature of the acculturation
process itself. This process cannot be imposed from outside (academic
learning still is); this would lead back to the didacticism of adult education.
It must start from within, germinating and developing as all life does, in a
natural environment. The essential intermediary must be a natural one; not

1. On this question, the reader is referred to Finn Jor, Dmystzjcation de la culture:

animaiion et crativit,Strasbourg,Council of Europe, 1976.In this work,this Norwe-
gian journalist reports on a large number of experiments and innovationswhich he has
visited in Europe.
 Animation 73

an appointed arbiter, but the small group to which every individual spon-
taneously belongs. Such groups will form links in a chain; far too many
people will be involved in this for the job to be left to full-timeprofessionals,
and at every stage the aid of voluntary workers will have to be sought. These
local voluntary workers will be trained by others who, in turn, will be
trained at a national level.

The agreementsof the Belgian Ministry of Culture

The Belgian Ministry of Culture has introduced a scheme involving agreements
providing for the development of cultural action aimed at groups generally beyond
its reach the rural population,immigrant workers,the fourthworld, the socially
disadvantaged, children from slum districts, the aged, and so on.
The ministry supports the action of a group on the assumption that its
initiative is worth trying for its intrinsic interest and that the lessons to be learnt
from it will serve to further socio-culturalthinking in general. In practical terms,
the state undertakes to provide the funds for an activity whose objectives and
implementation are governed by a written agreement signed by the two parties.
Groups are frequently chosen on the strength of the originality of their
approach and because they do not fit into any other existing legal framework. In
this sense,the Ministry of Culture may genuinely be said to experiment on behalf
of the other public authorities.Many of the groups should really come under other
gavernment departments,such as the Ministry of Health,the Ministry of Employ-
ment, or the Ministry of Education,but cannot be catered for by these government
departments since they are not receptive to social innovation.
However,it is intended that theseactivitiesshould gradually be accommodated
in a purpose-built organizational set-up.The Ministry of Culture certainly could
not indefinitely extend the number of areas covered by the agreements.It is
therefore necessary to negotiate, with the other ministries and public bodies, the
conditions on which they would agree to take over projects in their specific areas
of responsibility without fundamentally changing their objectives. Within the
Ministry of Culture itself,much has to be done to ensure that new legal frame-
works are created to accommodate the new activities.
Common features of the agreements: While the associations that enter into such
agreementsare involved in different areas of activity, certain common features
may be discerned in terms of the fundamental objectives of their community
development and lifelong education projects: (a) research on the needs and aspir-
ations of a group of people; (b) an attempt to ensure that the intended project is
undertaken collectively by the population or group concerned;(c) information and
training activities aimed at enabling the participantsin the project to be properly
prepared and so acquire the means to take the appropriate action;(d) democratic
organization and seif-managementin the bodies that implement the project; and
(e) an effort to reach the most deprived sectors of the population.
A similar organization operates in Francel within the framework of a Fonds
interministriel dintervention culturelle which has been allocated a budget of
50 million francs a year.

1. For a more detailed description of this fund, the reader is referred to La politique
culturelle en France:laction du Ministre de la Culture,in Cultural Policies: Studies
and Documents, pp. 95-105, Paris, Unesco.
 74 Animarion

What is cultural animation?

The copious literature on animation which has appeared over the past
twenty years reflects a fair measure of agreement. Animation covers every-
thing which facilitatesthe access of persons and groups to a more active and
creative life, by improving their adaptability,powers of communication and
ability to participate in the life of their community and enhancing their
personality and independence.It embraces a whole range of specific activities
which call for communication between the members of a community and
for every individual in the community to be involved in cultural life. In
short, the concept of animation includes the notions of communication,
participation and adaptation to an unstable and changing world.
J. Rigaud writes:
Animation has not been evolved ta convey a message or to foster conventionalism.
It brings about an awakening, a growth in the awareness of a common sense of
belonging and the individuality of each person. It is no function of animation to
lay down a particular path to be followed;people have to choose their own path,
once they are standing on their own feet. The task of the animateur is merely to
heighten peoples awareness
In 1970, during the preparation of the sixth French Economic and Social
Development Plan-the explicit incorporation of culture into the economy
-the Commissariat Gnral du Plan adopted the following definition:
Whatever its field of application, promotion-at least in its theoretical aspects-
involves three conjunct processes:
Clarification: Promotion aims to create conditions in which individuals and social
groups can perceive their problems and unanswered questions; whether
by contact with works of art or their creators (cultural promotion), with
socio-economic structural inadequacies (socio-economic promotion) or
with themselves (sports promotion), promotion tends to provoke self-
questioning on the subject/object and subjectlsubject relationships,and so
arouses the consciousness;
Communication: By establishing contacts between and within different groups,
between the public and individual works of art or their creators and between
those responsible for decision-making,promotion seeks to provoke com-
munication and the exchange of views, whether parallel or conflicting;
Stimulus to creativeness: Through the self-interrogationof individuals and groups
on their relationship to the environment,the world and each other,promotion
tends to facilitate creativeness, which on the social plane is manifested in
initiative and a sense of responsibility. But it is also manifested in all kinds
of individual activities, from do-it-yourselfcrafts to sport, painting, acting,
photography, etc.
These three conjoint processes appear to us to characterize promotion, regardless
of the scope of its application:cultural, social or economic; its form: institution-
alized or non-institutionalized;its style: charismatic,messianic, participational,
non-authoritarian;its ideological aim: to adapt the individual to society, or to
change society itself.2
1. Jacques Rigaud,La culture pour vivre, p. 102, Paris, Gallimard, 1975.
2. Commissariat Gnral du Plan,Rapport du Groupe de Travail Animation,pp. 9-10,
Paris,Le Commissariat, March 1971.
 Animation 75

Thus, it will be seen that animation is an attitude rather than a technique and
proceeds as much from the social fabric,its taboos,claims and interactions,as
from the activitiesof leaders or educators.1
In 1968,this task of animation specifically featured on the agenda at the
meeting in Budapest of experts from all over the world,who defined the
concept of cultural centres. In the words of the report of the meeting?
. . .the cultural centre is a meeting-placeof man in his many aspects within a
community framework,and is above all a place of synthesis.If fiom time to time
it provides an excellent sensibilizationto the cultural patrimony,it does not do so
ina frameworkofconservationand oftransmission(even thoughit might indirectly
contiibutethereto)butrather in thedesire to facilitatethe adaptationofman to this
environment and the problems of his times. With respectto youth such an attitude
is particularly important.The essential aim of the cultural centre is that everyone
live his own cultureso that it can be deeply integrated into his daily life.
The cultural centre offers,in place of an imposed culture,a culture that is
created in and for each person: real participation by the public in the life and
activities of the centre.This participation permits the development within each
person of creative possibilities and provides an apprenticeship for responsibility.
Through its active participation,the public can acquire arms that will permit it
to struggleagainstthe alienationthat menaces it in a world of machines,and,in a
world where thepublic is assailed by messages ofallkinds,it can acquirea freedom
of choice.
Finally, the cultural centre, despite the diversity of the functions that it
assumes in varied sectors of activities, affirms the unity of cultural education,
particularlyartseducation,within thegeneralframeworkofapermanenteducation.
Participationand apprenticeshipare aims;the means to attain them can
be summed up as follows:3interestingthenon-participatingpublic;interesting
individuals and then small groups;showing them what the animateurs are
trying to do and evoking participation at all levels; finding the necessary
facilities and media; seeking new forms of expression for modern living;
ensuring a continuing injection of fresh ideas and new life;encouraging the
creative and critical facilities in individuals and groups;making change an
enrichment and not mutilation;giving education its proper place in everyday
work and leisure;and making communication and enjoyment integral to
all development.

The G-15experiment in Copenhagen

G-15is the abbreviation for Gartnergade 15, in Nrrebro, one of the poor
districts in the old part of Copenhagen which has the problems of slum housing,
alcoholism,drug abuse and delinquency.

1. Pierre Moulinier,La formation des mimateurs culturels, pp. 18-19, Unesco, Paris,
1980 mossier documentaire).
2. Meeting of Experts on the Development of Cultural Centres, Budapest (Hungary),
p. 2 (Doc. Unesco/SHC/CS/123/5).
3. Based on LAnimatique, No. 18-19 of the review Pour, published by the Groupe de
Recherche sur lgducationPermanente.
 76 Animation

Two school buildings were converted into an allhus (all-purposehouse) when

the schoolwas moved elsewhere.This housewas inauguratedin 1974.
It soon became evident that the general familiarity with the old buildings
made things a good deal easier: the truth is that many people are uneasy about
going into an impressive new culturalcentre.
The G-15centre is well suited to its functions: its well-lit large halls make
it possible for several activities to be carried on at the same time.There are a day
nursery where women can leave their children while they do their shopping, a
recreation club for children aged 7-14, workshops, a gymnasium,rehearsal rooms
for orchestras, offices, confidentialsocial assistance and advisory services,a club
for adults and various meeting-rooms.
The activitiesreflect the interests of the community:photographic exhibitions
on the life of the region and the working environment,a local arts association,
workshops for batik,fabric printing,pottery,metalwork or woodwork and motor
cycle repairs,and so on. A group wishing to receive training or advice in a specific
field may call upon the services of a qualified instructor.
In many cases, the whole family goes to the G-15centre, which caters for
all age-groups.The success of the experiment is highlighted by the fact that the
television room, which seemed essential at the time the centre was set up, is
practically never used. Six months after opening its doors,the centre was receiving
3M people a day.While it is too early to assess the extent to which its activities
may be described as culturalactionin the strict sense of the term, the degree of
local-communityinvolvement is already quite remarkable.
All decisions concerning the houseare taken at a meeting of the users. Any
group with at least ten members may be recognized as a group of users. The
meeting may even dismiss the director of the centre,who is appointed by the city
council, if he fails to perform his duties to the satisfaction of the users. In this
sense,G-15may also be seen as an experiment in democracy.

Animationand creation are inseparable

By worrying overmuch about the difficulties, does the cultural risk not
become the merely social? It might if it were not for the creative side. In
both groups and individuals, the purpose is to encourage creation and not
repetition, invention and not imitation-in fact to make everyone creative.
But it is easier to talk about creating than to do it, and creativity should not
be taken to mean vacuous spontaneity, expression that says nothing, or
simply collective delusion. To create is to give form; and without discipline,
the whole operation becomes pointless.
Mans higher purposes are creative: fulfilment with the means available
to him, understanding and welcoming the creativity of his fellows which
mirror and which mould him. Where this is lacking, the spirit dies. Art is
not an optional extra, a frill, a luxury for the opulent. It is as basically
human as morality and, like it, vital if m a n is to be at one with his environ-
ment. It is not a question of ecological or rational conformity with accepted
mental processes,but a constant re-creation;the solution of an often painful
struggle against repetition and mortality. Art is not lifes final flowering and
effulgence but that by which one becomes what one is.
Any group with drive must therefore always have at least one w h o
 Animation 77

creates-poet, sculptor, film-maker, dancer-who constantly recalls a

double need innovation and discipline. Traditional societies have always
recognized this role of the artist. The meeting of experts in Dakar rec-
ommended that cultural policies should not misguidedly lead to the artists
being removed from the environment which provides his inspiration, and
established in urban surroundings which would drain his creative impulse.
In the industrialized countries too, while the artist must retain his creative
solitude, he must also be given the sense of belonging to a society which
needs him. O n this basis, the animation side of cultural policy links up with
the aid-to-creativityside (see below), encouraging contact between artist
and population.

Accept the risk of politics

This comprehensive view of animation is only a step removed from bringing
in politics. People can hardly be asked to think about towns, town-
planning, society and its ills without also thinking about social and economic
structures.
The replies of seventy-fiveorganizers in a study in Lorraine (analysis of methods
of recruiting and training socio-cultural and sports animateurs) showed three
distinct views regarding their role: (a) to preserve traditional Lorraine society;
other structures which apparently break with the past can be used to perpetuate
it; (b) to encourage social change through better relations within the society,each
assuming his democratic responsibilities;(c) to transform social and economic
structures through a general involvement and reorganization in opinion-forming
and pressure groups.
In slightly different terms, a study in Rennes comes to similar conclusions;
fifty-five interviews showed animateurs as divided into three main groups:
Roughly 30 per cent are content to work within the institutional framework in a
purely functionalway,and to be a subordinate within a particular service, activity
or art, mainly displaying technical expertise.
Most organizers either extend this role to include educational considerations
or integrate these within it. They aim to stimulate the members of the particular
sector in which they operate into active participation and integration within
society as a whole.
Lastly,a small minority attempts to communicate to the groups with whom
they come into contact an awareness of their individual status in every aspect of
their life-work, home, leisure and culture-so that they take steps to change it.
Changingstatusand transformingstructuresinvolves politics in the Greek
sense of the word. It is better, however, to recognize this frankly rather than
stupidly to ignore it and bring in partisan politics. The old taboo, keep off
politics, means either uninformed discussion in the pub, with no authority
other than the alcohol consumed, or resort to the use of way-out, defiant
or violent terms that do not make political life any more sensible.A certain
kind of deadly boring, predictably dogmatic political play would not last
long if politics were frequently and openly discussed in cultural centres.
 78 Animation

As Francis Jeanson reminds us?

Cultural programmes aim not at transforming the social system,but at offering
men the possibility of adopting a progressively more consciousattitude towardsit
and of participating ever more closely in the major choices that determine the
communitys present and future existence. In thus renouncing any possible
connection with action of a political nature (in the generally accepted sense), it
constitutesnone the less an undertaking designed to free the individualconscious-
ness from all mystificationand feeling of alienation,offering it instead the means
of becomingpoliticized, or,if you prefer it, civilized;of becoming more and more
capable of accepting its responsibilities in the conduct of human affairs.In this
sense, all genuine cultural programmes favour transforming non-democracy,or
purely formal democracy,into a democracy that is more and more real.
Since the 1950s,much has been done in the Federal Republic of Germany to
bring politics into the cultural centres. Not only were there party political
events, but training centres for animateurs afforded an introduction to
political life. The historical reasons for this are obvious,but what country
today istotally shelteredfrom the misfortunes the German authoritiesfeared
in the 1950s?
Politicsmust thus be seen squarely as being ofvital culturalimportance,
and as a worthwhilerisk.Cultural programmes should allow men to become
political animals rather than political objects. There is all the difference
between a thought-outattitude and a passive one.It is easier,of course,to
preach than to practise,but any cultural approach that does not encourage
people to face conflicts in a conflicting society is not worthy of the name,
Paul Schafer writex2
Politics and culture.Culture and politics. An uneasy alliance? Without a doubt.
But also a necessary alliance.The one concerned with justice and order;the other
concerned with creativity and truth.As we plunge deeper and deeper into an era
characterized by the politics of culture,there is bound to be friction.Separately,
politicsand culturerepfesenttwo ofthemost powerfulforcesin existence.Together,
they hold the key to unlock the doors to human betterment and world progress
in the future.

What is an animateur?
To apply these principles seems to be a prerequisite for any hope of success,
any lasting impression on peoples minds, any move towards development.
Overnight stops by theatre companies and travelling museums may be
splendid in their way,but if they are only transient and external,there will
be no real effect on everyday cultural life, or any real conviction of the
necessity to get proper financing.To achieve this,new men and new facilities
are essential.
What men? It is everywhere agreed that the problem is one of finding

1. Jeanson,op.cit.,p. 101.
2. Paul Schafer,Aspects of Canadian Cultural Policy, p. 88,Paris,Unesco,1976,95 pp.
(Studies and Documents on Cultural Policies).
 Animation 79

animateurs and administrators. Without waiting for cultural facilities to be

built, teams of animateurs must start experimenting now, to find what
works, and be able, when the time comes, to train others who will in turn
later train their successors.
Of what kind of people should these teams be composed? The difficulties
of defining new functions in social life, and hence new occupations, are not
peculiar to culture. In California in 1970,one job in three had no equivalent
thirty years ago. Hence it is quite natural that new types of jobs should
appear to satisfy new social requirements.
Following an empirical approach,I shall begin by considering the actual
job of hundreds of full-time animateurs. This can be done under five
headings:
Status: permanent; semi-permanent(salary, fee, voluntary); contract;established
post; assistant (publicly or privately employed).
Public: by age group and sociologicalbackground.
Community involved: common aim or interests;joint use of common premises;
same territorial or geographical area (district, town, borough, county,
province, region); audience (theatre, exhibitions, mass media).
Training received-accent on: content (literature,theatre, music, sport,handicrafts,
or other); moulding attitudes,and personal and community development.
Social role: mainly technical; mainly political.

In one or more of these situations,the animateur may, simultaneously or at

different times, fulfil one or more of the following six functions: general or
technicalanimation,co-ordination,administrationand management, research
and creation, training, general responsibility for starting and directing
activities.
In ascending order, posts can be classified as follows:a
General animateur. Usually operates with general public (district,borough, rural
area) or on behalf of an association. His duties are the following:
Constant contact with his area, intimate knowledge of this area and its human,
social and economic factors.
Educational role,some training,educational and socio-educationalcounselling of
individuals and groups.
Administration: planning,organizing,cultural activities at all stages.
Studies and research on the area, and on methods.
Co-ordination of information, activities and developments, liaison with all
appropriate existing associations.
Institute director. Duties:
Administration.H e is in charge of the general running; he supervises animateurs
and supplies.
Education. H e co-ordinatesall educational and social activities,acts as counsellor,
helps and trains animateurs.

1. Based on a detailed study by H.Thry in Recherche Sociale, No. 13, September-

October 1969.
2. G. Vessigault, ne Status und Training of Youth Leaders, Strasbourg, Council of
Europe, 1969.
 80 Animation

Information and public relations. H e reports on the institute and its activities,
circulates pamphlets, circulars, publicity material; maintains liaison with
similar institutes.
Instructors. Duties (headquarters and travelling):
Teaching other instructors or animateurs,educational supervisionof courses.
Animation of groups and associations;advice on training,techniques,arrangements
for meetings.
Studies and research; occasional administration (e.g. in directing and running
courses).
Co-ordinators.Duties:
Administration. H e supervises the administration and management of institutes
involved.
Educational.H e advises the managementson educationalaspects of such institutes.
Organization of activities.
Documentation,research,public relations.
Research workers, innovators. Duties:
Mainly research, preliminary studies, practical applications, innovations (some
duties can be undertaken by instructors,co-ordinatorsand managers).
Managers.(Animateurswith top responsibility at the head of associations.)Duties:
Ensuring drive and maintaining impetus.
Ensuring compliance with stated purposes, and good management, organization
and co-ordination of activities and courses.
Publicity and documentation.
Undertaking and encouraging studies,research,innovation,public relations.
(In many cases) training instructors.

A distinction can thus be drawn between two kinds of animateur, although

they obviously overlap at many points:
Leaders and co-ordinators (political role): (a) responsible for voluntary
groups with similar aims; (b) responsible for socio-cultural establish-
ments; (c) directors of cultural centres, museums and other high-level
popularizing institutes; (d) directors of training institutes; (e) com-
munity development officers.
Specialists (technicalrole): (a) art; (b) physical culture,sports;(c) handicrafts;
(d) tourist, holidays; (e) housing, home economics; (f) educational and
psychological counselling; (g) civics, public information, economic and
social training; (h) health education.
Those in the first group, the leaders and co-ordinators,are responsible for
community leadership and seek to foster the expression of existing com-
munity values.Those in the second group,the specialists,place their technical
expertise at the service of individuals and groups (they will also be referred
to as instructors, advisers, experts, coaches, trainers, teachers, educators,
popularizers, etc.). The first group might be known as cultural adminis-
trators, with the term animateurs being used only for the second group.
However, this would be a misleading distinction: a culturaladministrator
must have many of the qualities and skills of the good animateur, and the
good animateur will never close his eyes to management problems. Many
animateurs also act as administrators, instructors, information officers,
 Animation 81

co-ordinators and advisers. Many are both politicians and technicians.

Some of them (librarians, for example) engage in animation while also
working in a professional or technical capacity. O n the other hand, many
people working primarily as animateurs are also qualified in another field.
Any attempt to fit the types of people and the roles and skills needed
in cultural development into two categories is therefore spurious and
misleading.
In this context, it is worth while considering the description of the types
of personnel working in cultural developmentin Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.

The Czechoslovak model

A total of some 60,000persons employed in cultural activities constitutes a rather
complex gr0up.l
Personnel. Personnel can be classified in six groups:
1. Background personnel: governmental (ministries, cultural departments of
national committees), civic organizationsand specialized institutes.
2. Immediate suppliers (actors,musicians, lecturers, publishers).
3. Programme directors,organizers and specialists.
4. Amateur group leaders: cultural groups with similar interests (e.g. drama,
music,photography,visual arts, collectors).A leader usually comes to the fore
who can, if necessary,be given appropriate advanced training.
5. Administrative and economic personnel.
6. Technicians.

Training and career prospects

The qualities demanded of an animateur are many and complex. Ease with
others and a deep sense of social commitment are clearly more important
than skills acquired in traditional university courses; a vocation tried
and tested in actual practice is more important than purely academic
qualifications.
People could be trained for the six functions outlined above through
extra courses: lengthy courses for people who had no previous acquaintance
with research, artistic creation or the forms of social organization, shorter
courses for those needing further training in administration and manage-
ment. Training in Canada, the United States and France, for example,
tends to consist of additional training through a wide range of courses for
people with greatly differing degrees of previous training and experience.
The best animateurs, the ones who really get to grips with problems,
are in fact those with good practical experience in youth movements, trade
unions and political parties who subsequently turn to cultural activities.
Their knowledge of social and human affairs is more valuable than any
university training.

1. Taken from Miroslav Marek, Cultural Policy in Czechoslovakia, pp. 45-58, Paris,
Unesco, 1970 (Studiesand documents on cultural policies,9).
 82 Animation

Career prospects, in a job which has so many different aspects,depend

on personal qualities,and on being able to move gradually to work which is
less time-devouring,less demanding in regard to contacts with others and
more concerned with research and administration. Those who can pass on
what they have learntwill undoubtedly find openingsin stateculturalservices.

Fonds de Coopration de la Jeunesse et de lducation Populaire (FONJEP)

(France)
This fund,designed to facilitate the training and remunerationof full-timeorgan-
izers,is an interesting example of decentralization and Co-management.Half the
money comes from the state (Ministries for Youth and Sport and for Social
Affairs), the rest from local authorities, the beneficiary associations and the
National Family Allowances Fund.
Ail this money is pooled in FONJEP,which then pays the organizers direct.
This arrangement makes co-ordinationessential,and also means that organizers
cannot be either state or local officials. The association concerned concludes a
contract with FONJEP for each FONJEP appointment, and designates the
organizers in agreement with the local authorities.FONJEP also subsidizes the
training af organizers.
In 1976, it had a budget of more than 65 million francs. Approximately
one-thirdof this money was allocated for training and two-thirdswas spent on
salaries.In 1979, it had a budget of 133 million francs and financed 1,441 posts.

Animationand the training of animateurs in Third World countries

In Third World countries,the particular forms taken by cultural animation
are necessarily geared to the distinctive character of the traditional cultures.
Cultural animation is generally based on the festivals and religious or ritual
ceremonies which accompany every aspect of life in the particular society
concerned and become an especially significant medium for cultural ani-
mation: festivals celebrated collectively by the whole community with pro-
cessionsorpilgrimages,such asthe annualprocessionsin Kandy,Kataragama
or Dondra (Sri-Lanka); family-orientedcommunity festivals, such as the
night of Yalda and Tchahar-Chanbeh-Souriin Iran;festivals to mark the
different stages of life (birth,puberty, marriage, death) or celebrated in
honour of ancestors, such as the Mbalu or Kwabya Lumbe ceremonies in
Uganda;village festivals celebrated at harvest time or in the rainy season;
and local and national festivals.
Such festivals offer ample opportunity for large-scale participation
through music, song, dance, poetry and the dramatic arts, as well as tra-
ditional sports,such as classical gymnastics in Iran (exercises accompanied
by heroic or epic songs), or traditional combat in Niger and Upper Volta.
However, certain activities may traditionally be performed only by
certain castes: smiths,minstrels, troubadours, grand masters, storytellers.
The wider practice of such activities in the context of urbanization and the
transition from traditional societies to the modern way of life brings with
it the danger that their substance and value will be diminished. In this
context,the Samaria experiment in Niger is particularly significant.
 Animation 83

The Samaria experiment (Niger)

The Samaria are youth associations set up and organized at local level. They are
traditionalassociations,and one of their fundamental aims is to forge ties of
fellowship among young people.While they are certainly extremely active in the
traditionalrural environments,they are also to be found in the towns where they
are set up at district level. The Samaria associations organize both sporting and
culturalactivities(singing,dancing,etc.) and also deal with problems that concern
the community as a whole,taking part in various public-serviceactivitiesor devel-
opment programmes.
This is an example of a traditional structure adapted to a new environment
(the urban environment) and new activities,without undergoing disintegration.
It is often preferable to build on to existing structures rather than to create new
structures. In fact, attempts to perpetuate certain traditional activities within
entirely new frameworks all too often simply make them into quaint examples of
folklore.It is therefore important to take account of the networks of affinitiesand
traditional structures of an environment so as not to impose unsuitable new
structuresfrom the outside.A type of activity and a type oforganizationthat allow
both the enhancementand the renewal of socio-culturalactivitieshave to be found
locally: the only way to do this is to build on the interests and resources of the
local population,
This explains the fact that, in general, there is no occupational category
corresponding to the role of the specialist in animation in Third World
countries.There is even a certain distrust of professional animateurs. These
countries take the view that use should be made, rather, of potential
animateurs such as teachers, doctors, monks (in Asia), rural development
agents and, in particular,animateurs who are from the local environment,
the creators and the artists.
The Fez experimentalseminar on cultural animation
This seminar was organized jointly by the Unesco International Fund for the
Promotion of Culture and the Fez city council. It was held from 7 March to
28 April 1978.Its purpose was to secure the preservation of the old city (Medina)
ofFezand the cultural values that it embodies.It representsan innovativeattempt
to rehabilitate a badly run-downurban environment with the active participation
of the citizens concerned.
This activity began in 1972 with the arrival in Morocco oftwo Unesco experts
on Islamic art and civilization.It went on to involve the preparation of a master
scheme for the city of Fez,which was implemented jointly,from 1976 on,by a
Moroccan team and an internationalteam,sent by Unesco and the United Nations
Office for Technical Co-operation,composed of architects,town-planners,engin-
eers, economists,jurists,landscape architects and others working under the aegis
ofthe Ministry of Housing.
The objective of the 1978 seminar was to provide training in cultural pres-
ervation and animation work for twenty-five(in fact,twenty-twoattended) middle-
ranking officials from local administrative and technical departments,selected on
the basis of their experienceor particular interest in preservation and animation.
The educational requirement for admission to the seminar was the baccalaurat
or a technical diploma.For this seminar,which was intended to be experimental,
it was necessary to devise a training scheme that was adapted to the circumstances
 84 Animation

and needs of the old Muslim city in the light of the unchanging,fundamentalvalues
ofthe civilization whose influenceand vitality was to be preserved.The programme
thereforeenvisaged three types of activity: (a) practical work (use of photography,
drawing, interviewing and survey methods, audio-visual equipment); (b) daily
information, animation or evaluation sessions; and (c) a series of fourteen public
lectures followed by discussions.
The purpose of these activities was to arrive at a precise definition of the
problems involved in the preservation of the urban environment of Fez and to
provide a practical opportunity to learn the art of animation. The programme
therefore included information on town-planning questions, an introduction to
the knowledge and preservation of the monumental heritage and the traditional
arts, the elements of a sociological and ethnological approach to the human
environment in which the future animateurs would be required to work, a course
in the principles and practice of animation, and the collective preparation of an
animation project for the Medina.
Three themes were selected and each was assigned to a team which would
be responsible for its implementation: (a) animation in the schools and among
tradespeople;(b) animation in a dispensary;and (c)animation through the open-air
show (which was hampered by the weather).
These experiences provided the basis for the preparation of an extremely
useful methodological study which was presented to the participants in the form
of a report at the end of their period of training.
One of the reasons for the success of this seminar is undoubtedly the fact
that it managed to reflect the motivations and main concerns of Islamic society.
Following in the footsteps of the traditional ulemas, the animateurs became the
wise men of the community, who knew its problems and the ways to remedy
them. Without wishing to generalize on the basis of an experiment that in many
respects is exceptional,we believe that it provides material for further study with
a view to other experiments in animation or in training animateurs in a Muslim
environment.
There is very little training for animateurs in Third World countries. For the
African countries, an Intergovernmental Regional Training Centre for Ani-
mateurs and Cultural Administrators (the CRAC)was established in Lom
(Togo) in 1976 under the aegis of the Institute of African Culture (IAC).

The L o m Intergovernmental Regional Centre

The CRAC offers a two-year training course for future cultural animateurs and
advisers from the countries of West and Central Africa. These two categories of
trainees take various common courses and receive training in their intended areas
of activity. Applicants are selected during the course of a three-week reception
phase which provides an opportunity to evaluate their experience,motivation and
abilities.
The training programme for prospective animateurs is designed to be more
participatory than didactic. It basically builds on situations actually experienced
by the trainees and for this reason the training is organized so as to cover five
complementary areas: (a) basic knowledge and theoretical information on African
culture;(b) oral, written and artistic means of expression; (c) forms and patterns
of communication; (d) information, documentation and research methods; and
(e) administration and management.
 Animation 85

The emphasis is laid on evolving an inquiring mind rather than on the

accumulation of practical or theoretical knowledge: the basic educational training
is organized with some degree of flexibility and is intended to be adapted to the
particular needs of the trainees.
Common training periods for animateurs and administrators provide an
opportunity to deal with real-life situations in different organizations and insti-
tutions (museums,theatre companies,radio and television studios) or in different
areas (localcommunity surveys).
The CRAC was established in accordance with the wishes of various con-
ferences of African ministers of culture and the Unesco Conference held in Accra.
It was followed by similar projects currently under way on other continents, such
as the project of the Colombian Institute of Culture (COLCULTURA)in Bogot.

Cultural animationand community development

The preceding pages have focused on a conception of animation that leads
to the development of a fairly structured network requiring the services of
professional personnel. Certain misgivings have arisen concerning this type
of network and professional personnel, not merely in Third World countries
but in communities which have experimented along these lines: professional
animateurs are criticized for gaining too much of a hold over peoples lives,
stifling their initiative and sense of responsibility and monopolizing socio-
cultural activities by adopting a two-pronged approach that involves the
supply of expertsand the consumption of services by persons who become
accustomed to receiving assistance. Animateurs are also criticized for setting
themselves up as authorities in opposition to the elected authorities.
Accordingly, some argue the case for the community development
approach: which has been successfully tried and tested, particularly in the
English-speaking world. Community development relies not only on pro-
fessional leaders but on voluntary workers or volunteerswho are,naturally,
its primary agents and, as a body, make up the driving force of the system.
They belong to the various associations,different sectoral groups and bodies
of elected representativeswhich jointly design the programmes and share the
tasks involved in their implementation. Professional community develop-
ment workers come in only at the subsequent stage, as the indispensable
technical assistants who are responsible solely for the implementation of
programmes decided (withtheir help, naturally) by the users themselves.
In this context, the existing cultural-action structures are no more than
a set of resources and forms of intervention, while funds are allocated for
co-operative programmes and similar programmes where the traditional
cultural agents are on hand to provide assistance for grass-roots initiatives.
The conventional distinctions between cultural and social factors, between
the standard of living and the quality of life,and between art and technology,
fade before the notion of a broad-basedcollective demand which determines
and calls for an appropriate supply. This brings about a change in the cir-

1. See the article by Hugues de Varine in Futuribles, No. 17, Paris, September-
October 1978,from which we have taken these observations.
 86 Animation

cumstances in which cultural activity is carried out and volunteers become

involved in it.The volunteer is traditionally an outsider in regard to cultural
action and simply gives his assistance free of charge.In community develop-
ment, he is an integral part of the collective creative process.
One of the possible ways of bringing about such a state of affairs would
be to set up a specific body, such as a community development council,
with decision-makingpowers determined by the elected authorities. Nat-
urally, this council would act within the framework of the national laws
and regulations in force. It would be composed of representatives of the
population at large, elected representatives and delegates of the broadest
possiblerange ofassociations(including trade unions and works committees).
It would plan, supervise and evaluate cultural action in the community. A
freely appointed co-ordinationand arbitration body would make it possible
to avoid the ever present danger of its becoming merely a talking-shop.
Moreover, two decision-making levels would remain intact: the elected
representatives, on the one hand, and the associations or institutions that
ultimately ensure implementation,on the other.
Alongside this council, the complete range of the available necessary
material and human resourceswould be brought together in an operational
core, which would also accommodate volunteers who either undertake to
take part in the common action on their own initiative or are encouraged
or appointed to do so by their respective organizations.
Lastly, with a view to solving the problems involved in funding the
programme prepared and implemented along these lines, all the available
resources would be pooled under a management body composed of all the
main parties concerned: the state, local, departmental and regional auth-
orities and corporateand/orindividual sponsors,whether their contributions
involve the provision of services ($particularly, by giving time), facilities
(for example, by allowing the use of premises) or funds.
This scenario is founded upon the assumption that the government,
whatever its politics or views on the organization of the state,will encourage
a measure of cultural decentralization and accept local experimentation in
which cultural action springs from the grass roots (individuals and associ-
ations), in order to evolve a comprehensive development model built on
the awareness and sense of responsibility of the whole population.

New facilities
In any discussion on future cultural development,futurologistsagree on at
least one thing: cultural life will be very different ten years hence from what
it is now, although it is practically impossible to predict changes in any
detail. It is therefore risky to try building cultural facilities now for 1995.
In view of the time needed to research,design, decide and build, a large
centre scheduled for 1995 would have to be planned in 1988. The rapidity
with which new problems appear and develop is greater than the communitys
ability to cope with them.The corollary is that it is safer to invest in training
than in concrete blocks.
 Animation 87

We cannot, however, leave new towns without cultural facilities, or

animateurs with their bare hands. A n d we can decide what to provide only
in the light of what we are hoping to do.

Bring the public in or go out to it?

Animateurs are against Palaces of Culture. Building and running costs are
too high, the money spent on overheads could be better used in getting
things going and people tend to become more concerned with prestige
projects than essentials.
A n d atrophy threatens. As one director of a centre said, In a centre
that is alive there is always scaffolding; refuse marble! This does not mean
that a big town should not have sophisticated facilities for the best available
professionals to put on a masterpiece, and keep up a good repertoire.
However, these should not be the norm, but the top of a pyramid that
starts at the base in real contact with the general public, and light, flexible,
multipurpose equipment, suitable for local halls and small communities.
Experience indicates that the establishment in a large town (200,000to
500,000inhabitants) of a vast, highly equipped centre tends to limit activities
to high culturewhich attracts only a privileged, educated public and does
not touch working-class or outlying areas. There is a complete dichotomy,
the exact opposite of what was sought: a highbrow culture in the town
centre and only social activities elsewhere.Hence the importance of ensuring
from the outset that facilities are both social and cultural.

Many multipurposefacilities integrated into the socialfabric,

rather than a few Lmonumentsy
The Dakar meeting in October 1969 concluded that there is no need to
build large and expensive theatres. It is better to concentrate on small
experimental theatres suitably equipped and situated in various parts of the
country.l
At the Rotterdam Symposium2 the general rapporteur, Van Eckhardt,
an architect from the Bouwcentrum, remarked that:
.. .when we build something it is meant to last at least twenty or thirty years.
We are therefore forced into the role of futurologists. Now, since futurology
teaches us that we cannot predict what forms cultural life will take, we must
construct buildings which can be easily used for many different purposes. The
more an area is specifically designed for one purpose, the less use it is for others.
A theatre must have rows of tiered seats, but these make it impossible to hold
group dancing lessons or round-tablemeetings.
Both the Rotterdam and the Dakar meetings concluded that specialized
buildings are not what is most needed.

1. Meetingof Experts on Cultural Policies in Africa (Doc.Unesco/SHC/CONF.40/3).

2. Symposium on Socio-CulturalFacilities,Rotterdam,5-9 October 1970, organized by
the Council of Europe.
 88 Animation

There is a growing trend in towns to utilize all available space for leisure,
games and culture.Plays are given in disused factories,concerts in squares or
streets. This depends on agreement between organizers and the public.
Van Eckhardt suggests that the real equipment problem is to make every
space and building potentially a cultural facility.
This obviously does not mean leaving organizers and performers
without either equipment or facilities. But they favour flexible equipment
that can be assembled and taken down several times a year, or whenever
necessary. They would like powerful electric and audio-visual equipment,
in neighbourhood centres,near their public. In this way, ten gymnasia would
be better value than a new theatre, allowing them to reach people in their
daily lives,and not a once-a-yearvisit, dressed in their best, to sit in grandiose
if tastefully modern splendour.
M a n y countries now attempt to solve this problem by including cultural
facilities in schools, social, and even commercial buildings. The cultural
function enhances the other social functions. It is open to people who come
for business or pleasure, but primarily for other purposes. W h e n this
happens in schools,and so involves children at an extremely receptive age, it
becomes a powerful means of democratizing culture (see Chapter 4 below).
The cultural equipment of a town, province or country thus depends
less on putting up enormous buildings than on having an extensive chain of
services,with some well-equipped centres of course,but also a whole system
of local links and ramifications. Poland, for example, has regional centres
that act as methods centres,informing other centres and factory clubs about
programmes available, retraining animateurs and administrators and pro-
viding travelling shows. This extends through to towns and villages. Clubs
organized by the national newspaper distribution service have comfortable
coffeeroomswhere newspapers,reviews,books,records and art reproductions
can be bought or borrowed. In Belgium, too, the caf-club idea has caught
on; it offers one way of sidestepping red tape and highbrow pretension.
The best hope for genuine cultural democracy seems to lie in this
kind of decentralization,more local initiative and finance, and enthusiastic
small groups.
Six out of a large number of experiments in integrating cultural action
into the everyday life of society are particularly worth mentioning:

The Ricklingen Leisure Centre [FederalRepublic of Germany)

This is one of fourteen Everyman Centres planned for Hanover: to bring people
of different ages together and so encourage social cohesion;to encourage contacts
and exchanges between groups and societies; to bring various socio-cultural
interests together under one roof (youth club, old peoplesclub, cultural activities).
The usual kinds of activities are held in multipurpose rooms which are easily
adapted and allow a certain spontaneity in their arranging and decoration.
Various introductory courses are given by part-time,professional instructors.
Their fees are paid mainly by the centre.
Rooms can be hired by any local association for a fee (which provides the
centresmain source of revenue).
 Animation 89

The director is directly responsible to the Hanover municipal cultural service

and submits an annual programme outlining the proposed activities.
The centre cost Hanover DM.3.5 per inhabitant per annum, in 1972.

The Billingham Forum (UnitedKingdom)

In 1962, Billingham,a small industrial town of 35,000 inhabitants in the north of
England, decided to build a sports centre between its shopping centre and resi-
dential areas. During the planning, it was agreed to add a theatre to the other
facilities.
The forum, on two levels, is arranged round an internal courtyard which acts
as a light-shaft,and includes:
Skating rink: 900square metres;can also be used for concerts(excellent acoustics).
Practice hall: intended for table tennisbut in fact used for many purposes (dancing,
judo, meetings, lectures,3m shows).
Theatre: 637 seats,equipped for all kinds ofshows-mostly by the forum,occasion-
ally from outside.
Nursery: open all day; caters for 10,000 children annually, allows parents three
hours for sports or shopping.
Swimming pool and sauna.
Separation of the different sections only by glass partitions encourages people to
make contact and change set habits.
The forum was entrusted for a period of twenty-oneyears to a board of
management of twenty: seven representing the town council, the others from
industry,trade unions,churches,university and the arts. The board also supervises
the work of the director.

The Billund Cultural Centre (Denmark)

Billund is a small town in Jutland (with 2,000 inhabitants in the built-up area
and 2,000 in the surrounding countryside). It was a cuitural wasteland until an
industrialist put forward the idea of building a cultural centre there.
The complex comprises a church, a library, a cafeteria, an exhibition room,
a theatre, a cinema, several conference rooms and a day nursery. The horseshoe
design of the building permits any section of the complex to be entered directly.
The building is large (3,800 square metres). There was some doubt whether
full use would be made of this area in such a small town. In fact, no sooner were
the premises ready than one activity after another sprang up and developed: the
young people installed a discothque in the basement; a film club, art group and
theatre group were established; a hall was set aside for use by the choir. A com-
prehensive series of lectures, concerts and plays was arranged; the cinema pro-
gramme was expanded;art exhibitions were organized.
When it was opened in 1973, the centre highlighted an enormous need for
culture,which had previously been unrecognized and unsatisfied. By 1975, there
were already discussions about enlarging the library, the only part of the building
which could be altered;at the time, it was lending an average of nine volumes per
inhabitant per year.

Libraries as cultural centres in Sweden

Libraries have traditionally been seen as places where the public have access to
books and can obtain information and documentation. In Sweden, they have
generally been assigned a broader role so that they serve as genuine cultural
 90 Animat ion

centres where creative activities are organized and encouraged. This approach
grew out of story sessionsand similar activitiesfor children.
After the Second World War,there was an increase in activities aimed at a
wider public,such as literary evenings conducted by writers,film shows,debates,
exhibitions,concerts, theatrical performances and lectures. Such events,which
were originally intended to foster public interest in books,gradually came to be
recognized as an integralpart of the librarysfunction.
Overtheyears,thisapproachtolibrarywork hasbeen developed and extended:
libraries work closely with museums, associations and schools;special activities
are organized for immigrants. The original objective has been considerably
broadened;it now involves giving individuals access to the most diverse sources
of information and the opportunity to think over their own opinions,to pursue
their own personal development and to play an active role in society.The fact
that a shortage of material resources sometimes hampers the attainment of this
ambitious objective does not make it any less a reality. Indeed,in many small
towns,the director of the library is often the director of cultural affairs.
Some years ago,Olle Wingborg held both these offices at the same time in
the town of Falm (200kilometres from Stockholm), which has a population of
just over 40,000.
This is her account of her experience:
Atthat time,I helped to organize public concertsgiven in the open air and
in the library building.I also gave m y backing for film shows which were some-
timesput on intherecreationroom attheold peopleshome and on other occasions
in the library.It was hard to say whether Iwas more involvedwith the library or
with cultural affairs.
In the larger, new municipalities, the library commissions have generally
been transformed into cultural committees with responsibility for an extensive
range of activities. Close co-operationwith three official bodies (the Swedish
Travelling Theatre,the National Institutefor Concerts and the Travelling Exhi-
bitions Organization)plays an extremely importantpart in this all-roundeffort to
disseminate culture. In this context,mention must also be made of the Writers
Centre and the Film Centre.
This particular development has given rise to some criticism on the grounds
that the libraries,which are financed out of public funds,have become a Trojan
horseforpolitical propaganda (particularlyat thevariousforumsand discussions).
The National Council for Culture firmly continues to support this movement,
which has received its official backing.

The M u s e u m of M a n and Industry in L e Creusot (France)

Thismuseum is exactly what itsname suggests:it is themuseum ofa typicalindus-
triai region. Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mineshave become symbols of the
IndustrialRevolution.It is thereforenatural that the people ofthesetownsshould
wish to preserve memorials associatedwith thehistory oftheIndustrialRevolution
and use them as a way of fostering an understanding of the background to the
birth and growth of the industrial society.
However,this museum is also an ecomuseum.The ecomuseum representsa
radical departure from all the traditional conceptions of a museum. The aim is
to use the museum to show the realities of human life in spatial and temporal
terms,in both the natural and the cultural contexts.It is therefore an interdisci-
plinary centre,not simply a building containing records of the past.Its task is to
keep alive a knowledgeof the past in order to explain the present situation and its
 Animation 91

consequences for the lives of future generations. The ecomuseumseeks to avoid

indulging in generalizations or pretentiousness by limiting this comprehensive
approach so that it is concerned solely with Le Creusot and Montceau-les-Mines,
the two towns for which it was founded.
It has been installed in a large country house which until recently was the
family home of the industrialist Schneider. The five departments of the museum
are respectively concerned with the history of industry and technology, folk art
and traditions, nature and the environment, archaeology and architecture,and
economic and social history. One of the features of this museum is that it does
not have the traditional guides;instead, it has animateurs who draw visitors
attention to the different exhibitions and other activities and organize lectures,
symposia and seminars for the general public. They may also organize travelling
exhibitions and, in particular,assist groups and individual visitors who are making
a more detailed study of the exhibits. Since there is no shortage of space,rooms
can be provided for use by researchers and study groups.
Rooms are also available for ad hoc activities connected with the cultural
life of the region. This museum, which is the only one of its kind, is the centre
of cultural activity in Le Creusot and plays an active part in the life of the
region.

Citizenscentres in Frankfurt am Main (Federal Republic of Germany)

In 1969, Frankfurt a m Main had 680,000 inhabitants and fifteen citizens centres
(Biirgerhaus). Ten years earlier, the decision had been taken to provide facilities
for people to meet together Iocally for a variety of recreational,educational,cul-
tural, social and even political activities,and help to organize them.
The centres, built at local request or on council initiative,supplement or sub-
stitute for public and private facilities and do not compete with them.
The public decides their use-individuals, clubs, groups, political parties,
firms wanting premises for training or briefing courses, and so on.
The centres were built and run by Saalbau,a company set up for the purpose.
Its board of management consists of five elected councillors and four municipal
employees.
A n original feature: eighteen months after the decision to build, the centre
was open to the public.
Stag. Saalbau does the accounts for all the centres, with some separate accounts
for, e.g., the libraries and nurseries.
It appoints and pays the staff of one to three per centre who look after
premises, equipment and booking. They are not animateurs: they do not
prepare programmes or seek users (although some facilities are apparently
less than fully used).
Cost. The cost of building a centre was DM.4-8 million: generally 90 per cent of
the cost was met by the municipality and 10 per cent by the Land of Hesse.
Of the fifteen centres, thirteen belong to the municipality, one to Saalbau
and one to the Hamburg Trades Unions Bank.
Saalbaus expenditure on running costs in 1970 was DM.5 million.
The renting of rooms and equipment brought in only DM.3 million,leaving
a deficit of D M . 2 million.
Theoretically, the fifteen centres serve 510,000 inhabitants (five more
centres would be needed to cover the needs fully), and the running cost was
roughly DM.5.80 per inhabitant in 1972.
 92 'Animation'

Activities. Various groups put the multipurpose,many-sized rooms to all sorts of

uses: courses (drama,music, education evening classes,religious instruction);
training of party organizers,and public informationwork by political parties;
handicrafts;sport; plays, concerts, exhibitions;club activities.
Whether a centre is more a local club or more a local entertainment and
sports centre depends on the size of the local population, the transport facili-
ties and other facilities, or lack of them, in the area.
In several cases the provision of a centre has led to the provision of a
youth centre or municipal library,either on its premises or nearby.
The above are examples of some of the approaches, in different countries,
to community development. They are based not merely on abstract ideas
but (as was evident at the various meetings in Budapest, Dakar, Ottawa,
Birmingham and Rotterdam) on empirical observation and trial and error.
None is yet evidently suitable for large-scaleadoption. But the degree
of agreement reached by those working in the field, in advanced and devel-
oping countries alike, deserves to be noted and emphasized.
 Chapter 4 W h e n school is part of a society that has
itselfbecome a school,children can learn
to live, and the most gifted will become
the poets of their lives.
Nietzsche

The cultural content

of education
Animateurs, psychologists, sociologists and planners agree today, after
decades of adult education and some years of practical experience, that if
real cultural development is to be possible for most people it must start in
childhood,in that institution they can all attend: school. Children still have
an unspoilt sensitivity and power of imagination, their creative sense is not
yet blunted, nor is their approach to culture hampered by any of the psycho-
logical and social obstacles which intervene later; and, in many countries,
nearly all children spend several years in school.
Unfortunately, in these same countries, schools and the arts have
gradually grown apart, and a distinction has come to be made between the
training of the intellect and the developmentof a childs senses and sensitivity,
with the result that he is ill-balanced and ill-equipped to face the rootless
world of our modern industrial consumer society. Children can no longer
express themselves through their hands or bodies; they have lost contact
with wood, stone, earth, fire, water and plants.
However, the first two years of life, which are now known to have a
crucial effect on the degree of personal satisfaction with which a person lives
the rest of his life, are completely given over to the development of the senses.
Language acquisition and numeracy follow. The first ten years of school
education must be geared to three-dimensional learning if the school is to
produce individuals who are able to achieve all-round self-development.

Developing sensitivity and the powers

of the imagination
If the aim of schools is to help children master the environment-material,
social, psychological, cultural-modern education can hardly be said to
succeed very fully. Rather than offering a key that gives direct access to the
universe-physical, symbolical, or even human-it tends to introduce
children to the world only through talk. But if they are mature, children
 94 The cultural content of education

must develop their emotions and senses as well as their inte1lects.lWithout

training in the intelligence of the sensesa child is not equipped to take
his part in the world, and it is the lack of such training which is often
responsible for the inertia,the passive attitude to life and the rootlessness
characteristic of the youth of today.
Thisis seen more particularlyin the children,more and more numerous,
who live in large cities, whose only contact with the world is through tele-
vision, and who tend therefore to have an image of the world as it is rep-
resented instead of a first-handknowledge of it, acquired through life. At
the same time,the fact of being exposed to a flood of advertisements or a
welter of information unrelated to any personal experience makes them
unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy. There is no connection
between what they see and what they know. Thus, for instance, any child
can effortlessly watch, without being there, and without any idea of the
context, the most terrible scenes of war, or such an incredibly complex
operation as a moon-landing.It is obvious that the amount people can see
and hear has been enlarged to a fantastic degree in the past thirty years;
but this has probably also had the disadvantage of making people indif-
ferent,and encouraging them to hold vague opinions instead of using their
own judgement.It has brought about a decline in our sense of responsibility,
because we become accustomed to witnessing scenes and situations from
which, because they are beyond our control, we can dissociate ourselves
with a clear conscience;a decline in our power of judgement because the
world in which we live-made up of such a multitude of opinions,words,
images and sensations,flooding in upon us indiscriminately,direct,instead
of reaching us through our parents or teachers-no longer offers a firm
terrain for those clear-cutchoices,expressed in terms of yesor no,which
our forebears,the sons of farmers, sailors or craftsmen, were constantly
having to make when faced with specific problems,
In Japan,where 75 per cent of the children watch television every day
until ten oclock in the evening, there is evidence that children have an
extremely pessimistic outlook on life,while the number of child suicides has
increased fivefold in fifteen years.
Lifetendsto be lived increasinglyat the cerebral level.A childsenviron-
ment is no longer composed of objects made of wood, iron or stone,
fashioned by the patient labour of the carpenter, the blacksmith or the
mason. Increasingly,children feel subconsciously the need to get back again
to the roots of knowledge-sensations and objects.

The art and history museums in Brussels

Since 1971,the art and history museums in Brusselshave been organizingactivities
for children between the ages of 6 and 15 on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday
mornings (catering for school parties on the other weekdays). This activity is
known as the Dynamuse.Its purpose is to provide children with the opportunity

1. See Malcolm Ross and the Artand the Adolescent programme at the Institute of
Education,University of Exeter (United Kingdom).
 The cultural content of education 95

to experience the joy of a new language, by enabling them to give concrete

expressionto their new awarenessby making somekind ofpersonal gesture (dance
and movement, workshops,and so on). The museum ceases to be a place where
exhibits are viewed by consumersand becomes a place for self-expression,where
an effort is made to create active visitors for the museums of tomorrow. It is
intended that the experiment should also cater for the immigrant children in the
neighbouring district.
The Muse de la Vie Wallonne has evolved a simple,direct approach to
museum pieces:it gives an opportunityto touch certain objects,and also provides
audio-visualresources and a reconstructed example of traditional workshops and
arts and crafts.
A childrensmuseum,opened in 1976,enjoys growing success.No collections
or objets dart are to be found here. Scale models and objects with which children
do not normally have the chance to become familiar serve to illustrate subjects
that affecttheir daily lives.There are no longer any barriers between the child and
theexhibit:in fact,childrenare quite freeto smell,listen,touch,handle and operate
most of the exhibits.
One floor of the building is devoted to the humanbody.Children can listen
to their heartbeats with a stethoscope,put together parts of a human skeleton,
play with a dentistsequipment,use special glasses to find out how a short-sighted
or long-sightedperson sees, view X-raysto find out how and why milk teeth fall
out and permanent teeth grow.
Unfortunately,the crowds and noise in the museum on school holidays are
suchthat the childrentend to run aboutand become over-excited,to the detriment
of learning.O n the other hand, when school parties come during the week, the
visit is conducted by an animateur and the children derive greater benefit from it.
This practice seems to be particularly suited to disabled, blind and maladjusted
children who come to the museum in large numbers.
What we mean,when we talk of introducing more cultureinto schools,is
not to increase the number of hours spent on the study of the historyof
art treated, like everything else, in an abstract, analytical, theoretical
manner, but to awaken the childs awareness of the world around him, of
people and of objects. Culture begins not so much with ideas as with experi-
ence which, essentially,must occur at the physical level, in the realm of
the body and the senses.It was in this spirit that the experts convened by
Unesco at Ottawa in 1970 to study the question of arts education for the
general public reached the following conclusion:...just as society requires
that all ofits members can work and communicatewith words and numbers,
so the need for aesthetic literacy is required in contemporary and future
civilizations.
Now what steps are being taken by the educational systems of most
countries in order to attain this kind of literacy? The seminar held in 1970,
at Unescos instigation, at the Midlands Arts Centre for Young People in
Birmingham (United Kingdom) drew up the following balance-sheet:
At primary level,the cultural content is often extremely high-at this stage edu-
cation is culture.Frequently there is no distinction between work and play,nor
is activity separated into compartments. Creative play with natural materials
such as sand and clay (allowing the child to express his personal vision in painting
and modelling) and social creativity through song and dance hold a central place.
 96 The cultural content of education

In secondary schools, the pressure of examinations and vocational training

exerts a restrictive influence, and creative and cultural activities tend to be merely
peripheral from the age of about 14.Nevertheless, there is a growing conviction
that the central purpose of secondary education is personal development through
the development of skills and aptitudes; the study of the material world and of
human society; exposure to the world of ideals and inspiration; and creative cul-
tural experience.
In colleges and universities, and in part-timeand adult education,the cultural
content usually depends largely on the course.
The cultural content may therefore be summarized as high in the initial
stages,but with a qualitativereduction in the middle and later stages.Those respon-
sible for education are becoming aware of this paradox.
This was also recognized by the Ottawa meeting, when it adopted the
following recommendations:
That whereas arts education for the general public must, to be effective, begin
with the child in the home and pre-school community environment, and in the
early grades of elementary school . . . Unesco [should]encourage all Member
States to re-evaluatethe arts education of their cultural and educational agencies,
keeping the following criteria in mind:
The non-verbalperceptual skills ofyoung children must be kept alive and developed
through opportunities for creativity and discovery-learningin the arts where
neither punishment nor reward contingencies, nor evaluation by standards
of adult taste, nor the established aesthetic of its society, limit the childs
freedom to develop a personal sensibility.
The child lives to discover his own place in time and space and thus seeks creative
opportunity with the arts media of his own time and society. Therefore the
motion-picturecamera,the tape recorder, and the other hardware of the new
technologies available in his society are the new paints and brushes,crayons
and modelling clay which must also be made available to him.

Learning about the new audio-visualmedia

Development of the senses should occur alongside mastery of contemporary,
audio-visual media. Schools have not yet taken account, in the syllabus,
time-tables and methods, of these two major cultural phenomena, the
mechanical reproduction (in unlimited quantities, and cheaply) of sound and
images and their transmission by television. M a n y parents and teachers
regard television as a hindrance to cultural education,although in fact it can
constitute the most effective medium for the purpose. But parents and
teachers must act as mediators; as was shown previously, this is essential
to the productive use of mass techniques.

The activeyoung television viewerexperiment in France

In France, a study has been commissioned by the Fonds dIntervention Culturelle
with the ultimate aim of training young people to become active televisionviewers.
The project is currently being implemented in several departments. It focuses
on the three formative environments with which young people are most closely
connected,namely the family, the school and leisure activities.
 The cultural content of education 97

The training essentially consists in reviewing with groups of young people

the television programmes that make up the staple family viewing diet. The aims
are to help them become more aware of their experiences, observations and new
insights and to guide them in their discovery of the media; to develop the idea of
television as mediation,medium of expression, social reality; and to encourage
any new insights gained by the young people on the basis of their new knowledge
of television.
As an active viewer, the young person should be better equipped to integrate
and connect the different activities that dictate the pattern of his daily life and
contribute to his personal development.
At the end of a two-year period of experimentation, an evaluation1 was
conducted from September 1980 to June 1981 with a view to assessing the effects
of this educational experiment.

Learning h o w to use the new means of expression is a whole new science

which, if not learnt at school, probably never will be. Yet these new media
exercise an important influence on the cultural life of individuals, so that
those w h o are not versed in them are, as it were, illiterate, being unable to
use one of the most valuable tools of present-day life.

The new audio-visual media in the Federal Republic of Germany,Denmark

and France
In the Federal Republic of Germany,film and photographic techniques are taught
in many schools, through activity groups rather than in the classrooms. In 1975,
there were more than 6,300photography groups and more than 1,200film groups.
These activity groups are run by teachers,who belong to a federal organization.
Moreover, many leisure centres for young people offer courses and allow photo-
graphic equipment and film cameras to be used by their students.The film archives
in the Lnder and large towns provide similar activities. At the same time, a very
considerable effort is made to train teachers, educators and social workers in this
kind of work.
T w o experiments in Denmark are worthy of note. The first involves a special
workshop run by Danemark Radio, in which members of the public can develop
their ideas and express them in a radio programme; if the result is satisfactory,
the company will buy and broadcast their programme. A n example of this is
furnished by a group of young motorcyclists who made a programme on their
motorcycles and the role of the motorcycle in their lives.
The Danish Film Institute organizes numerous workshops along similar
lines. In Copenhagen,a workshop giving practical instruction on film-making is
regularly attended by some 500 people. Each year the participants shoot between
50 and 100 films and the work of the different groups is subsequently discussed.
Some of these films are even shown on Danish television.
In France (as in the vast majority of countries from now on), numerous
educational institutions organize their own activities at local level for teachers or
the children themselveswith the aim of providing a chance to learn about the new

1. Lesnouveaux tlspectateursde 9 18 ans (a survey conducted by the Studies and

Research Department of the Ministry of Culture), Paris,La Documentation Franaise,
1982, 224 pp.
 98 The cultural content of education

media.Since 1973,two prototypevideobuses(mobilestudios)have been travelling

across the country, conducting different experiments in ways of familiarizing
young people with the uses of the audio-visualmedia.
This is doubtless why the Ottawa meeting recommended Unesco to encourage
research to ensure that:
the most effective use in arts education of available communications media (such
as radio, film,television, VTR, audio-tape and disc, microfilm and microfiche)
and of evoiving media ...be studied by collaboration among artists,technologists,
educators and arts administrators.These studies should recognize that, while the
new media may serve existing art forms as means of reaching a mass audience,
they are or will become distinct art forms in their own right.
A great deal has been said and written on the subject of the reorganization
of the teaching of the arts, and there is no space,here, to give an account of
all the techniques used and experiments made, or of the kind of research
on the subject being carried out at the present time in a very large number of
countries, particularly Bulgaria and Hungary.
The above remarks merely indicate the size of the gap to be bridged
and draw attention to the existence of new cultural factors and to the
importance of introducing children to culture at a vey early age.
W h e n laying down a cultural policy, there is a choice between two
procedures: either increase out-of-school activities, or give children an
initiation to culture at school. W e shall take each in turn.

Out-of-schoolactivities
The first approach consists in developing new forms of socio-cultural
education,since they allow the arts to be explored and practised with greater
informality than is found in educational institutions. They also facilitate
the co-operationbetween generationsthat is both socially and educationally
desirable.They develop self-directedactivity which is particularly necessary
for the purposes of continuing adult education,since the bent for exploration
and discovery does not cease in a persons mid-twenties, when formal
education normally comes to an end.
Rather than embark upon a lengthy dissertation, w e give below a
selection of innovations made in various countries.

A selection of experiments
Canada: Childrens theatres,with performances for, and sometimes by, children.
School-teachers as members of local museum staffs.
Hungary: Libraries function to a large extent as cultural centres, loaning books,
gramophone records, pictures and audio-visualmaterial.
Japan: Arts train:a train,equipped as a cultural centre, travels from city to city,
from village to village, with new exhibitions, films, arts programmes and
courses.
Mexico: Rural travellingculturalmissions:groupsof painters,sculptors,musicians,
dancers, actors and authors travel from one rural community to another to
 The cultural content of education 99

perform or demonstrate and talk with local people. Artists in residence in

villages-from six months to a year in the small villages; a townartist.Local
museum programmes, aimed at preserving the dignity and quality of village
life. University extension services, provided by student volunteers, help to
establish local orchestras, theatre companies, and so on.
Netherlands: ModernAgoraexperiment:a large covered space is used for different
functions on different days-market-place, arts centre, sports hall, meeting-
place. Arts in the factory: exhibitions and collections for workers. Mobile
printing unit: in a truck or bus; this makes reproductionsof works of art, etc.
United Kingdom: Arts laboratories and workshops housed in large buildings
that have been completely neglected by modern town planning (engine sheds,
barracks, factories,warehouses).
United Srares of America: National Educational Television: many arts and arts
education programmesfor the general public, as in Japan.Student volunteers:
thesedo socialwork in the arts and arts education and set up arts programmes
in urban areas and rural communities.
USSR: Arts circles: community clubs and groups of amateurs of all ages that
select to study and view different arts manifestations.Arts groups and arts edu-
cation courses in trade unions. Cultural palaces for young people and adults.
There are a number of particularly interesting projects which, in our view,
merit more detailed analysis:

The galleryas a creative centre for children in Toran (Poland)

The idea of thiscentre,which is the only one of its kind in Poland,and was originally
conceived as a museum of childrens creativity, came from a group of artists
and of members of the Visual Arts Department of the Copernicus University.
This group enlisted the interest first of the municipal and then of the regional
authorities,the Department of Teaching of the University of Warsaw and, finally,
the Ministry of Culture and Art.
The project was enlarged. It was agreed that the museum should be sup-
plemented by a centre for research on childrens creative activities, which would
co-ordinate ail such research throughout the country. The Municipal Council
provided the initial premises: one small room.
1963. Formation of a Planning Council, the members being appointed on a wide
geographical basis and including art teachers, art historians and experts on
the theory of art, psychologists and sociologists. The council drew up a pro-
gramme of research, covering artistic creativity in children; methods for
teaching arts to children;importanceof arts training in education. T o publicize
the results,the council organized travelling exhibitionsin schools and cultural
centres, lectures, meetings with teachers, students and so on.
1964. Creation of an organizing committee representing the various bodies
interested. The centre is officially established by the Municipal Council. It
is dependent, administratively and financially, on the regional authorities
(Administration of Bydgoszcz). The municipality allocates for its use a his-
torical building due for restoration before 1967. There are three groups of
children working at the centre.
1967. Permanent installation in the historical building, now restored, which
comprises two large exhibition halls, working premises and storage areas for
collections, both Polish and foreign. Research students of fine arts spend
study periods at the centre (theprogramme covers eighty children aged from 4
 1 O0 The cultural content of education

to 15). Gallery: items produced by schools, others submitted for national and
international competitions.Exhibition: works produced on the theme: The
Year 2000 as Children See It. Staff: three persons employed full-time.Funds:
regional subsidy of 158,000zlotys.

The use of activity methods in art education in Nuremberg

It is more difficult to interest people in painting, particularly modern painting,
than to help them to discover literature. In this sense,the work undertaken by the
KunstpedagogischesZentrum im GermanischenNational Museum in Nuremberg
is particularly important. The fundamental thinking behind the work of this
centre is that people have to be educated in art, which is to say that certain aspects
of a picture have to be explained to a viewer before he can appreciatethem.Painting
is not merely the reproduction of visual impressions;it has to be interpreted.
The experiment undertaken in Nuremberg was aimed at introducing a com-
pletely new type of art education into the schools. The new method had nothing
in common with the traditional approach.It was based on the principle that the
collections of paintings exhibited in museums are an integral part of school subjects
such as history, geography, German, the history of music, the social sciences, etc.
If the Middle Ages, the Reformation or the Baroque period are to be studied, a
trip to the museum is arranged. But it is not enough merely to discuss and show
the things of the past. The pupils have also to be led to identify with a period or
with a range of problems and to understand the mentality and way of thinking
behind them. The 500th anniversary of the birth of Albrecht Drer was com-
memorated by several exhibitions, including an exhibition of the famous Totentanz
by this master. Schoolchildren were brought to see the works,which were explained
to them in considerable detail. They then dressed up in fifteenth-centurycostumes
and had a chance to improvise their own danceof death to funeral music. This
was followed by a discussion,not only on the work of Drer, but also on death
and the childrens attitudes towards it.
Similar experimentshave been carried out in connection with modern painting
and the Rococo period. In these experiments, the pupils dressed up in period
costumes, danced the minuet and ate in the manner of the period.
The initial aim of these experiments was to overcome the perennial handicap
of school education:the fact that it is too abstract.This aim subsequently broadened
into a concern with integrating museums into education and bringing an end to
their traditional isolation. Lastly, they represent a very simple way of providing
art education during school hours, since the arts can all too easily be squeezed off
a crowded school timetable.
However, this type of activity calls for specially trained educators who are
at once teachers, art historians and animateurs.

Childrens museums and workshops in Marseilles and Paris

The first childrens museum in France was opened in Marseilles in 1968. In its
rst year, it was visited by one-third of the citys school population. With very
few material resources,the paintings,sculptures,engravingsand artistsequipment
were exhibitedjust 60centimetres above the ground so that the different techniques
could be explained to the children.Works from different periods, from the Middle
Ages to the present day, are mixed in the sense that they are grouped according
to subject-matterand technique.Portraits,for example, are presented together,as
are landscapes and still lifes. T w o years later, the range of action of this museum
 The cultural content of education 101

was extended with the introduction of an educational kit loan service and a
museum bus. It continues to be one of the most dynamic educational services
provided by the French museums. Its animateurs are studentsfrom the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts.
Along similar lines,the Muse de Dijon has sinceopened a childrensmuseum
and a Bordeaux museum has designed an Artbuswhich tours the schools with
its travelling collections.
A number of museums have a workshop where children can learn to draw,
model, make films, paint, mime, etc., under the guidance of an animateur or
instructor. The most recent of these workshops is the Atelier des Enfants at the
Pompidou Centre in Paris. This workshop caters for 500 children a day, free of
charge, and provides an educational programme fundamentally designed to edu-
cate the senses and teach artistic techniques.
Classes pay six visits to the centre;animateurs from the museum subsequently
make six visits to their school.

Art and disabled children in Switzerland

Numerous public and private bodies extensively incorporate cultural activities
into the education of disabled children,in which they make use of music, painting,
poetry, etc. The educators at these institutions also aim to make a contribution
to cultural life in general.
It is observed that artists often form special relationshipswith disabled per-
sons; their creative sensitivity is also influenced by contact with such persons and
a genuine exchange or mutually beneficial form of interaction takes place.
Furthermore, many homes and schools devote themselves to the domestic
arts and crafts of each region. By introducing disabled young persons to manual
activities, these institutions contribute to the preservation of folk art.
This experiment has shown that: (a) cultural activities are an essential means
for disabled children to discover abilities which often go unnoticed because of
their disability; (b) the special education provided for them encourages artists and
other creators to contribute to local culture; and (c) specialized institutions
encourage cultural events so that the children in their care can play an active part
in them.
Such attempts to introduce children to the arts and museums-hundreds of
others could be mentioned-show that it is not enough for children merely
to visit museums: a whole new educational approach needs to be devised
with museum curators or animateurs w h o would have a new role,and receive
special training for this role. For this reason,the city of Base1 in Switzerland,
which is renowned for its art collections,has establisheda special department
to co-ordinatemuseum activities for young people.

The Midlands Arts Centre for Young People (United Kingdom)

The centres aim is to provide young people with comprehensive facilities of a
high standard for the creation and appreciation of all forms of art.
The centre, which serves the whole Midlands area, works principally in three
ways: through schools, families and individuals. Schools in the region are kept
informed of the centres activities and arrangements for group membership
encourage teachers to take small groups of children to centre events, which may
 102 The cultural content of education

afterwards be discussed and developed within the centre or in the context of the
school itself.The effort to integrate the arts with the normal and natural experience
of going to school (supported by parallel experimentation in the teaching of
humanities subjects at school, backed by the Department of Education and
Science) is the centres most fundamental work. In the same way, group member-
ships taken out by families help to bridge discontinuities between the arts and
home,though in present circumstances it is more likely that the schools will
act, ideally, as cultural foster-parentsfor a great many children. Individual
membership (from the ages of 14 to 25) was initially limited to 10,000and very
heavily over-subscribed;there is also a separate club, on Sundays, for younger
children accompanied by their parents.
Each evening of the week at the centre is given to a different activity (folk
music, drama, sculpture, debates) with some professional adult help and leader-
ship, often by artists in residence. Studios,library and rehearsal rooms are con-
tinuously open and work of a high standard has been produced, notably by the
throngs of young children working there on Sunday mornings. The centre has a
small repertory company of young professional actors drawn from drama schools
and universities, presenting plays for the centres membership from August to
May. There have been a number of weekend and day conferences on such subjects
as censorship and mime acting.
The centre stands on a fifteen-acresite in Cannon Hill Park in the centre of
Birmingham, at a point where two suburbs,one largely middle-class professional,
the other largely working-classwith a high proportion of immigrants, intersect.
In all, twenty-sixbuildings are planned; those built so far include an indoor and
an outdoor theatre (built as an internationalproject by young people from thirty-
five countries, working in the summer months), a pottery workshop, a library,
gallery, studios and coffee bar (many buildings are dual-purpose).
Of the 500,000 which the centre had spent by May 1968, 10 per cent had
been received from central government grants, 15 per cent from local authorities,
and no less than 75 per cent from local sources including industry, educational
trusts, trade unions and individuals.
However, the centre has remained flexible and to some extent unpredictable.
Its essential features are an interest in new experiments and a willingness to adapt
itself to changing circumstances and demands.

The integration of cultural institutions and schools

But cultural action deployed outside the school framework, no matter h o w
ingenious and comprehensive it m a y be, can never by itself suffice for the
purpose of stimulating and organizing cultural activities in the way w e have
indicated, and as required by the development of mass dissemination
technology. John English, the director of the Midlands Arts Centre for
Young People, described above, has admitted that even if all the necessary
resources were provided the centre could not reach even 1 per cent of the
population of Birmingham.
Onthat reckoning, replied one of the people taking part in the seminar
on the cultural content of education, onewould need, in order to reach the
whole population, a system no less comprehensive than the educational
system; and no nation is rich enough to be able to afford a duplicate edu-
cational system.
 The cultural content of education 103

This is a valid argument, and it makes us realize that no country can

have three parallel systems: traditional schools, social and cultural centres
and mass-media networks. This suggests that the best means of bringing
cultureto the public at large may be to make it an integralpart ofthe schools
function. This idea of open schools affords the following advantages: it
ensures that culture is brought to all young people, not merely some; it
reunites the three separate worlds of knowledge, culture and leisure;through
it, the adults of the town come to regard the schools as their own and use
them for activities connected with the process of lifelong education; and it
prompts schools to bring their methods up to date.
In addition, it permits a saving on equipment and prevents school
buildings from remaining unused in the evenings, at weekends and during
the holidays, which amounts to 200 days a year.
Moreover, why should children have to live, as adults do, in a series of
separate worlds-the world of work, where the personality is set at nought;
the world of leisure, which is merely an escape; and the world of culture,
which is but inherited learning? A child is, by nature, essentially one, and
in his development cultural and leisure pursuits are part of the same process
as the acquisition of knowledge.

A cultural-action experiment in French schools

For a long time,the French educational system emphasized the traditionalacademic
subjects, to the detriment of dance and movement and other artistic and cultural
subjects that can develop the pupils creativity. A nation-wideexperiment aimed
at bringing back the fullrange of cultural studieswas thereforeundertaken in 1973:
10 per cent of the time allocated for teaching the regular school subjects was
devoted to experimental activities designed to remove barriers between subjects
or agegroupsand promote team-workamong the teachers,the active participation
and creative freedom of the pupils and the emergence of new relationshipsbetween
teachers and pupils. The experiment took an extremely broad-ranging approach,
and those involved in it had to deal with a wide variety of areas of activity. How-
ever, it is interesting to note that over half the activities were undertaken in
conjunction with cultural institutions-theatres (animation and creative work),
the archives and museums services (including access to collections not on view
to the general public, or the organization of museum corners and exhibitions
in the schools), musical institutions (the formation of national and local orches-
tras)-and also in dance, the visual arts, audio-visualactivities,architecture and
environmental studies,archaeology,and so on.
The experiment was hampered by conservative attitudes on the part of the
teachers:only 40-50 per cent of them wholeheartedly took part in the experiment
from the outset; over the years, a good many of them dropped out of what they
regarded as an artificial experiment in which they were not really prepared to
co-operate.Parentsalso played a rather negative role,as they placed more emphasis
on their childrens academic success. In fact, the pupils themselves showed the
greatest degree of commitment to the experiment.
It was thereforere-introducedby the ministry in 1979 under the name PACTE
(Educational and Cultural Activities Project): each school had the chance to pro-
pose a project and receive assistance with its implementation. In 1980, half the
schools presented a project and 71 per cent of them received special assistance.
 104 The cultural content of education

O n 1 February 1977,a schools cultural action unit was set up in the central
administrativedepartment of the ministry.With a staff of some twenty people,this
cultural action unit develops and applies a broad approach aimed at: (a) designing
ways of forging a relationship between the school system and cultural insti-
tutions;(b) making all levels of the educational system aware of this new approach
and providing information on its educational implications;(c) providing admin-
istrative and financial management conducive to comprehensive action; and
(d) mobilizing and orienting the actioninstitutions and bodies outside the edu-
cational system that are either actively involved in the experiment or likely
to be interested in it.
In each education area, an official was appointed by the chief education
officer to deal with problems pertaining to cultural action and the introduction
of broader school curricula.
It is not natural, therefore, to make children draw a distinction between
schools, youth centres, libraries, gymnasiums and the cinema simply
because, under the old system, they came into different categories.N o r is it
natural for adults to regard all these institutions as a closed world, particu-
larly at this time. For the progress of technology, on the contrary, points
them towards schools: it is here that the new tools which, henceforth, are
an indispensable part of their lives-present-day science, economics, new
techniques and communication media using sound and images-are being
developed.
The training of adults and the training of children should not belong
to two different worlds: schools can serve as the focal point which brings
together a whole community for purposes of lifelong education, and this is
h o w they are beginning to be conceived in some parts of the globe.
It will be better, rather than advocating this theory in the abstract, to
describe a few existing examples. W e shall begin with cases of what are
simply links between cultural and school activities,and then go on to systems
wherein cultural and school functions are combined and, moreover, incor-
porated into the whole structure of urban life.

Concerts, theatres and exhibitions at school (Sweden)

There are three national bodies, responsible for theatrical activities, music and
exhibitions respectively, to cater for the needs of Swedens schools. In the case
of music, for example,the aim is to organize three concerts per year in each school
district, so that pupils will, in the course of twelve years, hear thirty-six such
concerts. Exhibitions are organized every year in about 40 per cent of schools
and theatrical performances in about 25 per cent.
A n interesting point to note is that the grant of subsidiesfor school building
is now conditional on the buildingsbeing also available for out-of-schoolactivities.

Educationalparks (
United States of America)
A n educationalparks experiment is taking place in several states; the aim is to
increasethe cultural content of education by providing on one campus the facilities
of both a school and an arts centre.These parkscater for very wide age ranges,
from 3 years to junior secondary or even university level. They are also open to
 The cultural content of education 105

the community as a whole, and it has been found that people who might not go
to an arts centre will go to an educational park. Students are free to work on dif-
ferent subjects at whatever level they can achieve, irrespective of age, a freedom
which allows them to develop their talents and interests as they wish.

A school open to the whole family (United Kingdom)

One primary school in London, serving an area in which many children have
little or no cultural background at home, offers creative opportunities not only
to the children,but to the whole family.Mothers and fathers are free to come into
the school at any time and join in the activities; so are pupils from the nearby
secondary school. The child is allowed to decide for himself which activity he
wishes to follow.
The lack of any central control of curricula gives the British system a par-
ticular freedom to make experiments such as the open schools.

A college for the whole community (United Kingdom)

The aim at the lvanhoe secondary school at Ashby-de-la-Zouchis to provide a
centre for the cultural and social life of a township and its surroundings. Used
during the day as a school,in the evenings it serves as a centre for a large number
of social and cultural activities organized for the population as a whole. The
school makes no attempt to monopolize these activities, which are organized by
the public services attached to the county or the municipality and also by large
numbers of associations, especially those concerned with adult education. The
number of people attending these evening activities is slightly larger than the
daytime attendance (1,000people in the evenings, as against 900 pupils in the
daytime).
Stafemployed. There are two boardsof governors,one responsible for the man-
agement of the school,the other for planning the programmes of social and
cultural activities. In addition to the day-school staff (one head teacher and
two deputy heads, forty teachers,two persons responsible for maintenance),
the fallowing staff are available for the other activities:one person in charge
of adult education,assisted by an organizing committee for evening courses
composed of the person himself plus representativesof members and teachers;
one person in charge of the youth centre, assisted by a committee similarly
composed; thirty-fivepart-time instructors; one cleaner (the premises have
to be tidied up every time after use).
Financing. The entire cost of building the school has been borne by the county
(by means of an interest-free loan from the Ministry of Education), which
also pays the bulk of the running costs. All the school receives from the
Ministry of Education is a small lump-sumsubsidy to pay the salaries of some
of the teachers.

Culture,sport and education in one centre

The Educational and Cultural Centre at Val dYerres (France)
Opened in 1969,this centre is an experiment in lifelong education. It consists of
an experimental secondary school combined with a further education centre, a
youth club,a library-cum-discothque,an arts and crafts workshop,a theatre,the
community social services and a sports centre, all of which are located in the
same building and come under the same administration.
 106 The cultural content of education

The aim is to throw the school open to the town and to integrate cultural
with civic, social and educational activities.This arrangementensures that full use
is made of premises, besides obliging the school to keep up to date by placing it
fair and square in the context of lifelong education.Children and adultsjoin in the
out-of-schoolactivities, while special centre management is designed to make
users conscious of their responsibility.
This centre, which serves a commune near Paris with a population of
18,000 inhabitants, now fast being urbanized, is run by a staff of about twenty.
The capital investment amounted to 20 million francs, and it costs 1.6 million
francs a year to run, one quarter of this sum being paid by the municipality, the
remaining three-quartersby the government. Research is trying to measure public
participation and to see how far the integration of facilities has changed habits.
The idea was simple: to concentrate in the secondary school all the social
and cultural facilities which usually qualify for municipal subsidies. The elements
are not new: the only innovation is that they are integrated.Adjoining the school
and the vast gymnasium (tiers seating 1,000)where concerts and shows are held,
are two libraries, one for children, the other for adults, and a discothque and
auditorium. The childrens library leads through to the school,the adultslibrary
to the social centre specially designed for the use of young mothers and old people.
There is also another entrance giving children and their elders access to the school,
the youth centre or the theatre; and a further education centre, leading through
to the library and the sports facilities. The self-servicerestaurant in the college is
open to adults and children alike.
Integrated facilities attract a larger public and can offer wider programmes.
The library ceases to be merely a branch of the town hall and becomes both a
place where children first learn about books and an enticement to the people who
frequent the gymnasium or the social centre. Those who go to the social centre
know that they can also attend further education courses or watch rehearsals in
the theatre;young people at the youth centre are offered far more than the eternal
table tennis or photographic laboratory.People attending further-educationcourses
can ask actors to show them how to act.As in a well-cookeddish,the taste of every
ingredient is enriched by the flavour of the others.
Apart from its economic and social implications, integration of facilities
necessarily affects teaching. The main object is to draw children into cultural and
sports activities;for we now know that the mere fact of building stadia and theatres
does not always ensure that they will be used by the people for whom they are
designed. Psychological obstacles intervene, due in most cases to lack of infor-
mation. At Yerres, for example, every young person aged between 12 and 16,
no matter what his family background, is bound to know that the theatre exists,
that actors are professional people who work for weeks on end to put on a two-
hour play. They have no need to rely on a well-read mother with time to spare
to take them to the Comdie-Franaise,for they go to Molire by the same road
that takes them to school.The same corridor leads both to the gymnasium and to
where the books are kept-factual or imaginative,a window opening on to the
riches of the world. When lunch is over, they can take their choice between going
to contemplate a Drer or Dufy and playing marbles-the one is as easy as the
other. The curriculum remains unchanged;there is no question of having a school
specializing in the arts. But the whole layout is such that the great works in which
the significance of all human endeavour finds expression are brought within easy
reach,placed before their eyes. Ail the teachers need do is to lend a guiding hand.
But everything depends upon these teachers-whether they are apathetic,
 The cultural content of education 107

in which case inequalities will persist, or enthusiastic, when life will change.
H o w often have we heard of teachers being baulked by material and administrative
obstacles in the form of regulationsand curricula,so that even the stoutest-hearted
give up. But at Ashby-de-la-Zouchor Yerres, the aaimateurs and teachers are
colleagues, who meet in their club under the restaurant, draw up the childrens
timetable together and supplement each others work. And the teachers, after
providing the &st audience, soon proceed to organize similar activities on their
own-not necessarily didactic.
Integrated facilities make it possible to establish contacts between town and
school.Experience with popular theatreshows that if it is to be anything more than
just an eveningsentertainment,it is essentialto build up an audience.The character
of the audience in the community colleges is entirely different from that of the
usual theatre or museum public: it consists of families, children, teachers-all
those, of all ages, who use the centres facilities. People who go there for one
purpose make use of the other facilities as well.
This prevents users from splitting up into specialized groups, as so often hap-
pens, with students banding together to keep out non-students and vice versa,
young people trying to crowd out the adults and the other way round. One of the
main objectives of integratedfacilities is to make this kind of segregation physically
impossible,to bring adults back into the schoolatmosphere again,to make teachers
aware of the needs of the town and let them show the town where their own
aspirations lie and to develop the kind of universal participation without which
there can be neither cultural expansion nor any town life established by the delib-
erate efforts of the population itself.
Elected representatives, officials and others holding responsibility immedi-
ately realized the financial advantages to be gained by using the school for cultural
and social activities as well: it means that one site only need be provided for eight
institutions,and all the building done in one operation,that the premises will be
used full-timeinstead of for only a few hours or a few days each week, that the
restaurant can be profitably run, management and control operations centralized
and the cultural life of the town co-ordinated.A n integrated centre,besides serving
several different purposes simultaneously,is also considerably cheaper to equip
and run.
New schemes for integrating school, cultural and social facilities are being
implemented in new towns being built in a number of countries.They make
it necessary for traditionally insular administrative bodies to work together
and lead local and central authorities to design a comprehensive cuItural
policy.
 Chapter 5 The artist should be useful to his contem-
poraries.
Jean Vilar

Aiding the creator

Creativity in modern society
Democratizing culture concerns not only the receiver but the producer,that
is, the artist. Contemporary democracies must take the place of the princes
and bishops of bygone days in providing the artist with a living,and restore
the rank he was traditionally accorded in society.
Does democracy allow creative solitude? H o w should we establish a
link between the artist and a mass demand for culture,bridge the gap between
contemporary art and the public, and give that public access to the culture
of today,not only to that of the past? Here we have one of the basic, most
difficult and vital problems of cultural policy; unless culture in modern
society is based on creation,it will become just another industry turning out
consumer goods,and art will be the glossy wrapping for a mass market.

A paradoxical situation
If, as Andr Malraux says,culture is the heritage of the worlds nobility,
this heritage comes to us only through what the artist has consigned in form
or language.Creation is inseparablefrom the civilization which nurtures it.
More than any other human activity,it sums up that civilization,subsumes
it, expresses its very essence.
The artist should therefore have an eminent place in society. Princes
(often,and not by chance,the greatest) understood this and enhanced their
own fame by a brilliant patronage of arts and letters.
It cannot be denied that, in many modern democracies, the artist is
marginal;with a few exceptions,he earns less than the lowest-paidworkers,
so that he must either have a second occupation or rely on others.Hislegal,
social and economic situationis as precarious as can be.
That an artistsworth is so rewarded is a paradox,or rather a scandal,
and this state of affairs has been bemoaned time and time again. But there
are causes.They must be analysed if we are to find means of giving the artist
his proper place in modem democracies.
 Aiding the creator 109

Why artists?
The first reason for art underdevelopment in modern society is the lack of
clear aims in art-aid policies. The nineteenth century bequeathed to the
twentieth its concept of art as a luxury for the privileged,salon decoration
for the enjoyment of aesthetes. The artist had no social role and, in his
solitary state, his inspiration became purely subjective. Isolated, he had
become the outsider,the artiste maudit.
Training,commissions,help were all subjective;on this basis,anything
the authorities could do was bound to be personal and stop-gap.It took the
form of patronage of the arts.
Today,society finds that once a certain standard of living is generalized,
the accent must turn to improving the quality of life-of which an essential
element is the visual background to everyday life: work, town, home. The
artist's job is to make objects beautiful,harmonious and sensuous,and his
role is vital in improving the visual surroundingsin which we live.

Outsider to community decorator

In this way,the painter becomes a colourist who selects the shades of grey
or blue which will decorate the massive walls of a power station,the sculptor
designs public benches, lamp standards, kiosks (a whole new range of
urban fittings which belongs to all), the landscaper who orders the town's
empty spaces and with rocks and plants brings nature into the city. In
Sweden,lithographers decorate the white walls of hospitals,the green walls
of schools and even the dark walls of prisons. In large stores in Japan,
reproductions adjoin contemporary works of art on the shelves of depart-
ment storesand find millions ofbuyers.In Stockholm and Brussels,sculptors
have been commissioned to decorate underground railway stations. Art
becomes a vital and indispensable adjunct.
So the artist becomes a worker, with his place, in an increasingly
urbanized civilization,among those who physically create it. A new social
image is developing,among artists themselves and a growing segment of the
public (especially the young). N o longer either outsider or mandarin,
odd-man-outor academician, he, like the architect or engineer,is creating
our background. O n this basis, he should naturally be paid, and enjoy the
same legal and social rights as the others.
He is recognized as useful to society in this age of mass production and
consumption,even if solitary and against it. The history of cultural devel-
opment in Sweden: its introduction into planning in France,the establish-
ment of cultural ministries in Belgium and the Netherlands clearly show
that-at least in the free-economycountries-the collective function of art
is recognized only after the major health and education needs have been

1. See the remarkable account by Bengt Sderbergh in La Sude en Question: La Culture

et I'zat, Paris, Seghers, 1971.
 110 Aiding the creator

satisfied. But this acceptance could come more quickly in many countries
where similar transformations in production and consumption are taking
place;knowing the experience of others through the exchanges made possible
by international organizations,they could find short cuts.

Social progress and the artist

This new view of the artist could be matched in society by an objective view
of what it owes him. This once agreed, aid to art becomes a community
obligation;subjectivityis dropped and precise aims can be stated rationally
and objectively. Thishas not in fact been done anywhereyet.It needs further
thought but it is already feasible and should be incorporated in cultural
policy.

The inescapable dilemma

The artistsinsecure situation and the imprecision of the policies concerning
him are due not only to a lack of stated objectives,but also to the fact that
we do not yet know how to overcome two fundamental antitheses that
inevitably characterize the relationship between the artist and the public
authorities: artistic freedom versus security for the artist, and democracy
versus creative innovation.
There is no need to repeat here that art cannot exist without creative
freedom. A policy which fettered the artist would be contrary to the very
principle of creation and would be ultimately self-defeating.Serious risks
are involved in any attempt to turn the artist into an official or to guide
artistic production as if it were an industry. In no country have artists been
willing to sacrificefreedom in exchange for security,and governmentswhich
have had experienceof the quasi-officializationofthe artist,as in Yugoslavia
for example,are now tending to decentralizesocialassistanceto themaximum
and even to some extent to encourage a free market.
Does artistic freedom necessarily imply laissez-faire? The market is too
narrow and demand too weak for laissez-faire to result in anything but little
creation and penury for the artist. The history of the last hundred years
shows that market forces alone cannot satisfy the cultural needs of a rapidly
changing society.Governmentsof the market-economycountries,therefore,
are turning increasingly to state aid (direct subsidy or quasi-publiccouncils).

To assist without interfering

For some years past,two opposite concepts (artist as bureaucrat,or insecure
but free) have been gradually changing because both are over-simplified,
inefficient and ultimately unworkable; instead, complex hybrid solutions
are being tried out, which may be described in Andr Malrauxs phrase as
to assist without interfering. President Johnson observed that, while no
government can bring great art into being,it can at least create a climate in
 Aiding the creator 111

which art can flourish. The Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, said that
governments can promote and subsidize,but must not interfere.The Yugoslav
authorities n o w also suggest that the state must confine itself to financial
assistance,without conditions.
This is all very well in theory, public-finance administrators will say,
but when have those who held the purse-stringsever simply paid up without
worrying about what they would get in return? H e w h o pays the fiddler calls
the tune. Does this financial law not also hold true for art?
In administrativepractice it is indeed inevitably the payer w h o ultimately
orders the goods and in doing so makes a choice and consequently a judge-
ment. Even if the payer-judge declares himself impartial, belonging to no
school, uninfluenced by personal tastes, the moment he makes a choice he
has a policy; unconscious perhaps, implicit no doubt, but a policy all the
same.
It is therefore an illusion to suppose that we can avoid saying exactly
what we are trying to do in any art-aid policy.
But w h o will define these aims? W h e n the prince patron ordered and
paid for what he wanted, his decision raised no problem;if he made a mistake
and wasted his money, the responsibility was his alone. The risk of a clash
with public opinion was slight, since the prince himself was the arbiter of
taste, which filtered downwards via the court. The music of the court was
necessarily the music of society.
The situation is totally different in the democracies, in which no single
dominant group or arbiter of taste exists and in which power, exercised
through a bureaucracy, belongs to the majority.
The sociology of taste shows that the majority finds beauty in art which
expresses the past in its durable aspects and in an accepted, clearly established
style, while artists and critics like that which is new and represents the
present, even if it is ephemeral,experimental and controversial.The majority
prefers art which imitates the past or nature; artists reject all forms of imi-
tation. It is easy to see the antithesis between the democratic rule of respect
for the majority and the principles of a policy for artistic creation.
Which side should the state be on? If it seeks to please the majority,
its implicit policy will lead to the promotion of an imitative, repetitive and
academic art; if it tries to be an enlightened despot and ignores majority
taste, it ceases to be democratic. However, there are ways out of this
dilemma.

Practical help
There is no one single formula, but there are many possible combined
solutions. The freedom and diversity of creation is guaranteed, not by the
amounts given to the artist, but by the plurality of their sources,the plurality

1. Did the President of the United States understand the relationship between art and the
state better than Boileau, who said to Louis XIV: ACaesar can easily make Virgils?
Or is this simply the difference between royal and democratic patronage?
 112 Aiding the creator

of those entitled to pass judgementand,as we shall see, the periodic replace-

ment of those judges.
It is impossibleto prevent an institutioncontrolling finance from devel-
oping a policy. In the nature of things,the expert responsible for choosing
or commissioning has preferences. If these are deeply held they will be
lasting;he cannot be asked to revise his judgement every year, and reject
what he regards as authentic art.
To ensure a diversity which is not merely eclecticism and does not consist
simply in allocating funds pro rata with applications-or worse still, in
responseto political or socialpressures-it is essential thatjudgement should
be in many hands,and in none for too long.
But plurality is out if all the judges sit together in council;this is the
trap which lies in wait for those unfamiliar with the antithesis of art and
democracy. A committee inevitably chooses the middle way; the genius
which enraptures some will be rejected by others, and agreement will be
found on an artist who upsets no one (the least likely to prove to be a great
artist). In art,pseudo-democracyis dangerous.
Picasso was discovered not by a committee,but by the dealer Kahn-
weiler,acting alone and backing his own judgement.Responsibility should
be left to many expert advisers, working independently and changing at
frequent intervals.
The history of art shows how difficult it is for an artistscontemporaries
to distinguish between what is for posterity and what depends on the ephem-
eral taste of the day.
In the words ofthe poet Pierre Emmanuel,Chairman ofthe Commission
on Cultural Affairs for the French Plan: Theart of an age is like an iceberg:
it sees only the tiny fraction which glistens.
The risk oferror will be lessened if the judges are many and temporary.
If they changed every two years, artists from different schools would be
given a chance. This would allow the artist freedom and diversity,without
derogation,in the states commissions.

Professional status

The firstproblem is to decidewhat an artist its.Otherwise,how can we decide

where the aid, grants allowances,tax reliefs, subsidized studios and other
advantages should go?
In France, for example, out of 30,000who gave their occupation as
artistin the census,only about 5,000are really considered as artists by the
Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Labour issues cards to professional
artists,the Ministry of Culture has a filing system,but the criteria remain
vague.
In Yugoslavia, any person who is a member of a republic artists
associationand entitledto the consequent social-securitybenefitsis considered
a professional artist.In other words, it is the artists themselves who award
professional status to newcomers. Any citizen engaged in creative activity
can join one of these associations;no diploma is required,no test or exam-
 Aiding the creator 113

ination need be passed. Applications for admission,addressed to a special

committee,must be accompanied by samples of the candidateswork; the
committees opinion is then transmitted to the artists annual meeting. If
the decision is favourable,it is passed on to a joint committee including
representatives of the state,the social-securitydepartment and the artists
association;this committee has the final decision in awarding the status of
professional artist.In point offact thejoint committeealmost always accepts
the recommendations of the artists associations. In practice, in all the
federal republics of Yugoslavia except Serbia, any young diploma-holder
wishing to join the professional artists association is admitted almost
automatically.In Serbia,some evidence of talent is required.
In Sweden, a still more far-reachingidea is under consideration.The
Department of Culture has asked the National Union of Artists to study the
possibility of giving a guaranteed minimum salary to all artists.At present,
any member of the National Union of Artists is considered a professional
artist,and membership is granted automatically to any artist who holds a
diploma from an art school or whose work is already known (through
exhibitions,criticism,etc.). A n unknown, self-taughtartist can join if he is
sponsored and submits examplesofhis work to an internalcommittee,whose
seven members are drawn from different regions and changed yearly.
This scheme,which seemsto be in keeping with the egalitarianism of the
Swedish state,has met with opposition: some would prefer to expand pur-
chasing by public institutionsand the system of payment for commissioned
works, believing that the minimum guaranteed salary will simply be a
concealed form of social assistance, similar to that already given to an
unfortunate but socially unproductive minority.
At the Monaco round-table meeting, the Brazilian representative
Chagaspointed out that in art,as in fundamentalscientificresearch,freedom
is vital, and that governments should provide the artist with the same
working conditions as those doing research.The objection to this is that it
might create an artistic ghetto, cut off from those responsible for urban
planning and the visual environment,and inevitablyencouraging the esoteric.
The Swissrepresentativeat the Venice Conference urged that artistsbe given
a status similar to that of teachers.

Copyright
Copyright law has been clearly defined in relation to musical or literary
works, but is much less clear regarding the visual arts. In several countries,
the artist is accorded property and moral rights in the form of fees paid on
each transaction or reproduction.In France,a droit de suite of 3 per cent is
levied on all sales subsequent to the first (i.e.,the sale by the artist himself);
so far,however,this applies only to public sales.
In Sweden,it has been suggested that the artist should be remunerated
for the loan of his works for exhibitions organized in that country. This
exhibition right has already been introduced in the case of loans for foreign
exhibitions, and an experiment, under the aegis of the National Union of
 114 Aiding the creator

Artists, is being carried out in six or seven communes which have agreed to
pay 500 kronor to any artist willing to lend his works. Similar schemes are
operated in some French cultural centres.

%e Visual Arts Federation in Denmark

In Denmark, the Visual Arts Federation, a professional artists organization,has

issued very clear rules for its members concerning payment for the loan of works
of art. These rules are reviewed each year at the general meeting of the federation.
Artists must be paid for lending their works for exhibitions organized by govern-
ment departments,local councils,public servicesor important public organizations.
The loan charge is 1 krone a day for each work borrowed. The borrower meets
the cost of transport, insurance, the premises, and any other expenses connected
with the organization of the exhibition.1

Cultural dissemination should become a means of providing the artist with

a reasonable standard of living and offer an alternative to the conventional
art market, which is based entirely on sales.

Social benefits
It is important to distinguish between social benefits for artists and other
forms of aid to art. In too many countries and cities, aid to art is still
confused with social assistance for needy artists. This has three drawbacks:
it perpetuates the image of the artist as a poverty-stricken outcast; it denies
him access to the social benefits due to every worker; and it leads to the
purchase of mediocre works which then clutter up the cellars-or, worse
still, the walls-of local town halls.
In the socially advanced countries, the social benefits enjoyed by artists
(health insurance, disablement and retirement pensions, family allowances)
are not basically different from those granted to other categories.A consider-
able difference exists, however, in the contributions. In Yugoslavia, where
every actively employed person normally contributes a given percentage of
his income, artists are exempt, payments being made on their behalf by the
Cultural Development Fund in each republic. In France, the employers
contribution normally paid in respect of each worker employed is paid on
a lump-sumbasis by all dealers in original works of art. Whilst in Yugoslavia
or Sweden membership of an artists association automatically entitles the
artist to these benefits, in France he is obliged to prove that art constitutes
his principal activity and accounts for more than 50 per cent of his pro-
fessional income. Social assistance procedures, then, bear a close relation
to those by which the artist obtains professional status.

1. Cf. Raymonde Moulin, Les aides publiques la cration dans les arts plastiques dans
neufpays, Paris,La Documentation Franaise, 1977,52pp. (Notes et tudes documen-
taires,No.4.399.4400.)
 Aiding the creator 115

Studios
Under present-day conditions, it becomes increasingly difficult for an artist
to obtain a studio in a large town or city. In most countries, therefore,
assistance includes the provision of studios. In Egypt, a project for an
artists city outside Cairo would enable artists of different kinds to meet
and work together. In N e w York, the Westbeth project combines a social
(housing) aim with an artistic aim. This (federal) National Endowment for
the Arts Project includes low-cost housing for artists, and studios and
laboratoriesfor research and experiment. In France,residentialconstruction
projects are entitled to a state subsidy of 20,000francs for each housing unit
that includes an artists studio.
Analogous measures in Yugoslavia merit special attenti0n.l

Artists housing und studios in Yugosluvia

During the period ofcentralized administration,thestateitselfassumedtheresponsi-
bility for providing artists with both housing and studios, which were often
luxurious; since the transition to greater autonomy, however, this task has been
entrusted to the Cultural Development Fund.At the same time, artists are encour-
aged to become owners, of both their homes and their studios. In 1974, 47 per
cent of all artists owned their homes.
Purchase facilities available to artists are highly favourable:a down payment
of about 10 per cent of the purchase price is required, the balance being repaid
over a period of up to forty years plus interest at the rate of 1 per cent.
In each republic, the cultural funds or communities are obliged to allocate
a xed percentage of their resources to the purchase of studios for artists. Further-
more, promoters of building projects are required to include a given number of
studios in certain buildings or housing complexes; the object of this measure is
to disperse studios throughout the town so that artists become integrated into the
community instead of forming a closed circle of their own. When they wish to
meet, they can of course do so at the premises of the artistsassociations.
Studios are allocated to artists by a special committee appointed by the cul-
tural Development Fund, on which the artistsassociations are represented.
As a result of this policy,the situation in the various republics is at present
as follows:in Bosnia-Herzegovina,in Macedonia and in Montenegro,the situation
is especially good for housing and studios; in Slovenia and in Serbia, it is good
for housing but inadequate for the young; and in Croatia, the situation is inad-
equate in terms of housing for young artists,and one-thirdof the artists are without
studios.
However,it should be noted that all republicsare engaged on long-termpro-
grammes aimed at improving artists housing and working conditions.

Resident artists
For many years, colleges and universities in the United States of America
have operated a scheme under which artists are paid a regular salary equiv-
alent to that of a professor or research worker;no specific tasks are demanded

1. Extract taken from Les politiques daide la cration artistique,a study carried out by
the Fondation pour le Dveloppement Culturel,at the request of Unesco, Paris, 1970.
 116 Aiding the creator

of them except that there should be certain contacts with the students. This
scheme is now being extended to cultural centres and local arts councils (in
towns or counties) which are similarly prepared to offer artists a one years
allowance.
In Yugoslavia, some cultural institutions,local authorities and enter-
prises organize holiday schemes. The artists,alone or with their families,
are invited to spend one or more months in a holiday resort where excellent
conditions for both work and recreation are provided (accommodation,
studios,meals,transport and so on). In return,the artist undertakes to offer
his hosts one or two works of his own choice, completed on the spot.
According to animateurs,this form of assistance has been adopted by a consider-
able-and growing-number of organizations. Some are beginning to acquire
national-and even international-prestige on account of their collections of
contemporary works by Yugoslav and foreign artists. There are believed to be
at present about thirty contemporary art collections in Yugoslavia acquired in
this way.A striking example is Stanjovic in Slovenia,a small village of 600inhabi-
tants;it possesses the largest collection of contemporary art in Yugoslavia,made
up entirely of works donated by the Yugoslav and foreign artists to whom it has
for many years offered hospitality.
A scarcely less remarkable achievementis that of the small town of Sloven-
gradec (4,000inhabitants) which,a few years ago,held an international exhibition
of modern paintings, including 500 works from fifty countries.Today,this town
possesses two large exhibition halls where a great many contemporary works can
be seen.
As we have seen,many schemes can be adopted: studios may be grouped
together or dispersed,in town or in the country,in universities or in resi-
dential blocks, on sale or for rent. The best idea is to have a variety of
methods simultaneously. There is no ideal scheme. And if there were the
best artists would be the first to question it.

A n art aid policy should do more than just give material aid. Otherwise it
is bound to fail. It will be misunderstood by the public, isolate the artist
and fail to bring all to share in creative experience-vital to any society.
The objective must therefore be to encourage creative experiment and,
simultaneously,liaison between artist and public.
The Senegalese film director Sembn said at the Monaco meeting:
Theartist must not be isolated from his people;in our languages,the word
art does not exist,for there can be no question of separatingeveryday life
from the symbols by which it is expressed and amplified.

The dissemination of contemporary works

In several countries,attempts are being made to put the dissemination of
contemporary works on a broader footing so that they will not be confined
to the commercial market which caters only for wealthy collectors or even
for speculators. Various schemes have been tried out in the United States
ofAmerica involvingthe rental ofworks to private individuals or companies.
 Aiding the creator 117

In France, a number of cultural centres have also introduced rental or hire-

purchase schemes: the hirer may purchase the work after tryingit at h o m e
for a few weeks.

Lending centres in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there are thirteen lending centres, which receive a grant from
the public authorities.These centres were established in the 1950s in order to offer
the general public a large selection of works of art that they could easily afford.
The artists receive 10 per cent of the market value of their works,up to a maximum
amount of 150 guilders per work loaned. In 1975, these payments totalled one
million guilders.Ten of the thirteen centres were studied in a survey in 1975. They
operate five different lending schemes, which may be classified under two broad
headings: subscription loans and hire purchase. According to the figures, these
two schemes have had just the opposite result to that originally intended. Broad
sectors of the population have had virtually nothing to do with the centres.It is
also surprising to note that the statistical profile of users is practically identical
in the two broad categories (lending and hire purchase): they belong to the privi-
leged socio-economicgroups, they have a general interest in culture, and their
average age is 36. Nearly 65 per cent of them had already bought works of art
before joining a lending centre. The users of the hire purchase scheme,on average,
do not begin to buy until two years after joining it, and confine their purchases
to inexpensively produced works. The loan subscriber often borrows relatively
expensive works from the centre and buys less expensive works elsewhere.1

The Canadian Arts Bank

The Arts Bank has a dual function: on the one hand, it helps Canadian artists
by offering them an outlet which compensates for the limited market, owing to
the small number of collectors in Canada itself and the limitations of Canadian
galleries;on the other, it brings the public into contact with works of art in ail the
federal government buildings. By loaning the works it has acquired, the bank is
able to be self-financingand to continue its purchases.It reaches strata of the popu-
lation who never visit museums and art galleries, particularly now that the works
of art will also be exhibited in public buildings in the provinces. This programme
institutes a new distribution circuit of works, 75 per cent of which are bought
directly from the artists. The range of works shown is moreover very wide; over
500 young artists have had one or more of their works taken by the bank and
25,000 works in all have been acquired since November 1973. The demand from
administrations and public services of all kinds is considerable, and is currently
double the supply.The only restriction made by the bank is that whether they are
beginners or confirmed artists they must directly or indirectly earn their living
from the plastic arts.

The Swedish Centre for Travelling Exhibitions

Three existing associations combined to form this enterprise. The first of these
was founded in 1930 and organized about thirty travelling exhibitions yearly, in
collaboration with local authorities, schools, museums and art centres, visiting

1. L.A.Welters and C. Eyman,Use of Art Lending Centres. Part I: Summary of Report,

Rijswijk, Ministry of Culture, Leisure and Social Mairs, 26 pp.
 118 Aiding the creator

about 200 localities and attracting some 200,000 visitors. The second, founded
in 1947 and educational in character, organized about 100 exhibitions, visiting
more than 1,000 schools and reaching a school population of 40,000 pupils. The
third, founded in the same year by the trade-union organizations, the peoples
universities and certain other institutions, has also played a part in the work
of decentralization. It has organized almost 200 exhibitions yearly, visiting
1,000localities and reaching a public of some 100,000 persons. This association
has also organized sales (totalling the equivalent of more than 150,000 francs
in 1968) and arranged publication of more than 200,000 copies of graphic works.
Membership included 2,000 communities and 20,000 private individuals.
The first two of these associations decided to merge to become the Swedish
Centre for Travelling Exhibitions, whilst the third is closely linked to it. In the
spring of 1965, an experimental series of travelling exhibitions was launched,
whose scale and number has been constantly expanded. T o give some examples:
in the years 1965-67, five travelling exhibitions received 700,000visitors; in 1967,
a multi-artexhibition was opened in 100 localities simultaneously,exhibiting and
selling lithographs and other works suitablefor multiple reproduction:750,000visi-
tors attended,thanks to an intensive publicity campaign on television,and out of
approximately 6,600 copies of works reproduced, 64 per cent were sold;in 1968,
140 exhibitions, of which 100, on a smaller scale, were reserved for schools, were
brought to 1,500 localities;in 1969, 160 travelling exhibitions were organized and
a multi-artsexhibition was once more presented in 1,000 different places. At
the end of this trial period, Parliament decided, on 1 July 1976,that the Swedish
Centre for Travelling Exhibitions should become a permanent body under the
aegis of the National Council for Culture and the Ministry.
The centre organizes exhibitionsin conjunctionwith museums,schools,adult
education bodies, arts associations, libraries, cultural committees and other
associations.5 per cent of its activities are aimed at museums,which mount large-
scale exhibitions;50 per cent of its work is with schools,25 per cent with libraries,
5 per cent with study groups and 15 per cent with other organizing bodies. The
centre tries to link its activitiesto those of travelling theatrecompanies and musical
performers. With the co-ordinationof projects in this way, local festivals can be
organized and segregation of the different forms of cultural activity can be avoided.
Activities are not limited to art exhibitions. The exhibitions may cover a
wide range of subjects including painting, arts and crafts, social policy, cultural
history, natural history, the environment and technology. The exhibition space
may measure anything from 1 square metre to 200 square metres.N e w approaches
are tried out, sometimes involving the use of fdms and video. Mention should
be made of the small-scaleexhibitionkitdesigned for use with schoolsand study
groups. It consists of a suitcase containing objects, models, illustrations, audio
equipment and educational materials.
The centre employs sixty full-timepersonnel at its principal offices.In general,
it pays the costs involved in organizing the exhibitions, whilst the towns visited
pay expenses incurred locally. Since the centre possesses no collection of its own,
it is forced to draw on those of the subsidized museums; the loan of works for this
purpose is obligatoryunder a government decree,but exceptionsare made in special
cases,as for instance where risk of deteriorationexists.
All this representsthe beginning of a substantialdecentralizationprogramme.
Statesubsidieshave been increasingproportionately:theequivalentof500,000francs
in 1965-66 and 4,450,000francs in 1970-71.
 Aiding the creator 119

The French Contemporary Art Centre

Based on an idea of Andr Malraux, the Contemporary Art Centre was founded
in 1967 to stimulate living art and tell the public about it. The centre embraces the
most varied and changing forms of contemporary art, and its closely interrelated
activities pass on, inform and communicate. Forsaking the palacesthat are no
longer what is wanted,the centre has a flexibility and mobility that allows the artist
his freedom. It allows artists to tell others about themselves:they can communi-
cate with artistic circles, architects, engineers, business rms and the general
public.
T o retain its mobility and flexibility, the centre,unlike the museums, has no
responsibility for conservation.Its organization is likewise supple. Policy is the
personal affair of the director, who is periodically changed. H e has a small team
ofassistants,reinforced from time to time by temporary staff.
The centre serves three purposes:
Documentation. This covers the graphic and visual arts; personal files on
5,000 artists; the audio-visuallibrary contains films on artists or movements
in contemporary art, and tape-recordingsof interviews.
Prospecting. The centre submits proposals to the state for the purchase or com-
missioning of works by living French or foreign artists for the national collec-
tions of modern art; commissions are also proposed for monumental works
to enhance schools or towns.
Wide display. Works commissioned constitutea reserve but not a collection.They
go out as soon as acquired (to the National Museum of Modern Art,provincial
museums, travelling exhibitions). This mobility and accessibility avoids
having to draw excessively on permanent collections-which, as far as pos-
sible, should not be removed from the museums-or on private collectors,
artists or galleries. Further, exhibitions can be arranged in places outside the
traditional circuit or lacking facilities: open-air exhibitions, for example, or
displays in public parks in towns.
The centre looks after the arrangements, cataloguing and initial financing; the
users rent the exhibition and gradually repay the cost.
Catalogues usually take the form of monographs on the artists concerned.
They now make up a series,Archives de lartcontemporain.The centre also publishes
dossiers and abstracts.

Tax relief
The Venice Conference called on Unesco Member States to assist the
circulation of works of art by such means as customs and fiscal concessions.
What can be done in this direction is best seen from a few examples.
In Yugoslavia, any enterprise purchasing a work of art is given relief
from turnover tax to the amount of the purchase, is exempted from tax on
capital in the same amount, and need not make any depreciation allowance
for the works of art in its possession. However, such purchases may only
be made with funds freely at the disposal of the enterprise concerned.
Yugoslav artists are urging the authorities to allow such purchases to be
made from capital funds; in their view, works of art may legitimately be
regarded as capital assets. Since 1968 Croatian taxpayers have been auth-
orized to deduct from their tax returns the price of contemporary works of
 120 Aiding the creator

art purchased during the year concerned,this concession being specifically

mentioned on the tax declaration forms. In the first year in which it was in
force,this measure had no great effect, except where amateur art collectors
were concerned;but by the second year,on the contrary,it attracted a great
deal of interest.This experiment has been extended to the rest ofYugoslavia;
similar measures have been placed before the parliaments of the other
republics.
The country offering the most liberal tax concessions in this respect is
probably the United States of America. Private individuals are allowed to
deduct from their tax declarations amounts equal to 30 per cent of their
taxable income;in the case of corporations,this figure is 5 per cent. These
deductions cost the internal revenue some $40million.
Although these concessions do not benefit artists directly,they benefit
them indirectly through the operations of non-profit-makingcorporations
or private foundations.There are at present 23,000 private foundations in
the United States, of which about 1,500 subsidize the arts. In addition,
direct assistance is given to artists by tax legislation permitting them to
spread income from copyright over several years. Artists may also set up
corporations and accordingly be assessed on the basis of capital assets
instead of personal income.

Art in architecture
One of the most satisfactory ways of integrating the artist in society is to
associate him with the work of improving the new environment.He is paid
under normal budget allocations for public works rather than from special
culturalfunds;at the same time, contemporary art becomes a living part
of the citys daily existence.Stockholm allocates $600,000yearly for works
to decorate public places and buildings (2 per cent of total construction
costs). In France,payments to artists for the decoration of school buildings
(generally 1 per cent of total cost) are ten times greater than those made
out of normal budget funds in respect of works commissioned directly by
the state. It may be noted that in France,as in Sweden,the regulations are
by no means fully applied.
In Sweden, since 1961, state loans have also been available for the
decoration of residential buildings, up to a maximum figure equivalent to
$2 per square metre of habitable area, to include both artists fees and
payments to contractors.If these facilities were fully exploited the situation
of Swedishartistswould be completely transformed;unfortunately,however,
promoters show little inclination to avail themselves of these loans and the
total sum granted in the first twelve years amounted to no more than
$2 million.
Mention should also be made of the experimental symposium on
sculpture held in Grenoble during the summer of 1967.
 Aiding the creator 121

An experimental symposium in Grenoble (France)

A huge workshop was set up under the trees in the Parc Mistral,where the citizens
of Grenoble could watch stone-masons, sculptors and metal workers in action.
The objects created before their eyes from rough stone or sheet metal could
later be seen in position-at the town gates, about the town or near the new
buildings (townhall, cultural centre, ice stadium,railway station).
Thirty works of art were set up throughoutthe town in an attempt to integrate
the visual arts into contemporary architecture and achieve the synthesis of the
arts desired by Le Corbusier:a Calder stabile,tapestries by Manessier and Ubac,
photography by Clergue, a marble sculptureby Gigioli, frescoes by Dewasne and
Jean-Marie Pirot, a bronze by Hajdu, sculptures in steel by Viseux, in stone by
Mizui, in aluminium by Van Lansweerde,works in concrete by Szekely and Marta
Pan, and so on.
All were financed by a special budgetary allocation for decoration, rep-
resenting 1 per cent of the total funds available for the construction of public
buildings.

Artists in the community

Over the past twenty years, many artists have been deeply concerned about
the kind of relationship which a creative artist may-or should-have with
the community in which he lives. The artist has a number of options: he
can simply live as an artist in a particular district; he can become involved
in cultural activities on a voluntary basis; or he can try to give expression
to the realities and sensibilities of the local people in his work.
Rather than indulge in a theoretical discussion of these options, we
feel the reader would be better served by being acquainted with a number of
examples of places where artists involvement in the life of the community
has produced works of art and other worthwhile results or lessons learned.

Montbliard: artists and film-makers in the urban community

The community project implemented in the year 1974175 by the inhabitants of
Montbliard with Armand Gatti and various artists (including Mnagier, Czifra
and Tacchini) represented a step in the direction of giving the local people more
opportunity to express their views and define their cultures.
This brilliantly implemented project afforded each district a chance to
approach the experiment differently. Five artists moved into the different districts
(la Chiffogne, la Petite Hollande . ..) where they set up studios. Montbliard
workers visited the studios daily to learn painting and sculpture. They produced
nearly a hundred posters depicting the way they, personally, saw the town of
Montbliard. These posters were regularly put up on the walls of the town and
gradually became the true local newspaper.
By the same token,the artistswork with the local people gave a fresh impetus
to the Montbliard carnival. The festival actually became a celebration of the life
of the district, and artists and local people built carnival figures that brought a
completely new dimension to the traditional parade.
However, the most original aspect of this project was undoubtedly the films
made by Gatti with the animation team from the Montbliard cultural centre.
 122 Aiding the creator

They did not merely represent one more premire,but were a supremely important
record of a new approach to audio-visualmedia, of a new form of cultural action.
Armand Gatti spent six months in Montbliard at the invitation of Jean
Hurstel and the animation team who, over a period of nearly six years, have tried
to build up a relationship and engage in creative activities with the working-class
population. This work has enabled them to establish contact with different com-
munities. In fact, their approach has focused on forging real links rather than
simply establishing contact. The subject-matterof several of the films evolved
out of these links. Montbliard has several communities: Moroccan, Georgian,
Polish, Portuguese, Italian, etc. These communities are completely unaware of
each others lives, and come into contact only at the Peugeot works.
The scripts for the films were written by groups from each community and
shot on video-tape,which is a flexible medium and has the advantage that the
material is immediately available for viewing. The result was ninety hours of tape
and seven one-hour video fims, that is, one per community. These films (made
by the participants in January 1975) were produced to a remarkably high stan-
dard. They are far more eloquent than any dissertation could be in showing the
storehouse of talent with which supposedly ignorant or uncultured people are
endowed and can display when they are given the opportunity to express them-
selves,and when others know how to listen to them and lookat thingsfrom their
point of view. The Moroccans with their tape on Ramadan, the Georgians, who
made woodcarvings to illustrate their script, and the Spaniards, who gave an
account oftheir past,the Spanish Civil War, the bullfighter and the life ofthe skilled
worker at Peugeot, showed the way to break the traditional mould of cultural
action.
The festival involving the whole Montbliard population-andthe immigrant
workers through the exchange of their tapes-also showed that the film-making
project involved far more than the expression of a specific culture: it served to
build bridges between communities who knew little about each others lives.
This project was original in more than one respect: it was implemented in a
wholly working-class environment; the population was predominantly (90 per
cent) immigrant; and it was the first experiment aimed at interrelating creative
activity and cultural animation to the benefit of each and avoiding the ivory-
towerphenomenon that prevailed for centuries (or may even stili prevail).
It should be noted that this project could only be successfully implemented
because a team of cultural animateurs had already been working with the local
community for four years to promote greater self-expression.

Stockholm: an artist ut the sorting-ofice

In 1977,the Co-operationCommittee of the StockholmArts Associations awarded
a grant to Jan-EricMartinsson,then a part-time worker at the Stockholm central
station sorting-office,who already had a large number of drawings, linocuts and
oil-paintingsto his credit. At the exhibition of the work done as a result of this
grant, Martinsson gave the following account of his experience:
I decided to evoke the work environment in the parcels section of the post office
at the Stockholm central station. I started work in October 1976. After two weeks
as a full-timeworker, I went part-time. The work environment was unpleasant,
particularly because of the dust and noise; conditions were extremely cramped in
some departments, and it was dangerous when we were overworked,You had to
work so fast that there was no time to talk to your work-mates.
 Aiding the creator 123

Inthe beginning,I thought I would be able to make sketches during working

hours and paint at home. After trying this, I realized I would get better results if
I began by taking photographs, as there was simply no time to make sketches. I
then bought a camera and had to learn how to use it. When I started to take
pictures,the others threatened to smash my face in, as I had not told them what
I wanted to do with these photographs. When I explained what I wanted to do
in my exhibition,they helped me: they told m e where and when to take the photo-
graphs so that I could record the worst aspects of the work.
Inmy view, such an exhibition can only be successfully mounted if there is
co-operationbetween workers and artists. It seems essential to focus on everyday
matters.

The artist as design consultant in Sweden

In 1976, at the Siemens-Elemafactory, it was decided to refurbish a number of
rest rooms which were particularly vital to the workers, for they enabled them
to relax far away from the highly disturbing noise in their work areas.
After various two-or threehour meetings, held over a year, the artist Mats
Jungstedt prepared a renovation plan for these rooms with the assistance of the
workers.
In his view, his task involved presenting several projects in the form of illus-
trations and sketches;attempting to put forward alternatives during the meetings;
helping the employees to take an imaginative approach to the subject; and pro-
viding them with documentationfor their discussionswith the rm and its architect.
The result was the creation of five beautiful rooms which are almost luxurious
in comparison with the old premises. They offer a comfortable environment
which, although far from revolutionary, has been made more homely and wel-
coming through the involvement of this artist.
In the light of this experience,the scheme was continued even after this par-
ticular artist left the firm,and several other sections were provided with new rest
rooms.

Two years in the Uddevalla shipyard

The artist Peder Josefsson spent two years (1974 and 1975) in the Uddevalla
shipyard. H e took part in the work of trade-union study groups, observed the
various jobs being carried out and met and talked with the workers. In this way,
he was able to put together documentation for a number of paintings and prints
which were subsequently exhibited in numerous Peoples Houses. This project
was implemented with the co-operation of the Workers Federation for Adult
Education (ABF)and the Swedish Centre for Travelling Exhibitions.
At subsequent discussions,trade-unionrepresentativescriticized these paint-
ings on the grounds that they idealized the conditions of the workers. They argued
that in reality their work was dirtier and their environment more uncongenial.
Not a single painting by the artist remains at this particular place of work,
and the plan to set up an art associationcame to nothing.
Peder Josefsson feels that this two-yearperiod at the shipyard was too short
and that his pay was too low. H e would be quite prepared to undertake a similar
project if the conditions were better.
 124 Aiding the creator

Two public squares entrusted to artists

In the new town of Marne-la-Valle,near Paris,the town-plannersbrought artists
(painters,landscapearchitects and sculptors) into the actual process of designing
two new districts.
The first project embraced all the aspects of an urban development scheme,
the Arche Gudon Centre, where 29,000 dwellings with their various amenities
were to be erected in an area of 4,000hectares spread over six different districts.
The aim was to light the public squarein such a way that it blended with theenviron-
ment of the surrounding district. The public lighting in contemporary towns and
cities is generally felt to be disturbingly monotonous, which explains the attraction
of particular districts where the lighting gives a feeling of life and vitality.
Bernard Lassuswas given theresponsibilityoftrying to create such an environ-
ment and scheme of visual relations. It was understood that, like the colour,
vegetation and materials used, light should facilitate the nocturnal perception of
the specific district. Accordingly, Piotr Kowalski was commissioned to devise a
geometrical scheme to reveal the succession of small spaces, streets and squares,
slopes,ground coverings,burstone walls and smooth painted faades that would
capture and reflect the light. The street lighting was treated as an element in the
urban composition;it represented a definite town-planningchoice.
The second project was carried out in the Pav-Neuf district, in the town
centre,situated at the edge of a bustling urban area.
The public development corporation decided to team the sculptor Ervin
Patka with the planners and make him responsible for preparing proposals for
the organization of the public spaces. The positive co-operation between them
produced a design for the general layout of the district. They created the square
spaceat the edge of the cultural and shopping complex. This space is articulated
with the main pedestrian circulation axis of the district and links up with a small,
brightly coloured public garden designed by the sculptor Charles Semser.
Each side of this square measures 70 metres;it is bounded by an embankment,
the slope of which will be covered by a lawn; at the top of this slope, a row of
ornamental trees will be planted in front of the buildings. Patkas concern was to
isolate this space and give it a more austere visual effect. In order to stress this
aspect,the ground has been covered with dark flagstones designed and composed
by the painter Luc Peire. This enclosed area could be used for a number of dif-
ferent purposes,such as a weekly market,a fair,open-aushows,concerts,and so on.
A number of architects were commissioned to design the buildings around
the square.The colours of the faades were selected by Luc Peire to give the same
austere effect as the ground (with a predominance of blues).
This project is still under way. However, it is not too early to highlight the Sig-
nificance of thisform ofco-operationbetweenartists in the conceptionofthepublic
spaces,thedesignoftheground surfaces,theplantations,thearchitecturalfeaturesof
the buildings,the lighting and the urban amenitiessuch as street lightsand benches,
as well as the selection of the colours of ground surfaces and faades.The project
represents a genuine example of the way art can play a part in the creation of
a particular space;thiscreation is the outcome of truemultidisciplinary team-work.
Artists in the Stockholm underground railway
The Stockholm underground railway was built in the 1960s and considerably
extended in 1970. The public authorities decided to involve architects and artists
in thepreliminary studies,with a view to familiarizing the public with contemporary
art-forms and bringing art into everyday life. The artists began by deciding to
 Aiding the creator 125

enhance the mass ofrock through which the tunnel ofthe underground railwaywas
to be excavated:hence the name metro-glodyte. This approach was subsequently
appliedto allaspectsofthework,rangingfromthechoiceofcolours,the sculptures
and the painted signpoststo the wail panels which changefrom station to station.
In this underground railway, the most advanced technology is combined with
unlimited artistic freedom and diversity.
Each of the fourteen stations was treated as a grotto,and the artist who
designed it chose a theme that is wholly in keeping with the character of the
particular station and speaks directly to the public who use it. Thethemes include
a provincial church (T.Centralen station,35 million passengers a year); ancient
architecture(Radhuset-Town Hall); an underwater cave (Fridhemsplanstation);
ceramic structures (Vstra station,Western Forest); daily life (Solna Centrum);
the history of the cinema and the nymphspool at Nckrosen (the nymphaeum);
a childrenscave,based on childrensdrawings (Hallonbergen station,the rasp-
berry mountains); a prehistoric cave at Rinkeby (prehistoric site); and at Tensta,
a station serving a new housing complex,there are large panels expressing feelings
of human solidarity in eighteen languages,and childrensdrawings,aimed at the
largely immigrantpopulation of this district. O n 31 August 1975, what has been
called the longestart gallery in the world (it is 14 kilometres long!) was inaug-
urated.It should be noted,however,that this name is really inappropriateand does
not reflect the distinctly more original approach behind this project.
The term art gallerywould apply rather to the more traditional realizations
found in a number of underground railways.One such is in Hanover,where Jean
Dewasne was commissioned in 1973 to produce a work for the main station.This
is an enamel painting measuring 100 metres longby 4metresdeep.The samepainter
also decided on thebasic coloursfortherolling stock,the boards and thefurniture.
Another exampleis in Brussels,where invitations have been extended,since 1969,
to numerous artists including Alechinsky and Dotrement (Anneessens station),
Pol Bury (Bourse station), Mendelson (Parc station), Delahaut,Folon and Gentis.
Further examples are in Paris,Lyons and Marseilles,where the servicesof artists
have been used more or less frequently,in some cases for short-termworks.

Architecture and control over our surroundings

Ifcultureisto serveinimprovingthe quality oflifeincontemporary society,
culturalissuesmust be taken into account in community planning.Planning
cannot be based solely on economic considerations.
This declaration,made at the Venice Conference,expressesthe concern
shared by a number of ministers over the deterioration of everyday sur-
roundings,particularly in towns. In a world fast becoming urbanized and
industrialized (in certain countries the number of buildings may double
between 1980 and 2000), measures for safeguarding these surroundings as
one aspect of a communitysculture are essential to cultural policy.
Towns and roads grow uglier.People get used to ugliness and cease to
feel the need for beauty. Urban development lacks inspiration and respect
for the natural or cultural heritage. More and more, towns misrepresent
man instead ofexpressinghim,and ceaseto be places whereculturecangrow.
Often, the countryside is no longer cared for and exquisite natural or
man-made sites are irremediably spoiled.
 126 Aiding the creator

It is not only because the quality of leisure is largely determined by the

character of the townscape that architecture and planning merit attention,
but also because peoples cultural experience is so heavily influenced by the
quality of the buildings they can see, and the first contact with art is the
childs view of them as he moves around. The individuals surroundings are
never unimportant: they either contribute to his general well-being and
spiritual development or, if harsh and ugly, tend to destroy his balance,
exacerbate his instincts and cause him to take refuge in dreams. This explains
why the environment as a whole, and not merely historical sites and monu-
ments or even artistic facilities, is of concern to the cultural life of the
community.
Thus cultural influence operates not only through plays, through the
use of the word in poetry, through images in fdms or through music, but
also through that other form of mans self-expression, the buildings he
erects. In this connection, the President of the United States National
Endowment for the Arts, at the round-tablemeeting in Monaco, recalled the
words of Victor Hugo, who declared that all the great ideas of mankind had
been inscribed in stone.
W e need never enter a museum or a theatre,or even listen to music, but
w e can never escape the influence of spatial relations, for we are always
surrounded by architecture. And societies either control their architectural
surroundings, or submit to them. Hence any true cultural policy must
endeavour to govern the relationship between m a n and the objects among
which he lives. Architecture is not merely one of the line arts, a set of rules
learned in schools for building fine faades: it is what goes to make up the
everyday surroundings of each one of us.
Architecture, therefore, is no longer the business of a few individuals
only,but concernsthepopulation as a whole,inasmuch as the populationmust
be brought to consider the problem of its surroundings.The aim is to induce
everyone to participate in producing the kind of environment he regards as
the ideal. W e may, in this sense, speak of the democratization ofarchitecture.
It must be admitted, however, that in most countries no such partici-
pation exists: the population, even those occupying the most responsible
positions, have never had occasion to reflect on what architecture is.
Initially, it is true, the general public is in no position to have discussions
with professional architects, since they do not know what they need: when
consulted, they are invariably conservative in their tastes, even violently
reactionary. Hence it will doubtless be preferable, for a time, for the archi-
tects to decide, without referendum. But things have already changed, and
todays generation no longer lives as did yesterdays. A new generation of
architects, with a different training, is already in closer touch with a public
which is better informed, readier to regard architecture not as a relic of the
past but as a living reality.
Examples of this kind of contact are still rare,but some deserve mention.
The first stage is to divest the architect of his mystery, to demonstrate that
he is not a magician, but merely the m a n responsible for expressing in terms
of buildings the needs of the community.
 Aiding the creator 127

Thus the Cultural Centre at Caen organizes a quarterly architecture

day, when an architect discusses his work with the general public. The
audience is as large as for a play, and sometimes more keenly interested,
though it must be admitted that the people who come are mostly the towns
intellectuals, not their elected representatives or members of the technical
services.
Television can do a lot to make large numbers of people aware of what
building really is and how deeply it affects the quality of everyday life. But
care must be taken to present architecture and town-planning not as glam-
orous, esoteric professions, producing, in successive flashes of genius, here
an Acropolis, there a Brasilia, but rather as the workaday task of planning
ordinary peoples surroundings, a task in which the people concerned
themselves necessarily have a part to play.

Creation and the media

The very existence of contemporary society is threatened by mass-audience
dissemination which, in the guise of cultural progress, actually achieves an
alarming degree of standardization. The cultural industries are already
flourishing. Moreover, they are increasingly being taken over by mass
broadcasting arid publishing corporations and so are able to spread the
by-products of an imported culture which is ultimately imposed on the
population and influences the way they feel, behave and lead their lives.
Artistic creation affords a rallying-pointfor those determined to combat
this influx and the trivialization of culture: by re-interpreting the past, it
makes it possible to gain a better grasp and understanding of the present.
Showing a preference for living art is a way of preserving the cultural
identity of a nation in the face of the products of the huge transnational
corporations engaged in cultural activities.
However, nothing is done to protect the cultural identity of a nation by
closing its borders to cosmopolitan influences: it is necessary to increase
endogenous cultural production to the utmost, to give the maximum scope,
in socio-economic terms, for pursuit of creative activities.
The only way a nation can stand frm against the waves that pound its
shores is by expanding its capacity for creative art. Creative artists should
cease to be the poor relations in the cultural life of society;they have to be
supported and promoted, for not only are they the custodians of the cultural
identity of the nation, but they are able to strengthen it and breathe fresh
life into it. This struggle, which is ultimately an economic struggle, cannot
be waged without a completely new approach to culture.Hence, our case will
be argued in terms of culturalproductionrather than simply of creation.

The concept of culturalproduction

What exactly does culturalproduction mean? As this is a new concept,w e
shall first of all give a negative definition: it is not merely another name for
what used to be called creation.
 128 Aiding the creator

Creation was the practice of a craftby a number of artists or creators

who made unique, irreproducible objects which could be transmitted by
direct,personal contact to a limited public. Creation was the work done by
artists in solitude and offered to a potential, undifferentiated public, that
was not defined in spatial or temporal terms. It involved an approach based
solely on the aesthetic concerns of a creative artist whose public was every-
where and nowhere in an indeterminate future.
By contrast,culturalproductionis both a sociologicaland an economic
reality. It is sociological in that it is produced by persons belonging to a
specific occupational category in a precise socio-economicframework that
can be analysed and measured. This occupational category can be defined
by reference to artistic demography. Artistic demography also provides a
basis for studying the changes in the status of the artist who, instead of
being an isolated craftsman or a member of one of the liberal professions,
is now more akin to an employee in a corporation or large association. Let
us consider an example: the late-nineteenth-centurycomposer worked alone;
he then sought a publisher and had his work published. A n impresario
sought a performer and organized a public performance of the work. This
performance could not be reproduced or broadcast.
Nowadays, musical composition relies on electronic and acoustic
technology and is followedby radiobroadcasts and recordings,with millions
of records being sold all over the world. An English composer recently
remarked that he received a large number of letters from the United States
of America, Canada and Japan,although he had never even been to these
countries.At present, a soloist is better known through his records than by
his performance in the concert halls. Concerts are organized for him
because of the popularity of his recordings;a record will not be made of a
musicians playing simply because he has given a concert.
The same pattern is found in the theatre and opera.Until fairlyrecently,
dramatic works were performed only in the theatre. Today the majority of
the population comes into contact with dramatic works on television,and
the economics of the stage are such that plays are produced in the theatre
with an eye to a subsequent television broadcast.

From the live performance to the televisedperformance

In France,in the case of drama,for example,the audience has increased
from 12 per cent (people going to the theatre once a year) to 59 per cent
(peoplewatching plays on television). These figures represent an audience
gain of nearly half the French population.
Culturalproduction is, thus, a more comprehensive concept than
creation.Far from being an abstract concept,it is expressed in terms of
figures,costs,jobs,prices and imports and exports.It implies the existence
of cultural products-that highly unpopular term-and a widely dis-
tributed consumermarketfor these products. While other terms, such as
software,program,etc.,may be used to refer to cultural production,the
fact of it is definitely here to stay,whether we like it or not, as a cultural,
 Aiding zhe creator 129

L T V L T V L T V L T V L W

Attended a live performance (L)

at least once a year

o
.
...
:
...
:
...
::
...
;
::
..
.5%:.........Watch a recorded performance (TV)
:: often or occasionally

FIG.2. Audiences of live and televised performances in France.

sociological and economic reality. And it has to be discussed in economic,

sociological and cultural terms.
The quality of these cultural products must be excellent, otherwise they
will not be accepted by the consumer public w h o are becoming increasingly
critical in the way they choose from the vast range of material on offer. The
rising costs of cultural production inevitably mean that the capital needed to
produce material with the broadest possible appeal is derived from an
increasingly wider range of sources and the financing of such productions
is even becoming internationalized: this may be seen from a mere glance at
record or fim catalogues.

Cultural production and national identity

Once this notion of cultural production is accepted, the following question
has to be answered: Onwhat conditions can cultural production remain
national, and on what conditions can endogenous cultural production with-
stand the adverse internationalrepercussions of this system of production?
The fist condition for the development of cultural production is that
it must be paid for at its true value. Politicians-and even artists-still fail
to recognize that creative activity (in literature, the visual arts, music, the
theatre, etc.) continues to be badly paid. It is still widely felt, as in Victorian
 130 Aiding the creator

times, that the artist should think himself lucky to have the chance to
exhibit his work. The fact is that many creative artists give up their copyright
simply to have the pleasure of being published, presented, heard or brought
into contact with an audience. The time spent on creating a work is never
taken into account, nor is the real cost of that time. While people are fully
aware of the costs involved in the pharmaceutical or car industry, they do
not have the faintest idea of the cost of an exhibition of paintings or an
operatic production.
T o gauge the mental leap needed in this connection, we should think
of what happened to the price of oil. The price paid today is undoubtedly
more like the realprice-and this is accepted-than the price paid eleven
years ago. This price is more than ten times higher than it was then. If
twice-not ten times-as much money were allocated for culturalproduction,
the problem of cultural identities would cease to exist. The amount that
would have to be doubled is fairly small in absolute terms and represents no
more than around 0.5 per cent of the national budget.
It is believed that cultural domination inevitably goes hand in hand
with economic domination. However, while it is true that the economic
model can continue to operate if a laissez-faire policy is applied, the same
does not necessarily hold true in the case of culture. The cultural system
has a certain degree of individuality.Thus, the book trade began to expand
in Germany and Japan long before any of the effects of political or economic
domination were felt, and even before the beginning of economic develop-
ment (1850 in Germany, 1880 in Japan). A voluntaristic national policy is
economically possible, even in periods of crisis.
It is essential to distinguish the equipment from the programmes: the
internationalization of equipment simply cannot be avoided or combated:
it would be quite impracticable for every country to produce its own video
recorders, tape recorders, satellites or cable system. But internationalization
has to be combated in relation both to the content of this cable system or
satellite and to the way it is used. By adopting a suitable cultural policy,
each country can evolve its own distinctive forms of cultural production.
The second condition for the development of a non-dependentsystem
of cultural production is the determination to encourage pluralism, in terms
both of creative artists and of their publics.
The idea of a plurality of publics is not as clearly accepted as might be
imagined. W e so often speak of the public, sound out the views of the
public, broadcast for the public, whereas there are numerous publics,
forming extremely varied audiences differing according to region, age,
housing, level of education and income. The diversification of the receivers
of the messages and the fact that there is no such thing as a one-dimensional
public have both to be taken into account if creative activity and cultural ex-
pression are to be diversified and creativeactivity is not to be one-dimensional.
A voluntaristic cultural-productionpolicy will be a living policy, and
will avoid massification and self-censorship,if it reflects as closely as pos-
sible the lives of ordinary, working people or consumers and takes into
account their tastes and their ability to react positively to the media. T o this
 Aiding the creator 131

end, it is necessary to create feed-backmachinery. But we should be on our

guard, and bear in mind Brechts observation that those who speak for the
general public are nearly always public enemies. Brecht was thinking of a
one-dimensional public and expressed this view at a time when ccultural
productionwas still uncommon and necessarily geared to mass audiences.
Today, technological progress and the general standard of living are such
that cultural production may significantly outstrip demand, creating a
buyers rather than a sellers market.

T h e role of the state

In our view, the state may play a role in this context. It may do so not by
taking an all-or-nothingline, nor by monopolizing content instead of
adopting a laissez-faire policy, but by resorting to a series of subtle and
progressive compromises. The only prerequisite is that it should keep its
monopoly over the main media (but not the messages) and that it should
have a broad range of financialresources at its disposal in order to encourage
production and help the underprivileged publics. Once it is recognized that
the supposedly egalitarian machinery for ensuring cultural development
unfailingly ends by expanding the minds of those w h o are the best read, the
best informed and the best paid and so gives further privileges to the
privileged, it is possible to design a public-authority intervention policy
which is deliberately inegalitarian and is biased in favour of the most
disadvantaged members of the public-those who live farthest from the
centres, those w h o are most likely to fall prey to mass culture, namely the
young, the old, the uneducated, country-dwellers,and the poor (i.e., those
w h o are left out of all the cultural sociology surveys). In this context,there is
inexhaustible scope for forms of creativeactivity which are as yet unexplored.
The market is criticized when it turns a second-ratebook into a great
book by means of advertising, literary prizes and media coverage. Criti-
cism must also be levelled at the state if it does the same thing.
State intervention therefore has to be very subtly regulated and con-
trolled. In this sense, there is a need for a wide range of methods and
resources, for numerous decision-makingbodies. Attention should be drawn,
in this respect, to the dangers entailed in speaking of theboard of man-
agement or the group of experts (always in the singular). In cultural
matters, if the experts are not themselves connected with cultural activity,
they tend to be unsatisfactory as experts. But if they are connected with
creative activity, they themselves tend to be creative artists, even if they
engage in criticism,and they naturally take the line that their associates are
the best creative artists. All these factors serve to narrow down the audience
and stifle creative pluralism. The need therefore arises to introduce a large
number of choices and creative experiences that are diversified and
decentralized.
There remain those areas for which there is little or no demand, such
as poetry or certain forms of avant-gardeor experimental work. The creative
artist is and always will be ahead of the different publics. Such areas of
 132 Aiding the creator

creative activity should be covered and dealt with through special measures
whereby the state would become involved with the aim of ensuring creative
pluralism. Intervention will always present problems in this context since it
has to be recognized that there is always a deep-seated conflict between
creation and democracy, between the voice of the creative artist and the
voice of the majority. Such a conflict may occur on any commission, or
among a whole population, when the votes of the majority are canvassed
in support of the tastes of a minority.
Effective approaches have to be devised if comprehensive creative,
communicationaland linguistic pluralism is to be ensured. Such approaches
are more closely connected with an up-to-dateknowledge of the market
than with budgetary subsidy. Direct assistance, which is centrally admin-
istered by one government department and controlled by another govern-
ment department (the Treasury), without any opportunity for feedback,has
been clearly recognized as a largely ineffective and even detrimental form of
assistance. Direct subsidy bloats institutions, gradually ossies creative
activity and blunts public receptiveness. Such centralized direct assistance is
necessarily-through the machinery of the different committees and the
adverse consequences of financial control-more chauvinistic, more litist,
less open and less adventurous than decentralized assistance where the funds
come from a number of sources and decisions are made by a broader range
of people. There is no shortage of examples of the dangers of centralized
assistance:we need only think of the way television broadcasting influences
theatrical productions: the producer of a play to be transmitted by a large
national broadcasting company at peak viewing time naturally exercises a
greater degree of self-censorshipthan would a director putting on a play in
a small theatre.
In any discussion on ways of providing assistance for the arts, the
question of patronage is always the first to be broached. Even state officials
seem to want to behave like the princes of bygone days. But the proposal
for patronage should be treated with some scepticism. It leads, for the
reasons suggested above, to an impoverishment and standardization of
cultural production, to one-dimensional cultural production and impov-
erished, standardized, one-dimensionalpublics. The cultural production of
a nation will only be living, rich and creative if it is denationalizedand
developed more along regional or local lines, and if the number of creative
artists and the number of publics are greatly increased, since the two
pluralisms are mutually dependent.
If creative activity can be enriched by organizing pluralism along
voluntaristic lines, a pluralistic approach must be explicitly built into each
of the phases of the production/distributon process.
The policy referred to as patronage,for example,concerns production
(creativeartists) but not distribution. However, distribution is the key phase
in the whole production/marketing process. If the market appears unable
to accommodate multiple distribution in the sense that distribution con-
tinues to be monopolistic or pyramidal, the state should introduce measures
designed to correct the balance. This does not mean that the state should
 Aidihg the creator 133

itself become the distributor, as such a measure would not mean an end to
monopoly. However, the state could help to increase the number of dis-
tributors.In the am industry, for example,specialgrants or subsidies could
be provided for distributors of art films and experimental a m s .
At the retail level, which is where the citizen-consumercomes into
contact with cultural products, there may be a need for involvement on the
part of non-commercialbodies-municipal authorities and libraries, organ-
izations and associations-since no local book- or record-shop can survive
with a low turnover and a very wide range of products. Experiments in
Sweden have shown that subsidizing the production of poetry books is no
guarantee that they will be bought in the bookshops.
Assistance may also be provided for promotion, particularly through
the media, when commercial promoters fail in this respect. However, state
aid should be conceived in such a way that it never diminishes the natural
thrust of the market.
The production phase embraces both the work of the creative artist and
that of the publisher. The above observations on the shortcomings of
direct assistance or patronage as well as the American experiment with the
National Endowment for the Arts in literature or the work of the Arts
Council in Great Britain show that the practice of awarding general grants
to authors or grants for a particular body of work is clearly less effective,
from the creative point of view, than the practice of awardinggrants to small
publishing firms or publishers of journals and magazines. Similarly, it has
been recognized, in the field of music, that an assistance scheme that goes
no further than commissioning composers, and lets commercial publishers
run into serious fnancialdifficulties,will ultimately create ghettos producing
work that never reaches the public. The role of the publisher, with all it
involves in terms of flair, choice, personal risk, individualism and even
arbitrariness,seems to be essential for the enrichment and development of
cultural production. In this context too, instead of replacing the market, the
state should unobtrusively keep abreast of market trends and introduce a
variety of measures to assist small businessmen (advances on takings,
traditional export subsidies,etc.).
In the case of both production and distribution, it is necessary to
eschew a dualistic approach whereby production is divided into the big
commercial successes from the stars and experimental work aimed at a
limited public. Both the best-seller and a wide range of craftproducts are
essential for a vigorous system of national production.
In short, in order to protect cultural identities and creative activity
against the dangers of foreign domination, a policy designed to secure a
vigorous and attractive system of cultural production will support small
producers, small distributors and small venues through a balanced set of
(rare) direct forms of assistance and (numerous)indirect forms of assistance.
However, it will avoid weakening those powerful firms that are able to
expand markets at home and abroad and will fully utilize multi-media
productionsand the new technology which has already been introduced in
the major world markets.
 134 Aiding the creator

In our view, the cultural production of a nation will be creative and will
be capable of reflecting local, regional and national cultural identities and,
therefore, of withstanding adverse world market forces, if measures are
successfully taken to increase the price paid for creative work, introduce
pluralism and the decentralization of decision-makingand funding bodies,
limit direct assistance to sectors in evident need and unobtrusively keep
abreast of market trends.
All countries are aware of the implications,for the future of culture, of
the relations between the media and creation, both in industrialized regions
and in developing areas. In this context, the Asian ministers of culture, like
the European and Latin American ministers of culture, recommended, at
their conference in Jogjakarta in 1973,that the Unesco Member States:
Help creative artists develop their ability to use the possibilities offered by audio-
visual technical resources.
Encourage the growth and use of the mass media to reflect the true culturalidentity
of peoples and build a better society.
Formulate integrated policies for culture and communication which take into
account both the culturalpotential and the dangers of the media and establish
appropriate mechanisms for broad participationin determiningsuch policies.
Foster public appreciation of creative works through the media and maximum
access and participation by audiences in the communication process,
including a continuous flow of ideas between the public, the artists and
producers.
 Chapter 6 Knowledge is not composed offigures but
figures are an essential conditionfor its
development.
Einstein

Instruments of analysis
The scale of cultural phenomena, the rate of their development and, above
all, their novelty are such that it is no longer possible today to lay down
policies on the basis of personal experience and the past only. If cultural
development is to take its rightful place in relation to social and economic
development, we must also make cultural policy rational and objective.And
cultural life is so deeply impregnated with intangible values, programmes
are still so lacking in clear and consistent aims, that this can only be done by
the use of facts and figures obtained through recourse to the social sciences.
It seems difficult to escape this conclusion if we wish to base cultural
policy not on preconceived ideas but on actual experience.
This is not to eliminate all ideological, normative or ethical consider-
ations-quite the contrary-it is simply more sensible to bring in ideology
after a comprehensive information process rather than before, when it
would tend to confuse the picture regarding the actual situation, the needs
and the alternatives.

A more scientific approach

A distinction is to be made between preparing decisions and decision-
making. Decisions are affected by non-rational contingencies (extraneous
political imperatives, personality factors, hunches, and so on), but the
actual preparation should be logical; that is, it should be based on data
scientifically collected on the existing situation and needs, and be presented
in the form of alternatives,with clear criteria for choosing between them and
an assessment of the probable consequences in each case.
It is only when the options are known and a choice is being made
between them that ideological considerations-of whatever kind-should be
brought in (pressure groups, public opinion, different forces at work in the
country concerned). In this way we can make best use of the scientific
experimental method, the most potent instrument of change produced in
modern times.
What needs quantscation is not culture, but facilities and resources.
 136 Instruments of analysis

This operation might seem essentially philistine and anti-cultural, since

culture is concerned with human values and qualities. In fact it is extremely
profitable. Only when the figures have been collected can w e begin to under-
stand a countrys cultural potential and make a systematic inventory of its
cultural institutions, their staff and activities, the public they serve and
what they cost; and these data can then be used as a basis for deter-
mining norms and yardsticks of efficiency-even economic efficiency-and
so, eventually, for laying down criteria by which the public authorities
can act.
On the basis of these criteria, the policy followed can be evaluated at
the end of a period of public involvement. In the early 1980s,experts are
increasingly being requested to conduct evaluations.
While most countries possess some statistics on cultural activities or
cultural expenditure, particularly since 1970,these figures do not represent
a consistent or uniform body of information. They are compiled in con-
nection with ad hoc reforms or isolated studiesprepared by public or private
bodies (universities, ministries, planning departments, statistics offices).
However, they are not based on a c o m m o n nomenclature or gathered
according to a standard methodology which would make it possible to
study trends over a number of years.
There are, for instance, figures for household budgets and local-
council expenditure and trade figures for admission to places of entertain-
ment, but these are utterly disparate, have no c o m m o n purpose and lack
all semblance of co-ordination.
It is clear from comparison of the data at present available in thevarious
countries that the introduction of a quantitative element into national
cultural policies must be preceded by the following five kinds of operation:
Statistical work, properly speaking: installation of a system for collecting
cultural statistics relating in particular to existing cultural facilities,the
people who use them, the staff servicing them and the activities engaged
in, with cost analysis where possible.
The study of nancial flows, with particular reference to public expenditure,
at national, regional and local levels, and household expenditure.
The statistical study of the professions and occupations connected with
culture;the number of personnel in each field of activity, age pyramids,
incomes, openings for students from specialized schools.
Studies indicating the relation between the cost and the benefits of the
differentpolicies adopted, at local or national level (this type of study
leads to work on social indicators and the rationalization of budgetary
options).
The introduction of complete national cultural accounts and a consideration
of the economics of culture.
As most countries have not made enough or sufticiently detailed surveys,
and because of the actual difficulty of producing statistics which can be used
for practical purposes, the above five operations are frequently combined.
However, the fact remains that they should be carried out not separately,
but at the same time and in close co-operation.
 Instruments of analysis 137

The need for cultural statistics was rst expressed at the first Inter-
national Conference of Ministers of Culture, which was held in Venice
in 1970.It was re-stated in subsequent years at each regional conference of
ministers (Asia, Africa, Latin America). The various preparatory studies
undertaken led, in 1980, to the adoption by the Unesco General Conference
of a recommendationto the Member States concerning the international
standardization of statistics on the nancing of cultural activities from
public funds. Further, various United Nations agencies have undertaken to
prepare a framework for cultural statistics.This work will take twenty years
to complete, but considerable progress has already been made during the
past decade.

Cultural statistics
During the 1970s, several Member States took unprecedented steps to
rationalize the collection and presentation of cultural statistics,particularly
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Italy, the
Netherlands, N e w Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden (a list of
the yearbooks known to the authors is given at the end of the chapter).
In many of these countries, the surveys have been conducted on an ad
hoc basis in connection with the implementation of specific programmes of
action; they have not been regular, let alone continuous, and are rarely
integrated into a consistent body of statistics. However, they are all of
considerable significance in methodological terms, even though they reflect
a broad range of administrative structures.
Cultural statistics are compiled in two ways. One way is to collect as
many figures as possible, without knowing in advance what the admin-
istrators and research workers will need: this is what national statistics
offices tend to do. The other way is to collect figures corresponding either
to very limited objectives (such as the decision as to h o w many professional
musicians to train) or to the general-but precise-objectives of a develop-
ment policy: this is what ministries of culture tend to do,
Most experts emphasize that it is important not merely to draw up
theoretical lists, but to obtain data necessary for taking decisions, deter-
mining cultural policy and verifying results. The collection of exhaustive
cultural statisticsis a long-termventure.To begin with,rather than attempting
to cover everything, it is preferable to gather data according to real needs
and precise objectives. At the outset, however, the need is for a constant,
standard methodology so that data obtained may be comparable as between
sectors, different regions of a country and different points in time.
.
T o be useful for policy-making,cultural statistics should meet certain
requirements:
They should be presented in a uniform, standardized form and should be
covered by regular surveys: this will permit comparisons over different
periods as well as ways of constructively relating different fields.
They should gradually cover all aspects of cultural life,not excluding certain
domains that are particularly difficult to investigate (for example, the
 138 Instruments of analysis

TABLE5. Figures relating to public reading throughout the world

Federal
Republic of
Belgium Canada Denmark Finland France Germany
Item (1962) (1964) (1965) (1 965) (1965) (1965)

Population 9 221 o00 19 200 O00 4 654O00 4500000 48000000 59 196000

Number of public
libraries 2 597 839 1423 4 167 620 11 200
Percentage of the
population served 89 69.6 98 90 69 78
Number of books 12286 O00 18 981 077 12 364 o00 8 784 445 14 900O00 26 397 888
Number of volumes
per inhabitant 1.36 0.98 2.53 1.90 0.31 0.60
Number of readers
inscribed 1320000 7 678 000 1 420 O00 920 O00 2 210 O00 6 078 898
Percentage of the
population 14.2 40 31 20 4.6 11
Number of loans
per year 19 038 000 76 177 759 31 200 O00 19 968 088 24 635 O00 69 959 241
Number of loans
per Year
per inhabitant
(population
served) 2.31 5.8 7.0 5 0.74 1.80
Number of loans.
per year per
reader 15.7 18.6 21 22 11 11.6
Total annual
expenditure (in
French francs) 30 244 880 123 142 600 81 445 000 23 715 600 31 200 o00 150 779 574
Expenditure in
10 oooths of the
gross national
product 4.01 - 18.2 - 0.71 3.21
Annual expenditure
per inhabitant (in
French francs) 3.28 6.36 17.50 5.12 0.65 3.23
Annual expenditure
on purchase of
books
Annual expenditure
- 40 410 000 - 9486240 9600000 -
per inhabitant
on purchase of
books - 2.10 - 2.06 0.20 -
Source: La Voix, No. 75,December 1966.
 Instruments of analysis 139

United
United States of
Japan Netherlands Norway Spain Switzerland U.S.S.R. Kingdom America
(1963) (1962) (1964) (1964) (1964) (1963) (1965) (1964)

96 160 O00 11 797 000 3 700 O00 31 O00 000 5 700 O00 221 465 000 54 066 000 193 800 O00
943 781 1341 2 120 5 863 126 O00 - 6 141
71 92 13 71 81 91 100 80
19986000 6326000 5 143 000 24 710 O00 7 920O00 407 495 600 83 O00 O00 270 O00 O00
0.21 0.54 1.39 0.80 1.39 1.84 1.50 1.39
12120000 1083000 - 2 151 000 - 68120000 16320000 38810000
11.3 9.15 - 8.1 - 31 30 20
63 212 O00 27 770 000 8 210 000 27 250 000 5 200 000 810 212 O00 510 O00 000 840000O00

0.94 2.55 3.04 1.20 1.10 4.5 9.40 5.4

5.20 21 - 10.8 - 11 31 21.8

221 168 O00 71 135 900 11 970000 27 280000 21 594 076 - 569970000 2561 O00000
- 7.01 - 3.12 3.36 - 12.8 8.02

2.30 6.03 2.10 0.88 3.79 - 10.50, 12.60

37 598 560 14 227 000 - 9300000 4484710 - 189990000 640025000

0.41 1.25 - 0.30 0.78 - 3.50 3.15

 140 instruments of analysis

socio-culturalsector, amateur activities, multipurpose cultural activity,

new forms of cultural activity).
They should in each case furnish a systematic list of the main factors
involved: activities, running costs, capital investment (total cost,
estimated annual repayment or interest on loans), staff, public reached,
legal status.They should make it possible to assess a country's cultural
potential and estimate the level of its cultural development over the
years.
They should comprehensively reflect trends in cultural consumption and
behaviour and indicate changes in activities favoured by the public and
by those engaged in providing them.

United States

io? 108
27
Netherlands "mark ......................* : ............23
~
--,
,,,
---
~--
-i_
_--
i--
--i
---

6 ? 79 100 a 8 (05 a G? lob 8 loe b9,O.e0 fi 4

d ? ? ? ?d??d?d,s d d ? d ? ? ?
*,
$$
.. $@ 4,

FIG.3. Cinema audience trends throughout the world (millions)(after supplement

to No.182-3 of the Bulletin d'information du Centre national de la cinmatographie,
Paris).
 141
Instruments of analysis
I t .E
via

v1
 I42 Instruments of analysis

W e shall try to illustrate our argument by giving a number of examples of

international or national cultural statistics on public reading and on cinema
attendance. The fact that some of these statistics refer to different periods
is not taken into account in this particular context.
Table 5 shows that, in the case of one particular category of cultural
goods (books) and a clearly identifiable service (lending), the calculation of
ratios provides a basis for inter-country comparison.The number of loans
a year per inhabitant varies from 0.74 to 9.40(twelve times more in Great
Britain than in France) and annual expenditure per inhabitant ranges
between 0.65 F and 17.50 F (twenty-six times more in Denmark than in
France). Such comparisonsserve to provide an incentive for planners and are
useful for cultural-policy-makerswho have to defend them before the elected
representatives. Activity/user or activity/inhabitantratios are always more
significant than absolute figures or amounts in local currencies. They
represent a goal to be achieved in international statistics.
The data on reading were presented in a synchronic table.Figure 3, on
cinema audience trends, underlines the importance of diachronic analyses.
It shows the significance of the film market in the nine countries under
review and gives a picture of cinema audience trends over a period of twenty
years. The decline in cinema attendance (linked with the spread of television
sets) and the subsequent improvement in attendance figures in the United
States provide food for thought on the possible revival of the seventh art
in Europe.
In Table 6, by way of example, more detailed data are given on the
film industry in one of these nine countries: the Federal Republic of
Germany.
Further information on the types of lms produced in the film industry
may be gleaned from tables such as Table 7 concerning Czechoslovakia.

TABLE7. Films made in Czechoslovakia between 1957 and 1961

Films 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961

Full-length 27 31 35 36 45
Features 26 29 35 36 40
Documentaries 1 2 - - 5
Short films 488 516 556 646 526
Documentaries 95 71 65 87 86
Popular science films 70 65 59 81 55
Technical and instructionalfilms 149 168 201 214 195
Animated cartoons 11 8 20 23 20
Puppet films 9 7 16 12 10
Other types of ims 154 197 195 229 160
Newsreels 194
- 230 241 235
- 205
TOTAL 709 777 832 917 776
Dubbed versions of lms (in Czech
and Slovak) 59 48 58 59 101
 instruments of analysis 143

Occupational statistics
Statistics on books and the cinema are fairly easily obtainable. Data on
professional cultural workers are much harder to come by. It is difficult to
pinpoint exactly w h o such workers are. What, for instance, in a general
census, serves to distinguish a sculptor who fashions works of fine art from
stonefrom a sculptor who works as a monumental mason? The two examples
given below show that considerable care has to be exercised in any attempt
to compile occupational statistics on creative artists.
If discussions are to be held along well-defined lines between the artists
unions, the professional bodies and the government, then precise, totally
reliable figures are needed. Since ancient times, the power of the day,
whether monarchic or democratically elected, has had the task of protecting

TABLE8. The number of architectsin selected countries (1965)

Number of Number of inhabitants
Country architects per architect

Belgium 5 422 1 729

Denmark 2 012 2 290
Federal Republic of Germany 22 500 2 560
United Kingdom 20 220 2 660
Netherlands 4 O00 2 950
Sweden 2 024 3 710
German Democratic Republic 4 000 4400
Finland 800 5 621
France 7 774 6 238
Canada 2 836 6 376
United States 30 O00 6 527
Luxembourg 147 6 810
Italy 5 816 8 716
Spain 2 362 12 701
Brazil 3000 21 667
Mexico 600 27 272
Marked increase in Sweden and the United States
The number of architects in Sweden increased by 46 per cent between 1960 and 1966,and
in the United States by 65 per cent between 1952 and 1965, and again by 38 per cent
between 1977 and 1979.
Record increase in Canada
Between 1950 and 1966, the number of architects in Canada increased by 148 per cent.
Next on the list come Finland (+112 per cent), Spain (+89 per cent), Italy (+73 per cent),
the United States (+70 per cent), the United Kingdom (+33 per cent) and Denmark
(+28 per cent).
Belgium: one architect per 1,729 inhabitants
Belgium,where it has been made compulsory to consult an architect for every building oper-
ation, has the largest number of architects per head of population (one per 1,729 inhabi-
tants); next come Denmark (one per 2,290 inhabitants) and the Federal Republic of
Germany (one per 2,560 inhabitants).
 144 Instruments of analysis

artists, who were seen as the creators of civilizations.Today, such protection

can be afforded only with a full knowledge of all its implications and rami-
fications, and the socio-economic status of individualistic, isolated artists
is a matter of serious concern for contemporary governments. It is essential
to have a knowledge, first of all, of the employment and pay conditions of
culturalworkers. But it is equally necessary to study the ways in which the
artistic community is renewed and to consider the numbers of different
artists to be trained, the content of their training and the career openings for
qualied personnel.
This point is usefully illustrated by the following example. Recognizing
the poor conditions of employment in the various professions connected
with architecture,a minister responsible for architectural training compiled
some statistics,in 1965,with a view to determining the number of architects
to be placed in the job market each year. An attempt at an inter-country
comparison is given in Table 8. However, the usefulness of such a com-
parison is notably limited by the dissimilarities in the way the architectural
profession is defined from country to country.
Swedish statistics show considerable variations in the figures according
to the job nomenclature used. A study published in 1967 by the Swedish
Ministry of Labour put the number of persons professionally engaged in
cultural activity at 50,000, probably less than half of w h o m were working
full time. The distribution by categories was as follows: the fine arts, 16,000;
literature, 7,000;music, 20,000, the theatre, 2,000; other activities, 5,000.
This estimate took in a wide range of related activities such as the work
of museum staff, teachers and architects (in the ne arts) and the work of
librarians, publishers and booksellers (in the case of literary activities). It
subsequently seemed preferable, with a view to obtaining more accurate
data, to refer to the membership figures for the different professional organ-
izations such as the Association of Writers or the National Organization of
Artists, since every artist in Sweden belongs to a professional organization.
This approach gave the much lower total of 12,000 persons, divided as
follows: 3,000members (four organizations) in the fine arts; 2,000members
(four organizations) in literary activities; 5,000 members (four organizations)
in music; and 2,000members (four organizations) in the theatre.
The disparities between these two estimates are explained by the fact
that a different criterion of professional status was used in the two surveys.
However, it is conceivable that the needs and the aims of the particular
ministry of labour (to assess the major occupational categories among the
population) differed from those of the ministry of culture (concerned with
identifying which cultural agents would be likely to need specific support).
For American musicians, the employment situation altered signifi-
cantly during the years 1970-79. From 1971 to 1974, their unemployment
rate dropped from 7.9 per cent to 7.1 per cent, whereas the total number of
professional musicians rose from 116,000 to 140,000. By contrast, the
1975 recession took the unemployment rate back up to 7.9 per cent, and it
rose further to 9.1 per cent in 1976. After 1976, the unemployment rate
dropped steadily to reach 6.1 per cent in 1979. This period saw a fall in
Instruments of analysis 145
:z
+ + 3
:
3
+
2 o!
a 2
3
+ +
Co
+ 3
B
2
O 2
I + ' O$
P
 170,000 Number of musicians

160,000 i
i 154,O

I
150,000
145,000
140,000

130,000

L
120,000

I I IIII II
K?
3
fi @
3 3
$fi $ $
9 $$ $ $?
FIG.4.Musicians in the United States (compiled on the basis of data from the
Bureau ofLabor Statistics,National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division).

the total number of professional musicians, which went down from 165,000
in 1976 to 154,000 in 1979. This would seem to indicate that a large number
of musicians (11,000)have not become unemployed but have simply left
the musical profession altogether.

Analysis of financial flows

The most important cultural statistics for governments, and those which
present the least problems for the compiler-as accounts will already have
been extensively prepared for administrative purposes-are the financial
flows connected with culture.
The analysis of expenditure by the different economic agents gives a
clear idea of the flow of funds between central government, the local auth-
orities, public or semi-public organizations, non-profit private institutions,
commercial rms and private individuals. Governments can thus form a
clear idea of how public cultural expenditure compares with other sources
of funds and ascertain whether or not the nal distribution reflects the
established cultural priorities.
Once in possession of the figures, we can process them in various
 instruments of analysis 147

differentways, so as to give quantitative data on what the main cultural

policy options involve. The most important indicators include the following:
The cultural budget of the state as a percentage of the total budget and the
budgets of other government departments (in particular, education
and health).
The cultural budget of the state as a percentage of national income.
The total national expenditure on culture as a percentage of national income.
Expenditure by the state, regional authorities, local authorities, industries
catering for culture, associations and households as percentages of
total national expenditure on culture.
Expenditure on different activities (theatre, music, libraries, etc.) as per-
centages of expenditure by the various economic agents (state,regional
authorities,etc.).
The ratio between operating expenses and capital investment.
The ratio between subsidies and direct expenditure.
The cost of the various activities per inhabitant and per user.
The following pages contain several statistical figures and tables, with
inter-country comparisons where possible. These tables show that, besides
their direct or indirect usefulness to administrators, statistics provide a
basis for designing alternative cultural policies in the sense that they may
state

Toial
source

State
--
in millions
of francs

1,670
%
10.0
County coulcils I68 1.0
Municipalities 2,116 12.6
Households 12,816 76.4
Total 16.770 100.0

FIG.5. National cultural expenditure (Sweden,1979).

 148 Instruments of analysis

suggest different ways of distributing funds between fields or even different

ways of allocating funds for the various functions (creative work, dissemi-
nation, preservation, training) or different types of activity within specific
fields.
Figure 5 and its related table show that in Sweden household expen-
diture is nearly four times higher than overall public expenditure and
represents more than three-quarters of national cultural expenditure.l

--...
/---
MilliSlry
ofculture other :
hirable goods
. minjrtner

[television. audio,
video and f i

mmuna

Records

TelnririOa
Hcence

Pedomees, Chcm
cntertiinmentr,
etc.

77.9%

Other public authorities

22.5%
Mlnistry ofCultum

In millions
Source of frann 96

Public authorities 12 o00

Ministry of Culture 2640 4.2
Other nnistnes 3 300 5.3
Dpartements and regions 500 0.8
Communes 5 700 9.I
Households 50 o00 80.6
Total iiptioiinl consumption 62 o00 100

FIG.6. National cultural expenditure (France, 1979,in millions of francs).

1. A distinction is made between national expenditure and expenditure by public auth-

orities (state,county councils,municipalities) discussed in the following pages, since the
latter does not include household expenditure.
 Instruments of analysis 149

Preservation
of monuments
Booksand cinema Newspapers 1,672
Cinema !2
.S>reqervationof monuments 48
Books and publi5ree-g 49
Archives 51 -i>Cl
Grants and awards to artists 63
Other activities I9
Music 155

Museums 192

Adult 293
-lpoo
education

Theatre 326

Adult education - 500

Newspapers 394
and periodicals

In mulions
of franu
Francs per Percentage
Seetor inhabitant by sector
~

Theatre 39.2 19.5

Music 18.7 9.3
Museums,exhibitions,visual arts 23.2 11.5
Archives 6.1 3.O
Preservationof monuments 5.5 2.9
Books and public reading 5.9 2.9
Newspapers and periodicals 47.5 23.6
Cinema 2.6 1.3
Adult education 35.4 17.5
Grants and b a r d s to artists 7.6 3.8
Other activities 9.6 4.7
Total 2013 100.0
(i.e. 1.672 mulion francs)

FIG.7. Cultural expenditure by the state (Sweden, 1979).

 150 Instruments of analysis

Pompidou
Centre Archives

5,486
Archive .- 1o9
Pompidou Cent1 182
Theatr 229
Newspapers;andperiodical 247

Cinem 254

Administratioi 315

Book 468

Mush 753

Heritagi 803
Heritage

Museum 890

Francs per Percentage

sector inhabitant by sector Multipurpose 1,236
~

cultural
Theatre, shows, etc. 4.4 4.2 activities
Music, opera, dance 14.5 13.7
Museums, visual arts, crafts 17.1 16.2
Archives 2.1 2.0
Heritage, excavations, architecture 15.4 14.6
Books, public reading 9.0 In mglia
8.5 of fra
Newspapers and periodicals 4.7 4.5
Cinema, audio-visualmedia 4.9 4.6
Multipurpose cultural activities 23.8 22.6
Pompidou Centre 3.5 3.3 .
Administration and general research 6.1 5.8
Total 105.5 100.0
(i.e. 5,486million francs)

FIG.8. Cultural expenditure by the state (France, 1978).

 Instruments of analysis 151

Theatre
and dance

Grants and
awards
to artists meatre
'% and dance

1960
3.6 miion
kronor

Other
cultural
Grants and activities Theatre Books and
libraries
1973
18.8 miion
kronor in 1960

Adult
education 30%

50.6 million
kronor in 1960
Books and
libraries
FIG.9. Cultural expenditure by regional authorities (Sweden, 1960-79)
(after Kulturstatistik, Sveriges officiella statist&, Stockholm, 1981).
 152 Instruments of analysis

1%
Current cultural
by captons
14(
Current cultural expenditure
13( .bycommunes

12( Fiscal revenue of cantons n

Il(

1 O(

9(

8C

7c

6C

50

40

30

20

10

I 500francs
j 1,000

1,500

2,000

12,500

Current cultural expenditure by communes and cantons expressed

in Swiss francs per inhabitant

FIG.10.Cultural expenditure by regional authorities (Switzerland,1970).

 Instruments of analysis 153

The municipalities bear a greater proportion of the public expenditure

on culture (55 per cent) than the state (40 per cent). The county councils
account for only 4 per cent of public expenditure.
In France, expenditure by households is four times that of the public
sector as a whole. Public expenditure on culture therefore represents less
than 20 per cent of national cultural expenditure.
A very substantial increase occurred (1,500 per cent in constant prices)
between 1960 and 1979.It was over thirtyfold in the theatre, dance and the
visual arts. The average increase was fourteenfold.
The books and libraries and museums items registered a fall in
percentage terms (although expenditure rose fivefold and eightfold in
absolute terms): the reason is that the need for public reading facilities and
museums is sufficiently recognized by the population for them to be made
the responsibility of the municipalities.During the period under review, the
municipalities actually increased their spending on these items.
Figure 10, showing the current cultural expenditure of the communes
and cantons, eloquently reflects socio-geographic disparities. Social activi-
ties, which are cultural in the broad sense of the term, may be an important
part of life in small communities and are not heavily fnanced out of public
funds. In the main, however, the level and diversity of cultural life are
determined by the size of the financial commitment of the public authorities.
Thus, in 1960 and 1970, economic development in major urban centres led
to a real development in cultural activity in those centres. In numerical
terms (calculated in constant francs), the current cultural expenditure of
communes with a population of over 10,000 rose by 90.3 per cent over a
ten-year period, whereas it increased by only 34.9 per cent in communes
with between 500 and 9,999 inhabitants. A similar pattern has been regis-
tered in the disparities between the cultural expenditure of economically
strong cantons and economically weak cantons. Comparison of the current
cultural expenditure of the cantons and communes with their respective
fiscal revenues, as shown on the chart, will provide a basis for an interpret-
ation of these disparities.
In Sweden (Fig. 1 I), libraries easily account for the largest proportion
of expenditure. In municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, they
are followed by free music schools and then by the grant-aided adult
education organizations (study circles). In small municipalities, most
cultural expenditure is channelled into these three activities.
The larger the municipality, the wider the range of cultural activities
such as theatre (in the main towns), concerts and museums. Nevertheless,
large cities still spend more on libraries (in absolute terms and in francs per
inhabitant), as they have more resources available and spend twice as much
on culture as the smaller urban centres.
 154 Instruments of analysis

428

BZ8
299

18
15

238
225
215 66

54
59

59
150 -
50 54
54

100 -
119
97

50 - 84
90

0-9999 10,000- 20,000- 30,000- 50,000- 100,000 over

19,999 29999 49999 99,999 149,999 iSOp00 inhabitants

I/ Other activities: cinema, photography, cultural administration

Preservation of monuments

Music exhibitions, purchases of works of art and grants to.artists

.Theatre

Adult education, maintenance of,premisesused by associations

Music and dance, music schools

Libraries

FIG.11. Cultural expenditure by municipalities, according to size of the town and

activity (Sweden,1979)(in francs per inhabitant).
 Instrumentsof analysis 155

rn
7 Other activities: cinema,;photography,communication
6 Architecture, excavations,historic monuments

5 Museums,visual arts
4 Theatre, other forms of entertainment

Multipurpose cultural activities 251

2 Music

Books,archives,libraries 51
205
201

31
38
29
21
13
42
21 33
60
11

m.
.
.
.
..
.
.
..
..
...
..
.
.......
.......
......
..
.
..
~........

8
5
..
3
1
2
10,000-
19,999
.
.
...
..

.
..
.
.
..
.
...
..........
.
..
...
..
........
...
....
.
81

.....................
...........
...
..
.........
. . . .
.........
..
..

..
..
.....
......
..

.
.
..

.
..
...
.
... 39
.........
..
....... 1
84

20,000-
29,999
7
29

18
1s
30,000-
49,999
53

24

32

50,000-
99,999
54

i00,000-
149,999
78

Over
85

23

150,000inhabitants

Sue of commune' Expenditure by communes in !francsper inhabitant

1 2 3 4 5 6 7Toal
10,000-19,999 12 17 39 3 5 2 3 81
20,000-29,999 15 18 29 6 12 3 1 84
30,000-49,999 32 24 53 11 21 3 7 151
5O ,000-99 $99 28 54 60 21 31 8 3 205
ioo,ooo-a~,999 32 78 42 29 57 11 2 251
over 150,000 23 8.5 33 13 38 6 3 201
(excluding Paris)
1. Provisionaldata based on a sample which does not include Paris or communes wjth fewer than 10,000inhabitants;
no data are available in France for towns with a population of less than 10,000.

FIG.12. Cultural expenditure by municipalities,according to size of town and

activity (France, 1978)(in francs per inhabitant).
 156 Instruments of analysis

TABLE10. Expenditure by eighty-nineEuropean municipalities

Assessment as Per capita

Number percentage assessment
of inhabitants of the total budget in francs

Under 10000 0.74 3.47

10 o00 to 20 o00 2.35 8.50
20 O00 to 50 O00 2.61 17.53
50000to100000 3.69 26.07
100 O00 to 200 000 3.10 40.17
200 000 to 500 000 3.60 37.05
Over 500 O00 4.04 69.13

It will be seen from Table 10 that cultural expenditure increases in direct

proportion to the size of the municipalities,the differences between extreme
cases being from 1 to 5 as far as the percentage of total municipal expenditure
is concerned and from 1 to 15 as far as per capita expenditure is concerned.

TABLE11. Percentage distribution of cultural expenditure by sectors

Single-purposeactivities (%)
Multi-
Number Plastic Public purpose
of inhabitants Theatre Music arts libraries activities Total

Under 10 O00 3 24 2 23 49 100

loo00 to 20000 12 33 3 37 15 100
20000 to 50000 31 15 18 19 17 100
50000 to 100000 24 18 14 31 13 100
100 o00 to 200 O00 39 21 15 16 9 100
200 o00 to 500 o00 49 11 12 22 6 100
Over 500 o00 44 8 12 27 9 100

As can be seen in Table 11 the variations in the various sectors are remark-
ably regular:
The proportion of allocationsfor shows (theatre,dramatic art, etc.) increases
steadily with the size of the municipalities until it becomes predominant
in large towns with more than 100,000inhabitants.
On the contrary, the proportion set aside for music reaches its maximum in
small towns, mainly in municipalities of from 10,000 to 20,000 inhabi-
tants;it becomes stable at about 15 to 20 per cent up to 200,000inhabi-
tants, and decreases in large towns.
The plastic arts, which receive hardly any funds in the cultural budgets of
municipalities with under 20,000 inhabitants, receive about 15 per cent
of the cultural budget in larger towns, regardless of size.
The proportion set aside for public libraries is much the same in towns of
all sizes.
 Instruments of analysis 157

Mixed formulae for cultural activities (multi-purposecultural centres, youth

clubs, etc.) are, like music, a particular feature of small towns and more
especially of municipalities with a population of under 10,000.
In the light of these results it would be tempting to conclude that there is a
certain specialization of activities according to the category of municipality.
Such specialization seems to lead to a sort of division of labour, with the
large towns, at one end of the scale, concentrating on the dissemination of
culture and small municipalities, at the other, giving priority to active
promotion.

Distribution of public expenditure on culture at administrativelevels

The above diagrams and tables show the flow of public funds at national,
regional and municipal levels. At this point, it would be useful to make an
inter-country comparison of these data.
Three of the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden)
have virtually the same levels of expenditure; a similar pattern is found in
French cultural expenditure.
The Swiss example is more interesting in terms of both the information
itself and its presentation. Music, for instance, is undoubtedly extremely
popular in that country. Hence, there is no need for vast public expenditure
at confederation level, while the communes spend twice as much on music as
the cantons.
O n the other hand, the state takes charge of heritage conservation: in
Switzerland, conservation is primarily funded by the confederation and the
cantons. Adult education is similarly considered to be the responsibility of
the state.

TABLE12. Public expenditure on cultural activities at different administrative

levels in Finland, France,Norway and Sweden (percentages)

Finland France Norway Sweden

State 45 49 40 42
Regional - 4 4 4
Municipal 55 41 56 54

Analysis of cultural expenditure at each of the administrative levels

(state, regions, municipalities) will provide a basis for the compilation of a
table showing all the public expenditure on culture by a country,distributed
by cultural activity.
The main items of state cultural expenditure may be determined by
reference to the point of intersection of the area of cultural activity and the
cultural-policy functions: preservation, production, animation, training,
research and administration (or general backup).
 158 Instruments of analysis

Music

=
El
Theatre,dance
Fine arts

Literature
un
OU
Cinema U
Heritage protection
and development

Museums
m
mm a
Libraries and
book dissemination
Adult education,'multipurpose
OU
Ilturai centresjand other centres
i i i l d i l L L U
30 20 10 O 10 20 30 3020 10 O
Communes Cantons Confederation

FIG.13. Switzerland:distribution of current cultural expenditure by public auth-

orities in 1970,by cultural activity and as percentage of total.

In Italy, as in all European countries, television now accounts for the

highest proportion of household expenditure, to the detriment of the
theatre and the cinema. It is interesting to note, however, that this swing
stems more from the significantexpansion of radio and television between
1950 and 1970 than from a decline in the theatre, other leisure pursuits and
sport which, on the contrary, have attracted considerably greater spending
as part of an overall trend towards more shows and entertainments. At
constant prices, the Italians spent twice as much in 1979 as they did in 1950.
The 1950s and 1960s registered the sharpest increases; growth has clearly
slowed down since 1970. If the problem were considered in terms of time
budget rather than household financial budget, there would be a much
greater gap between television and other areas of cultural activity.Television
offers by far the least expensive form of entertainment, and also presents
this entertainment in the living-room, so that viewers are spared the effort
of 'going out'.
Whilst the cultural expenditure of families in France in 1965 rep-
resented 83 per cent of the total cultural expenditure of the nation, such
expenditure constituted only 2.6 per cent of the family budget. The expen-
diture of French households on culture and leisure has increased rapidly
over the past fifteen years or so. Expenditure has increased even faster only
in hygiene and health, transport, and telecommunications.
The greatest increase has been in expenditure on durable goods-which
tends to conrm the theory that the expansion of leisure activities is occur-
ring increasingly, not so much in places of entertainment as in the family
 instruments of analysis 159

Other

Grants to artists
mument presewation A g g a
*\
Archives Cinema
'$+ /
activities

7
Miscellaneous
activities
203

60
.4
18
Monument preservation 80
Newspapers 279
and periodicals

Museums 282

;e
s
u
M y . 8 7 / \ .3rn I Adult education 324
exhibitions,
visual arts I
\\ / Music

Theatre' 426

Theatre

Music 503

Libraries, 648
literature

Kronor
(miiiions)

FIG.14. Total public expenditure on cultural activities (state, regions, munici-

palities) (Sweden, 1977) (after Kulturstatistik, Sveriges officiella statistik, Stock-
holm, 1981).
 160 Instruments of analysis

1,195.8

Activities

Music 01.0 0.9

Heritage

Museums

Cultural
developmen t1

Performances,
entertainments,etc. 31C

Books
.........
.....
.....
. ....
.........
.....
.....
Visual arts .o2 00.8

Archives

Cinema

General
administration
m _ _

..........
.
.
.
.
.....
. ....
...
.........
.........
.
.........
...
.
.........
.........
..........
.........
n
21.0 03.9
...
.
...
...
.
...
...
.......
...
. ...
. ...
..
07.8
01.7

04.1

01.1
01.0

sS:S,!
04.2
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
.........
........
30111!:!:!:

1. Cultural centres, Pompidou Centre,multipurpose cultural activities,Fonds d'Intervention

Culturelle.

FIO.15. France: budget of the Ministry of Culture for 1981 (in millionsof francs,
at 1981 value) (after Dveloppement culturel, Information Bulletin of the Study
and Research Department of the Ministry of Culture, No. 50).
 Instrumentsof analysis 161

TABLE13. Cultural expenditure by households: household expenditure trends

by activity

Italy, 1950-79 (in thousand millions of francs at 1970 values)

Areas
of activity 1950 % 1960 % 1970 % 1979 %

Theatre 132.27 7.8 105.81 3.9 145.49 3.8 213.39 5.9

Cinema 1155.15 68.5 1561.66 56.8 1603.99 41.8 1044.93 29.0
sport 109.34 6.5 184.29 6.7 298.93 7.8 396.81 11.0
Other leisure
pursuits 149.02 8.9 267.18 9.7 703.67 18.3 807.72 22.5
Radio and
television 139.32 8.3 627.84 22.9 1089.02 28.3 1 136.64 31.6
TOTAL 1685.11 100.0 2 746.78 100.0 3 841.10 100.0 3 599.49 100.0

France, 1960-79 (in millions of constant francs)

~~

Areas of activiy 1960 % 1970 % 1979 %

Audio equipment 172 2 897 4.2 2816 5.5

Records, cassette recordings 200 2.1 772 3.6 1860 4.1
Radio and television 1037 16.4 3044 14.1 10194 16.7
Radio and television licences - - 1 249 5.8 1959 5.4
Books 1603 11.9 3 277 15.2 4480 12.7
Newspapers and periodicals 3 411 20.9 4 249 19.7 4335 18.4
Photographicand film-making
equipment
Cinema -199 -1.9 733
970
3.4
4.5
1372
1029
2.8
3.7

Source: I.N.S.E.E., Paris,Comptes de la Nation.The percentages do not add up to 100

as the original table included non-culturalleisure activities.

Denmark, 1966-73 (index figures)

Areas of activity 1966 1970 1973

Radio, television,record player, tape recorder 54.3 100 196.2

Photographicequipment, sports,leisure goods 78.6 100 112.0
Entertainments and shows (outside the home) 93.6 100 102.8
Books, periodicals, newspapers 104.0 100 110.2
Adult education and out-of-schoolart
education 62.0 100 122.1
 162 Instruments of anaiysis

circle, thanks to the existence of electronic equipment, or else in the open

air, during the holiday season or at weekends.
Other points noted are that the increase in the sales of newspapers and
periodicals has been very slow, that the increase in the sales of books has
also been slow, and that cinema-going has decreased, while theatre- and
concert-goinghas remained roughly unchanged.
It seems likely that the trend observed over the past ten years will
continue in the direction of a living-roomculture.
In Denmark, the period under review (1966-73) is interesting in that it
corresponds to the closing years of the cultural explosion in Western
Europe. It represents the end of an era in which households spent consider-
able sums of money on acquiring audio-visual equipment, before the
market became somewhat saturated with such equipment. As in France,
there was practically no increase either in expenditure on entertainments
outside the home or on books, newspapers and periodicals. Denmark is
exceptional in that it registered an increase in household-financed edu-
cational activities. This would seem to reflect a rise in demand in this third
sector.

Cultural accounts
While suitable instruments for statistical analysis are being developed along
the lines discussed in the preceding section, two avenues of inquiry, which
have been successfdly tried and tested in other areas of economic and social
decision-making, are currently available. They involve the preparation of
economic accounts and the rationalization of budgetary options.
It may be wondered, since so little progress has been made, whether or
not it is advisable to continue efforts to include cultural phenomena in the
national economic accounts. Some people consider that to draw up national
economic cultural accounts, though theoretically desirable,is not at present
a practical possibility. On the theoretical plane, certain important factors
are lacking, including, in particular, methods of accounting for non-
commercial goods. Theoretical studies would need to be undertaken before
cultural accounts at all comparable with national economic accounts could
be compiled.
At the same time,to neglect this difficult problem would be dangerous.
The defects in the machinery for measuring cultural activities are due to the
fact that there is not sufficiently close contact between the cultural authorities
and the bodies responsible for studying trends in household consumption
and also, in a more general way, to the failure to make allowance for culture
in the system of national economic accounts.
Present-day systems of national economic accounts, particularly in the
European C o m m o n Market countries, cover social as well as economic
phenomena, and attempts are being made to revise the existing nomencla-
ture. In the event of a greatly extended nomenclature being brought into
force, for a period of ten years at least, it would be regrettable if cultural
activities were not included in it.
 Instruments of analysis 163

Rationalizing options and cost-benefit analyses

The ultimate aim of this method, known in the United States as the Planned
Programming Budgeting System (PPBS), is to aid governments to make
decisions. This involves elucidating the various objectives; when this has
been done, a system of criteria can be worked out, and various possible
programmes, subject to available resources, can be devised. Little more than
a start has been made. This would therefore appear to be the most urgent
cultural development task.
W e have already discussed at some length the methodology to be
applied. W e also have to define the underlying reasons for adopting such an
approach. The fundamental thinking behind the involvement of the public
authorities in an area that concerns values, and could therefore be affected
by purely private or subjective decisions, determines the total amount of
public expenditure at each administrative level.
It is also necessary to establish the actual results obtained, as the econ-
omic approach to cultural life may be criticized to the extent that it affords
information primarily on the methods applied without reference to the
results of cultural activities implemented among different sectors of the
population. The United Kingdom is now beginning to make cost-benefit
analyses for certain cultural sectors in which expenditure is particularly
heavy, such as opera houses. In France, various surveys have been made of
the financial and economic effects on a town of organizing a festival and
installing a Maison de la Culture.
Recent studies on the ways in which cultural centres are run suggest
-barbaric though the idea may seem-that such establishments should be
considered in terms of their productivity.Precise data on the audience
aimed at or reached by each type of cultural activity (theatres staging new
plays or repertory theatres, classical music or contemporary music, ballet,
art fdms and experimental lms and commercial cinema), and on the
respective costs of these various activities, will provide a basis for deter-
mining the effects of different forms of cultural expenditure on the life of
a town. Such ratios and assessments are key factors in any argument sup-
porting the continued running of expensive institutions, and also afford an
opportunity for studying the relationship between the particular approach
adopted in public expenditure on the arts, the underlying reasons behind
such involvement and the results achieved by such public expenditure.
Another step along the same lines as cost-benefitanalyses would be
first to determine what cultural-policy decisions are calculated to have the
greatest impact on the cultural life of the population and to study financial
flows only on the basis of clearly formulated hypotheses: in the case of
musical activities, for example,it would be possible to investigate the effects
of subsidizing concert organizations, giving tax exemption to record-
producing companies and increasing the radio budget respectively. This
would make it easier to link government expenditure-in loss of revenue or
subsidies-to the number of people affected or services provided (new
productions, for example). Costs are relatively easy to calculate-though
 164 Instruments of analysis

often inadequately analysed in the national accounts, which are designed for
inspection purposes rather than as an aid to decision-making-but measuring
benefitsis a more difficult matter. For this purpose indirect methods of
assessment are needed, and this entails the prior formulation of clear-cut
objectives and criteria for gauging to what extent they have been attained.
All this is a matter not for the government authorities but for research
workers to attend to, which shows how the need for rational machinery for
decision-making emphasizes the importance of fundamental research.

Continuous experiment
In order to counterbalance and reinforce this statistical and economic
research, and avoid a surfeit of theory, that shoal upon which .. .intellec-
tual initiatives come to grief unless backed by action, as the Director-
General of Unesco reminded us at Venice, it is necessary to embody them
in down-to-earth practice so that they can all be put to the test and set
going. ...Research should be ...experimentalwas the declaration of the
Venice conference. While painstaking statistical work provides a basis for
the establishment of ratios, it is equally necessary to proceed by making
studies of specific cases and successful ventures and analysing the factors
responsible for their success.
In such a rapidly changing field as culture-where tastes and approaches
change every three to five years-innovation under test conditions, that is,
experiments whose results are checked by observers who report to the
authorities, is sometimes more useful than theoretical research. All pioneer
work should be minutely observed, and arrangements made to pass on the
results rapidly to cultural workers and decision-makers.
A practical experiment arouses enthusiasm and inspires further work
more effectively than the best of speeches.It is rewarding and stimulating to
the person carrying it out and catches the attention of the authorities,
showing them,more clearly than any research, what the countrys needs and
potentialities are. But it is essential, too, to make such experiments widely
known, by providing plenty of simple illustrative information without delay.
Government authorities and international organizations-first and foremost,
Unesco-should make it one of their prime objectives to seek out and
publicize those new discoveries, made at random, usually in the most
unexpected quarters, which, notwithstanding the particular circumstances
in which they originated, are universal in their application.

Importance of future research

At the same time, it is not enough, in order to understand the underlying
currents of cultural life and foresee the development of future needs, merely
to scrutinize the present: we must also take a very close look at the future
outlook.
Even to assess the present position, when dealing with culture, is no
easy matter. The picture is distorted by the hangover from the past, giving
 Instruments of analysis 165

rise, in the first place, to problems of organization that occurred because the
old institutions are not adapted to the new situations. Such problems are,
of course, only temporary; but they monopolize the attention of the auth-
orities and research workers alike, preventing them from discerning the
veritable transformations that are taking place among the public, artists and
the media, in other words, the instruments of communication.Paradoxical
though this may seem, it is therefore true to say that for medium-term
planning, analysis of the present position does not constitute a good
starting-point.
It is here that long-term analysis serves its purpose, for in the absence
of an agreed dehition of a concept so intangible as that of culture, it is
possible to reach agreement regarding the ultimate aims of practical action.
Unlike the unattainable definition of culture, the objective denition of
ultimate aims affords scope for future research which indicates certain trends
(such as over-populationand massification)whose existence is recognized by
people of all ideological persuasions. These trends affect cultural life, so
that the desire to preserve culturallife of itself gives sise to certain reactions.
It is these essential reactions that come to constitutethe ultimate purposes of
cultural action.
The ultimate purposes thus being established by c o m m o n consent, the
next step is to take full stock of the existing resources, above all their
limitations, and to retain, out of all that is desirable, only what is possible
or makes possible; and this defines the aims for us. These aims, since they
make full allowance for all the factors which curtail a societys freedom of
action-attitudes, the production and administrative set-up, shortage of
funds-will necessarily be limited and selective;to imagine otherwise would
be unrealistic. W e must therefore conne ourselves to indicating certain
areas where action can be effective; it is here that the targetswill lie.
Thus examination of the long-term prospects of a society is the best
means of assessing the present, dening its ultimate purposes and deter-
mining its medium-term objectives;future research is one of the instruments
of analysis best suited for defining strategies for cultural action, as
recommended by the Venice conference.
Lastly, future research is not merely an instrument of analysis: it is
also an attitude of mind, essential in those responsible for a countrys
cultural infrastructure. The Dutch architect Van Klingeren, who designed
the vast, all-purpose arena in Dronten known as the Agora, has explained
that there is a time-lagof twenty-oneyears from when a new type of facility
is first planned till it is fully utilized: seven years for peoples attitudes to
change, once the decision is taken; seven years for construction;and seven
years to come fully into operation.Thus it is necessary,when devising a new
policy, to think a generation ahead. This may be over-pessimistic; but in
any case the forms of cultural life are changing so fast that it is essential to
have recourse to prediction as regards modes of life, national income and
communication technology. In culture as elsewhere, m a n is obliged (to
quote Gaston Berger) to gamble on the future, unless he is to become the
futures plaything.
 166 Instruments of analysis

International cultural co-operation

Such instruments of analysis cannot be devised locally or nationally,
because the scale is too restricted, because research workers familiar with
the problems of cultural development are too few in number and, above all,
because the cultural conditions and scientific traditions at this level are not
suciently diverse to inspire the analytical approach necessary to fire the
imagination and accelerate the process of change. But if representatives of,
say, fteen countries can be convened for four days to discuss a specific
topic, such as television and the theatre, the cultural life of old people, the
teaching of architecture, or the use of new audio-visual media, extremely
useful results can be obtained.
This is subject to certain conditions, however, for international work,
unless it is well planned and prepared, can be terribly wasteful of time and
energy. In this connection, it is curious to note that, despite several decades
of international co-operation and several thousand multilateral meetings,
we still have not succeeded in determining which subjects call for scientific
team-work (for new research), study by individualexperts (for analysing and
correlating existing work) or meetings (for reporting or endorsing work
already carried out).
In many cases, all three procedures are necessary, in turn. But to begin
by holding an international meeting in the case of something new which
does not exist in any country, so that there is nothing to discuss, is a waste
of time and calculated to detract from the prestige of the international
organization concerned, even if the subject itself is important and lends
itself to international co-operation.
As far as meetings are concerned,it is imperative to distinguishbetween
them,according to whether their purpose is to discover new ideas,to provide
information for experts, to guide decisions or to obtain the approval of
governments, since these factors will determine the duration of the meeting,
the number of people taking part, the role of the chairman and rapporteurs,
the type of documents to be prepared beforehand and the nature of the
subsequent publications. It is essential on the one hand to realize that
policy-makers, experts, research workers and those actually involved in
day-to-dayoperations speak four different languages and, on the other hand,
to bring them together from time to time in order to pool their ideas. But
w e know now that good solutions cannot be found simply by assembling
men of experience and common sense under chairmen and rapporteurs: such
meetings are useful only on condition that they are properly prepared and
themselves constitute part of the decision-making process.
Publications are essential. Attempts are sometimes made to cut them
down on the grounds that large intergovernmental conferences held to
adopt programmes produce too many documents which are never read; but
this is an indication of failure to decide in each case for w h o m the document
is designed. It is the height of folly not to publish the results of studies and
research, and to do so in a variety of forms such as complete scientific works
of reference, summariesfor use by experts, and rapidly available information
 Instruments of analysis 167

presented in simple form on the basis of which to make decisions. The cost
of these three types of publication should be included in the budget for the
research in question, and it is better, if the choice has to be made, to forgo
one research project rather than to carry out two, but without publishing
the results.
It is also the duty of international organizations to make this docu-
mentation generally available. Progress would be considerably accelerated
if ail those responsible-whether at national, municipal, institution or
association level-could have access to the best documentation produced by
the international community on the subject with which they are concerned.
It is essential, for joint action in the present-day world, to ensure that
everyone may reap the benefit of experiments and research carried out and
that the innumerable local and national commissions, instead of starting
from scratch and relying solely on the judgement of those present, may be
able to draw on the results already obtained elsewhere.
In this connection, documentation centres have a vital and extremely
complex part to play, though the importance of what they do is invariably
underestimated.The work of collecting,sorting,analysing and disseminating
the flood of information produced every month all over the world requires
the services of a large number of people and methodical organization;for
the great mass of documentation is ephemeral in nature, and has to be kept
up to date all the time. International organizations should give high priority
to establishing a network of national documentation centres, with stan-
dardized methods and a common indexing system for every aspect of cultural
activity.
 Cultural statistics: bibliography
Austria
Statistisches Handbuch fir die Republik Osterreih 1970. Osterreichisten
Statistischen Zentralant.

Czechoslovakia
Aperu statistique de la Tchcoslovaquie.Prague, Orbis, 1975, 125 pp.

Denmark
Dansk Kultur-statistik 1960-1977 (Danish cultural statistics). Danmarks
Statistik &Kulturministeriet, 1979, 140 pp.

Finland
Cultural statistics. Statistical information on arts, communication, leisure,
sports and youth activities in 1930-1977. Central statistical office of Finland,
1978, 256 pp.

France
Des chiffrespour la culture. Ministre de la culture et de la communication,
Service des tudes et recherches,Paris, La Documentation Franaise, 1980,
376 pp.

Italy
Lo spettacolo in Italia. Annuaro statistico,a m o 1978. Societ italiana degli
autori ed editori (SIAE),1979,320 pp. (Yearly;only deals with the theatre,
the cinema, sporting events, radio and television.)
 Instruments of analysis 169

Norway
Kultur statistikk 1975 (Cultural statistics 1975). Oslo, Norges offisielle sta-
tistikk, statistik sentralbyra,1976,61 pp.

Sweden
Kulturstatistik , verksamhet ekonom i kulturvanor 1960-1979 (Cultural statis-
tics, activities, economy and cultural habits 1960-1979). Stockholm, Statens
kulturrad, Statistiska centralbyran (National Council for Cultural Mairs,
National Central Bureau of Statistics), 1981, 359 pp.

International
Unesco Statistical Yearbook,1980, 1,280pp. (Yearly.)
 Chapter 7 The role of the State is not to create
culture, but to help at its birth, to help
in handing it on in the living works by
which it is constantly enriched and in
the established works which form our
common heritage.
J. Duhamel

The role of the public

authorities
This book, it will n o w be evident,followsthe same pattern as the elaboration
of modern cultural policies. The stages logically demand successive exam-
ination as follows:
Ultimate cultural purposes, in the light of the changing modes of present-day
life (Chapter 1).
What cultural life means to most people as opposed to the privileged few,
the main forces which govern it, industrial and technological aspects
(Chapter 2).
Links and people, information media and men (Chapter 3).
Cultural programmes and lifelong education (Chapter 4).
Enabling art to grow and innovate (Chapter 5).
A scientific experimental approach to cultural decision-makingby using
instruments of analysis devised by the international community
(Chapter 6).
The role of the public authorities is the last subject remaining to be covered,
because it is only on the basis of the data analysed in the other six chapters
that possible types of cultural policy can be defined.
N o w that we are in possession of empirical data, let us define cultural
life, cultural development, cultural action and cultural policy.

Cultural life, cultural development, cultural action

and cultural policy
Cultural life is the sum of all the practices and attitudes which affect
~
mans capability to express himself, determine his position in the world,
create his environment and communicate with all civilizations. It is consti-
tuted partly by the expenditure of time and money, which can be measured;
but it also denotes attitudes at times which are not predominantly cultural
(work, transport).
Cultural development denotes cultural life as it develops and its
relation to other forms of development.W e can speak of the level of cultural
 The role of thepublic authorities 171

development and attempt to measure it by means of indicators. The term

is doubly ambiguous, because both words are ambiguous. It is given a
positive colour by its combination of individual and social development
with the linear, quantitative progression that economic and scientific devel-
opment implies. A n d does culturerefer to higher culture, that is, the
dominant subculture, with its recognized aesthetic values, in which case
culturaldevelopment (which cannot signify the development of this culture,
since values cannot be developed) can only mean extending access to
these values? Or does it, on the contrary, refer to the various subcultures in
the anthropological sense of the term, meaning that each subculture is
developing by raising its level of artistic creation and extending the range
of individual participation in it?l
The concept is thus rather vague and inclined to be misleading;but it
frequently works,and is worth using in many cases.
Cultural development may be either a natural process or deliberately
brought about. For example, the purchase by families of radio sets and
record-players has done more to increase listening to music than any public
or private action taken to this effect, and this is a cultural development
which has been neither instigated nor encouraged. Thus, a great deal of the
cultural development which has undeniably occurred in certain countries is
simply the result of the rise in living standards,combined with technological
progress. At the same time,there are many kinds of cultural development
which can be brought about or accelerated; and it is with these that cultural
programmes are concerned.
The term culturalaction is a combination of two words which are as
a rule confined to two completely different domains, culturebelonging to
the realm of lofty aspirations and pious hopes, actionto what is regarded
as realistic, and ultimately economic. M y purpose in associating these two
words is to indicate that there exists a form of action of a cultural character
whose intent-grounded in the realities of ones mode of life-is cultural in
character and whose purpose is to enable one,through culture,to control and
shape reality. The cultural action of the various economic agents is therefore
the action dictated by the need for accelerating cultural development.
As long as a dichotomy between culture and action exists, culture will
tend to be esoteric, confined to the few, while action will be ultimately anti-
cultural-the action of H o m o economicus-that is, action which destroys
man. The concept of cultural action gives living expression to re-establishment
of the harmony between action and culture, between art and the economy,
which existed in traditional societies, but which has been destroyed by
industrialization.
Viewed in relation to culturalaction as thus defined,the term cultural
policy acquires a precise meaning, deriving from that of the word policy.
A policy is a system of ultimate aims, practical objectives and means,
pursued by a group and applied by an authority. Cultural policies can be

1. It would be useful and possible to examine this concept more exhaustively,but to do so

is not essential here.
 172 The role of the public authorities

discerned in a trade union, a party, an educational movement, an institution,

an enterprise,a town or a government. But regardless of the agent concerned,
a policy implies the existence of ultimate purposes (long-term), objectives
(medium-term and measurable) and means (men, money and legislation),
combined in an explicit, coherent system.
The people who in governments or local institutions determine the
ultimate purposes (wise men) are not the same as those who determine the
objectives (experts)or the means (administrators); and the process of cultural
policy-making,be it more or less democratic, to a greater or lesser extent
in the hands of technocrats,must always include some means of assessing
results and, in the light of these results, revising the ultimate purposes,
objectives and means.
By bringing to light the major obstacles to development-attitudes of
mind, shortage of trained personnel, lack of funds, and so on-it is possible
to identify sensitive areas where experiments by volunteers may be useful
in setting off a chain reaction.

Decentralization
These considerations suggest the necessity of avoiding overly mechanical or
centralized approaches to planning and of devising and promoting processes
of change that are closely related to real-life needs and circumstances.
Thus the first rule in any cultural policy-as all the conferences of
ministers or regional representatives have emphasized-must be decentra-
lization. In order to make cultural democracy a reality and ensure that
cultural programmes keep pace with changing modes of life, it is essential
that the ultimate purposes, objectives and means be discussed and brought
to light at the local level; for cultural life presupposes, above all, initiative,
creativity and responsibility, and the central state, with its regimental
approach and its heavy-handed bureaucracy, is obviously ill-placed to take
stock of new needs and existing situations and adapt them to policy
requirements.
Rather than give a single theoretical model for decentralization,it was
decided that it would be both less dry, and more in keeping with the exper-
imental spirit, to give a few liveexamples.

Cultural and educational communities and cultural councils (

Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav culturaland educational communities,instituted originally in 1957,
at federal level and in the five republics, were gradually organized at municipal
level also and at present constitute one of the main cultural policy agencies, along
with the Socialist Alliance, the trade unions and the Union of Youth.
They bring together,at district, republic and federallevel, the representatives
of cultural and educational organizationsand the users, representedby the Socialist
Alliance, the Communist League, trade unions and the Union of Youth.
At federal level, meetings are held two or three times a year, attended by
from 300 to 500 delegates.At republic and district level, meetings are organized as
the need arises. In all three cases, the meetings are attended by delegates of com-
 The role of the public authorities 173

munities in the region concerned and of the political and social organizations,and
also by delegates of the cultural associations and organs Concerned with the prob-
lems on the agenda.
The problems discussed at federallevel during the past ten years or so indicate
the nature of the action of the communities:action to strengthen the links
between national cultures,the organizers of cultural activities and cultural insti-
tutions throughout the country; cultural programmes in m a l areas; the cultural
and educational role of radio,television and the cinema;the cultural policy of the
districts; leisure in towns;cultural development of the districts; and so on. The
principles laid down at federal level are discussed and further elaborated by the
republics and districts, which are however under no obligation to apply them.
Taken together, these communitiesare designed to act as cultural forums:
in other words, they are not representative organs of the government, but rather
tribunes for public assessment,discussion and the co-ordinationof effort in edu-
cation and culture.
The Councils for Education and Culture were established in 1963 to pass
laws and regulations and adopt financial decisions on these subjects, at federal,
republic and district level.
Another of their purposes is to break down the barriers between amateurs,
professionalsand the general public. T o this end, the councils convene,parallel to
the municipal council, meetings of the elected representatives of professional
institutions,groups of amateurs, enterprises and trades unions, the general public
and the municipal council.
These councils are divided into several commissions wielding executive
power: commission for dramatic art, commission for music, and so on. These
commissions are composed of both professionals and amateurs.

Cultural decentralization in the Federal Republic of Germany

Cultural and artistic life in Germany has always had numerous centres,though not
necessarily as a result of a systematic policy of decentralization.Cultural policy in
the Federal Republic, even now, is worked out not at federal level, but by the
Lnder and the towns, in addition to which voluntary groups and associations
play an important part.
There are, none the less, certain aspects of cultural policy which are dealt
with at federal level: these include the protection of landscapes and sites, youth
activities and cultural relations with foreign countries. Apart from this, there was
established, in 1960, a standing conference of the Ministries of Education and
Cultural Affairs (Kulturministerium) of the Lander to co-ordinate policies on
questions of art education,the protection of monuments,assistanceto the cinema,
museums, etc. Consideration is now being given to the establishment of a Kulturrat
(Cultural Council). But the Lander put up a successful stand against the federal
government when it wished to set up the second television channel, in 1961, at
federallevel.
In the Lnder, it is the Landtag (Diet) that adopts the cultural affairs budget
prepared by the Kulturministerium, which is largely responsible for culture and
the arts; the Landtag also enacts federal legislation on subjects affecting culture.
The decisions thus taken are applied by the General Administrative Department at
the level of the districts (Bezirke),regions (Kreise)and municipalities(Gerneinden).
As can be seen, the administrative and political structures in the Lander exert a
markedly centralizing effect. They have very extensive powers, backed by con-
siderablefunds (I .5 per cent of the general budget in the poorest Lander).
 174 The role of the public authorities

The role of municipalities varies: the small and medium-sized towns are
subordinated to the state administration,whereas the big towns (Kreisfreie Stadte)
enjoy a large degree of autonomy and apply an independent policy backed by
considerable funds (7 per cent of the overall budget in Frankfurt a m Main, for
instance). This latter category of towns have extensive cultural services,directed
by a Kulturdezernent or Kulturreferent, an ex oficio member of the Magistrat
(municipalcouncil), who administers the funds allocated for culture and proposes
appointmentsto specializedposts.
The groups and associations, which possess considerable funds, likewise
enjoy a large measure of independence.The Volksbhnen and Theatergemeinden
(theatregoersassociations), which have 600,000members, play a vital part in
maintaining intensivetheatricalactivity of a very high standard.The trade unions,
which subsidize the Volksbhnen and other cultural associations in a large way,
themselvesorganizecertain events,such as the festival at Recklingshausen(Ruhr),
where the theatre was built mostly at their expense. Certain youth associations,
religious and otherwise, finance the construction or running of socio-cultural
centres for the young; some towns make them responsible for running municipal
socio-culturalcentres.
Generally speaking, the organizers of cultural activities in the Federal
Republic of Germany operate independently, using their considerable financial
resources for a wide range of cultural projects.

A hierarchy of cultural committees (Tunisia)

Cultural committees,under the Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs and Infor-
mation,were set up in Tunisiain 1962.The National CulturalCommittee in Tunis
prepares the annual programme for the whole country, co-ordinatesthe work of
the central,regional and local culturalcommittees and promotes culturalrelations
with other countries.Themembers ofthecommitteeareappointed by theMinisterof
Cultural Affairs. Since 1981,the work of theNational Cultural Committee has been
directed by a generalsecretary,the directorofcultural animation,at the ministry.
The regional cultural centres, set up in the capital of each dlgation, carry
out thecultural programmes arranged in co-operationwith the national committee.
Local culturalcommittees form the final links in a highly organized network
which, starting from the capital,extends to the most remote areas.
The legislators main purpose was to involve the towns, the villages and the
countryside and to lessen the cultural imbalance between the capital and the rest
of the country. This movement away from the centre has produced satisfactory
and tangible results in the form of im clubs, libraries and drama and music
groups in country towns.The various committees vie with each other in providing
their regions with Houses of Culture and Houses of the People. The secretary-
general of each central cultural committeeis a full-timepaid official. H e represents
the Secretary of State in the gouvernorat,and takes a hand in framing,preparing
and carrying out the regions cultural activities.

National committees (Czechoslovakia)

In Czechoslovakia the national committees perform two basic functions: they
represent a type of democratic organizationconsisting of elected deputies and, at
the same time, they wield state power and administer their respective territorial
districts. The internal structure of the national committees reflectsthese two basic
functions, consisting of: (a) collective bodies within the national committees,
 The role of the public authorities 175

composed of elected deputies and dealing with all problems of social, economic
and cultural development in the territorial district; and (b) administrative depart-
ments (professional personnel) within the national committees, performing the
professional functions of the committees as the representative of state power and
administration.
At the end of 1968, the national committees in Czechoslovakia were based
on a three-level system: regional, district and local (or urban). The role of the
national committees is as follows:
They create,in accordance with stateand national programmesand in co-operation
with the civic organizations,their own programmes of cultural development
according to the requirements,conditions and possibilities of the area.
They create, in accordance with state and national principles and in co-operation
with civic organizations, enterprises and factories, the economic, material
and technical prerequisites for the development of culture.
They administer and control facilities for culture and art in accordance with state
and national programmes, i.e. local and town or city committees-club
facilities, cinemas, local lending-libraries, museums, monuments of local
significanceand regionalcommittees-public and scientific libraries,important
historical monuments,national parks and nature reserves,theatres,museums,
symphony orchestras.
They ensure the observance of the norms and directives in force.
The basic problem is that most of the activities are delegated to their cultural
departments and educational and cultural commissions; the elected authorities
(i.e. plenum and council of national committees) do not devote as much of their
time to cultural development as is needed. Recently more democratization has
been introduced. It is proposed to set up regional,district and local self-governing
cultural bodies,with representativesof civic organizations and of various cultural
facilities; these would function as partners but also as critics of the national
committees.

The new culturalpolicy in Norway

In 1973 and 1974, the minister responsible for culture laid before parliament two
documents, respectively entitled The Organization and Financing of Cultural
Activitiesand AN e w Cultural Policy.This new policy hinges on administrative
decentralization and the devolution of decision-makingto local bodies. The new
budgetary funds permitting such decentralization will be increased fourfold over
a five-yearperiod and will be transferred directly to the municipal authorities.
Each municipal authority and each regional authority will decide on the ways in
which such funds are to be used. They will work in conjunction with a local
cultural council established for this purpose. Several conditions are tied to such
financialdecentralization:the new funds must not be invested in buildings or other
permanent facilities;they must not replace previously existing local grants; they
must not go to institutions already in receipt of regular state support.
It is likewise recommended that the municipal authorities create the post of
culturalsecretary(in the case of small municipalities), culturalaffairs adviser
(in the case of medium-sized municipalities)or directorof cultural affairs(in the
case of large municipalities).
By the end of 1975,57 per cent of the municipal authorities had established a
cultural council. One-third of them had appointed a cultural officer. 92 per cent
of the allocated funds went to the non-profit-makingprivate sector, that is, to
organizations,institutions and individuals.
 176 The role of the public authorities

Culture,authority and participation

Whatever the system selected-and it is clear that there can be no universal
system, since the administrative structures and political attitudes of each
country must be taken into account-any cultural policy adopted by a local
community or an institution must reconcile various conflicting demands:
freedom for artists and organizers,without which no culture exists; control
by the elected representatives and administrators w h o are responsible for
public funds; and participation of the users. None of these three consider-
ations can be allowed to overrule the others without danger of authorita-
rianism, demagogy or esoterism;and they must be carefully weighed against
one another.
It is inevitable that cultural programmes, which, if they are imaginative,
represent a challenge to established culture, will sooner or later come up
against people many of w h o m have been elected precisely because they
appear to provide the best guarantee of the continuance of the existing
culture.But culture is always something more than just culture.It is perforce
revolutionary, in that it retains the qualitative and individual element in a
culture which has a constant tendency to become an article of consumption,
measurable in terms of quantity only. A clash between the creators and the
elected representatives is therefore inevitable, leading the latter to resort to
authoritarianism and censorship, the former to engage in provocation or
self-censorship.For this reason,the introduction of a third factor,the users,
through the intermediary of their natural representatives (members, parents
associations, trade unions, and so on) is essential to settle the conflict and
increase the chances of establishing cultural democracy.
Hence, the cultural councils and offices which local authorities are
setting up in many countries have an important role to play. The aim is to
create a forum for discussion and concerted effort where the aspirations of
the differentcommunities can be approached comprehensively and where
choices can be made with a view to the implementation of the particular
cultural policy adopted.

Cultural bodies in Chaux-de-Fond (Switzerland)

A commission of inquiry in Chaux-de-Fondconcluded that a culturalorganiz-

ation and management counciland a culturaloffice should be set up.
The Cultural Council is concerned with defining and securing the implemen-
tation of local cultural policy. It closely follows the cultural life of the town and
endeavours to co-ordinatelocal cultural activities. It oversees the work of the
cultural office and determines the framework for its activities. Each year it gives
its decision on the cultural budget for the following year submitted by the Cultural
Office.It has the authority to conduct all necessary research within the limits of
its research budget. It has the powers to deal with any cultural problems that
may arise and to submit proposals to the municipal authorities.It may prepare and
launch pilot cultural activities. The municipal authorities consult the Cultural
Council un development plans and other local planning matters.
 The role of the public authorities 177

The Cultural Council is composed of twenty-onemembers:

Seven representatives of the permanent cultural officials of the town (from the
library, theatre, community centre, music institutions and schools, the
museum curator and the entertainments officer).
Five representativesof associations.
Seven members appointed by the General Council.
One permanent officiai from the Cultural Office.
One chairman (the municipal councillor responsible for cultural affairs).
The Cultural Office (set up by the Cultural Council) is available to implement
specific tasks entrusted to the Cultural Council and reports to the council on its
activities. The office is seen as a public service and is therefore required to make
every effort to respond to the concerns of cultural agents by providing practical
informationin connectionwith the organization of cultural events,and by studying
and discussing the implications of the various options that may be under review.
It keeps up contacts between cultural organizations and, wherever possible,
co-ordinatestheir activities. It ensures the dissemination of cultural information.

Cultural action in Annecy (France)

In Annecy,an association called Annecy-Action-Culturelle(AAC)is respon-

sible for planning and co-ordinating cultural action. It is worth while
considering the way in which this association is organized:
General Assembly. The General Assembly meets in ordinary session once a year,
and also holdsextraordinary sessions;it comprisesthe individualmembers,the
member associations and the twenty-sixnon-membersof the Cultural Action
Council.
Cultural Action Council. This is the decision-makingand administrative organ of
the association and is responsiblefor dehing the general cultural policy and
approving the budget;it comprises:fiveex oficio members (mayor,representa-
tives of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the Ministry ofEdurntion,the Min-
istry of Youth and Sport and the Conseil Gnral); fifteen associate members
(two municipal councillors,one delegate of the inter-communetrade union,
five trade-unionrepresentatives,threerepresentativesof parentsassociations,
threerepresentativesof works committeesand the director of the association);
six members appointed by the Organizing Committee, including four
rapporteurs of the Cultural Action Commissions; twenty-one members
elected by the General Assembly.
Bureau of the Cultural Action Council. The council has an executive bureau
comprising the chairman,one or two vice-chairmen,one or two secretaries,
one or two treasurers,one to three members, plus the director, who is an
ex oficio member.
Organizing Committee. The Organizing Committee proposes the associations
cultural policy to the council, then determines the programme of cultural
events in accordance with the policy adopted and the denitive budget. This
committeeis composed of:five members of the Bureau of the Cultural Action
Council (including the director); two members of the team of organizers; the
rapporteurs of the Cultural Action Commissionsand Cultural Action Sectors.
Cultural Action Commissions. These are open to cultural activities organizers from
all associations and groups, whether they belong to the association or not;
also to the general public. They undertake research and submit proposals on
 178 m e role of thepublic authorities
FIG.16. Annecy Cultural Action Association.
 The role of the public authorities 179

all matters within their spheres ofCompetence.Each commission appoints one

of its members to be rapporteur;these rapporteurs are ex oficio members of
the Organizing Committee.
Cultural Action Sectors. These are composed of legal entities or institutions having
common interests or a common concern in a specific field of cultural activity.
They advise on the associations policy and programme.
The Cultural Action Council thus offers three possibilities of participating in the
decisions taken by the association: through the General Assembly, through the
Cultural Action Sectors, through the Cultural Action Commissions.
At the same time,the localpublic have a considerable-though not necessarily
the major-say, through their elected officers (mayor and councillors) and the
representatives of parents associations, trade unions, etc.

The Cultural and Social Ofice of Rennes (France)

This office, which provides the main channel for participation in the social and
cultural development of the town,is at once design office and laboratory,a centre
for meeting and discussion, a body with responsibility for co-ordination and
management,planning department and information service.
It was set up in 1959, as the outcome of a meeting between the National
Family Allowances Fund and the City of Rennes, held to discuss the running of
the social centres;and its aim is to promote, support and encourage the creation
and developmentof all kinds of socialand culturalwork and activitiesin the Rennes
urban district, by co-ordinating the various efforts and measures; studying the
towns social and cultural resources and facilities;furnishing information to the
public services and any other bodies; taking over the management of certain
facilities; organizing meetings, congresses, loans of equipment, exhibitions and
other social and cultural events; and defending the interests of the bodies which
belong to it.
After twenty years of existence on an experimentalbasis, the effectiveness of
this co-ordinatingbody has been recognized by the city council,which has assumed
direct responsibility for administrative matters by setting up a Directorate of
Cultural Development, but has left the office with the role of planning and
co-ordinating cultural action among the associations.
In 1978,252 associationswere aiiated to this office. It is administered by an
Administrative Council composed of thirty-one members: ten representatives of
public bodies; twenty-one representatives of social workers and private bodies,
elected by the General Assembly.
The Administrative Council may co-optany qualified person whose services it
considers desirable, including the following for the dpartement,who are officially
entitled to sit on the council:the Director of Health;the Director of Population;the
Director of Construction;the Inspectorin charge of the Youth and Sports Service.
The council is vested with very wide powers to act on behalf of the office. It
is empowered to set up an unlimited number of technical committees.
The standing committees represent private associations. They are five in
number, representing:socio-educationaland cultural bodies, bodies set up at local
ward or precinct level, sacia1 bodies, social organizers and workers, members of
the staff of the office. They study, with the Municipal Council, arrangements
regarding the grant cf subsidiesto private associations.This has led to the creation
of the EducationalCo-operationFund, the Fund for Aid to Cultural Facilities and
the Fund for International Exchanges.
 180 The role of thepublic authorities

Permanent stafl.This comprises: a director-general;a secretary-general;a research

director; an officer responsible for organizing and co-ordinating activities; a
management accountant; secretaries.
Financial resources. The office is nanced by subsidies granted by the City of
Rennes (75 per cent), the General Council of the dipartement, the Family
Allowance Fund,educatianal establishments and users.

T h e role of the central authorities: information, training,

co-ordination,research and creation
The decentralization of activities, financing and the process of selection is
at once both the first step in the direction of cultural democracy and essential
to cultural creativity,vitality and freedom. Thus decentralization is necess-
arily the guiding principle of cultural democracy.
But, whatever the value and scope of decentralized activities, there are
some tasks which can only be failed by the central authorities, either
because it is literally impossible to carry them out at the local level (infor-
mation and training, for instance) or because of lack of means, drive or
qualifications at this level (innovations, for instance).
The first step is to provide for information and training, since we are
dealing with a new departure in public activity, and the various agents have
still much to learn. The central authorities have the task of informing the
local authorities and training organizers and administrators. This must both
precede and accompany any steps in the direction of regionalization, since
in the absence of trained personnel even the best cultural policy cannot be
put into effect. Few countries have understood that training is more
important than the immediate provision of cultural facilities: trained people
in possession of the necessary information can make use of existing insti-
tutions and bodies.
There are, as we saw in Chapter 3, few countries which possess trained
cultural administrators; and even when such people do exist, they tend to
be administrators of institutions (theatres,museums, cultural centres) rather
than officials (state, regional, municipal). Officials participate in public
cultural policy without any training, knowing no more about it than the
ordinary person, and as if there were no special techniques involved, as
there are for public health or educational work. Moreover, many officials
take decisions which have important cultural repercussions without ever
having been made aware of the results of those decisions: thus municipal
planning departments take many measures relating to architecture or town
planning on the basis of technical criteria only, whereas in point of fact
cultural considerations (visual quality of the surroundings, contribution to
cultural life) should be given priority over technical factors, with regard to
which adjustments can always be made. In one country the annual town-
planning congress took as its theme Leisure and Culture in the Towns
and the engineers responsible for building roads along the coast attend
periodic courses in order to make them aware of the problems of the environ-
ment. Such arrangements can be made effectively only at national level.
Local councillors and leaders of associations are equally in need of
 The role of the public authorities 181

information and training. The person in each town w h o suddenly finds

himself responsible for cultural affairs when a new municipal team is elected
is unlikely to be conversant with the essential differences between a public
hall and a theatre, or to know which artist to commission to decorate a
school, how to run a music academy, what kind of contracts to sign with
cinemas or bookshops, or how to organize refresher training for the technical
agents dealing with environment problems. It is therefore up to the central
authorities to provide practical advice, information couched in simple terms,
and technical assistance such as they alone are in a position to give.
Always with a view to decentralizing and getting away from state
control, such technical assistance can be furnished either through the district
associations, their attention being drawn to cultural problems by the central
authorities, or through the professional associations (associations of town-
planning experts, architects, animateurs,teachers, librarians, and so on).
Another point is that concerts, theatrical representations and exhi-
bitions are usually beyond the means of one district, so that the central
authorities have first to induce districts or institutions to co-operate and
then encourage them to do so (by confining subsidies to cases where they
do). Lastly, the central authorities have to intervene in order to ensure the
requisite co-ordination between educational, cultural and leisure activities
at local level (full use of facilities and co-ordination of activities); they may
even have to exercise coercion in cases when local rivalries nullify cultural
endeavour by excessive dispersal.
It is clear from the above that the cultural information work of the
central authorities is by no means confined to publicrelationsby a minister.
It calls for a thorough, unremitting and technically competent effort, using
a combination of methods, to evoke needs and demands; it should use press
and television,create an image of culture in peoples minds, provide technical
services and continuing training for political leaders, administrators and
other staff.

Research and creation: matters for encouragement

by the local authorities
Cultural information links up with the research described in the previous
chapter. The central authorities are responsible for taking stock of the needs
arising as a result of developments in society and the policy of the govern-
ment; they must determine the ultimate aims to be embraced by the nation,
decide on priority objectives and allocate the requisite resources;they have
the task of establishing the machinery for analysing needs and keeping check
of results, embarking on and supporting new experiments in areas as yet
unexplored; lastly, they alone can promote the international co-operation
essential for progress.
Passing on culture, on the other hand, is fundamentally the responsi-
bility of the local authorities. If it is undertaken by the central authorities
the result is overcentralization,with all the accompanying disadvantages:
concentrationof activities in the capital,use of a limited number of companies
 182 The role of the public authorities

and artists, red tape. The central authorities should reduce direct manage-
ment to the minimum.
In Sweden, the Cultural Department, which controls 1 per cent of the
state budget, is composed of fourteen officials only: most of the work is done
by specialized committees, which have their o w n staff and report direct to
parliament. In the United Kingdom, the Minister for the Arts has virtually
no administrative machinery, and it is the Arts Council which manages
public funds.
It is, however, impossible for the central authorities not to inter-
vene-once cultural programmes are recognized as a national priority-in
sectors where the public is not fully alive to the problems, or where there is
a serious lack of means. Such is the case as regards creation in theatre,
music, the visual arts, architecture and film-making.The risk of disagreement
between artists and public is frequently too great, as well as being inherent
in the nature of artistic creation: for the local authorities to take. Where the
risk has been taken-as in the case of the French Maisons de la Culture, for
instance-there have been clashes between the local authorities and the
cultural heads which, in 50 per cent of cases, have brought the activities to a
standstill.In many countries only the central authorities can be suciently
well informed and advised, and sufficiently unaffected by considerations of
immediate success, to take such risks.

The right to culture imposes a responsibility on governments

At whatever level the public authorities may intervene, the intervention is

based on two essential considerations which the Director-Generalof Unesco
defined clearly at the Venice conference: first, the right to culture imposes on
the authorities the duty of ensuring that individuals have the means of
exercising this right; and secondly, there is a link between cultural devel-
opment and general development.
These two essential considerations have been recalled and discussed at
each of the regionalconferences of the ministers of culture of Europe,
Asia, Africa and Latin America since 1972.
The Universal Declaration of H u m a n Rights, adopted by the United
Nations in 1948, declares that: Everyone has the right freely to participate
in the cultural life of the community. Ren Maheu, at Venice, made the
following remarks:
It is not certain that the full significance of this text, proclaiming a new human
right, the right to culture, was entirely appreciated at the time. If everyone,
as an essential part of his dignity as a man, has the right to share in the cultural
heritage and cultural activities of the community-or rather of the different
communities to which men belong (and that of course includes the ultimate
community-mankind)-it follows that the authorities responsible for these com-
munities have a duty, so far as their resources permit, to provide him with the
means for such participation.This is as true of what we call social rights,of which

1. See. Chapter 4.
 !h? role of the public authorities 183

the new right to cultureis one,as ofpoliticalrights;the only differenceis incidental:

social rights are more complex and more recent,and nothing like as clearly dened
either in theory or in practice. Everyone, accordingly,has the right to culture,as
he has the right to education and the right to work. This,as I have said,means that
so far as possible the public authorities should provide him with the means to
exercise this right. This is the basis and rst purpose of cultural policy.
The other basis of cultural policy, added Mr Maheu, is development:
W e know the importance that development has assumed in the world today, as
much in the realm of ideas as at the level of action. The idea of development as a
subject of national policy began to gain force and spread-particularly within the
United Nations system-in the 1950s. At the start its scope was economic aniy
and it was applied almost exclusively to elucidating the problems of countries
which were technologicallyand economically backward and, for that reason,came
to be called underdeveloped.But, here again,a significant change has taken place
during the 1960s:the First Development Decade. The idea of development has, in
fact,gradually become broader, deeper,and more varied so that,going beyond the
purely economic aspects ofimprovingmans lot,it now also embracesthe so-called
social aspects.This is because it has been realized not oniy that economic growth
is in fact bound up with certain social factors such as health, education and
employment, but also that here lie the attitudes and reasons that determine-or
should determine-the fundamentaloptions in an overall planning of development.
It was striking to note at Venice that several members of the governments
represented emphasized the links between cultural development and general
development. Ifit is to have a chance to succeed, declared Mrs Klompe,
Minister of Culture of the Netherlands, a cultural policy must form part
of the overail policy of a government. More recently, Mr Camille Laurin,
the Quebec Minister of Cultural Development, stated that:
...more and more modern nationsare re-thinkingtheirapproachto culturalmatters
and evolving a comprehensive cultural policy. Quebec is also engaged in this
process. Democracy will oniy be effective if it is cultural as well as political, social
and economic. If the citizen is to exercise fully his right to culture,he must be able
freely to enjoy easy access to all cultural goods,despite geographical,economic and
social constraints.H e must be able to harness the resources of the community with
a view to developing his talents and creative abilities. Lastly, he must be able to
take part with his fellow citizens, in accordance with his particular interests,in the
activities of ali the communitiesto which he belongs,in the development of a living
culture which at once gives expression to his identity and his existential choices.

The cultural side of development

In order to plead the cause of cultural development in a world which they
realize is dominated by economics, certain people have thought it necessary
to show that it is economically worth while. And indeed it is true that a
festival,for instance, or a historicalmonument, attracts touristsand therefore
brings in money. It was possible to advance such considerations to justify
the campaign for saving the monuments of Nubia, but the cultural justi-
fication-the birth of a world-wide feeling of cultural solidarity-was far
more compelling. A survey prepared by the Studies and Research Depart-
 184 The role of thepublic authorities

ment of the French Ministry of Culture has shown that a festival was without
any doubt economically justifiable, and broke more or less even financially
(that is, subsidies were eventually covered by takings), but that the image
of the town in question was greatly enhanced,which, in the long run, seems
to bring in its train other economic and financial advantages.l
Another indication is provided by the fact that promoters of building
societies,in theiradvertising campaign,when setting out to sellnew housing,
lay great stress on the cultural requirements of possible purchasers. The
builders of new towns-unlike the builders of large blocks in the
past-include cultural facilities amongst their chief concerns: without such
facilities,they know, there can be no real town, only a hotchpotch of resi-
dential accommodation, shops and schools. A n d new towns give a foretaste
of the society of the future;urban society as a whole will become intolerable
unless cultural problems are solved along with the other problems of
development.
The industries which, as we have seen, play an increasingly important
part in cultural life, are also coming to have more and more influence in
economic life: not only books and films, but the pace-setting electronics
sector as well. These industries consult the educational and cultural auth-
orities on the equipment to be produced; in turn, educational and cultural
life is affected by the articles that can be manufactured. As formerly with
the cinema, so now with computers and television, cultural policies and
industrial policies are closely linked, and reinforce one another. The reper-
cussions of culturalindustriesand activities on a countrys influence abroad
are likewise c o m m o n knowledge.
Cultural development as we visualize it is not merely associated with
economic development:it is also an essential condition without which society
cannot adapt to the vertiginous progress of technology. T o make people
capable of understanding and shaping the new world, to give them the power
of self-expression and of communicating within groups by using the
languages of their time, is a prerequisite to lifelong education, itself the
principal condition of development. Individuals, before they can cope with
the necessary changes at work, must first be able to cope with change as
such; and this capacity they can only acquire through a series of pro-
cesses-through information, the assumption of responsibility, training,
learning to express themselves-which, in combination, constitute cultural
development. Resistance to change hampers development even more than
lack of means. A n d as it is due to the outmoded attitudes of the majority,
the way to progress lies through the cultural development of this majority.
Over and above purely economic obstacles,it is the general publics ignorance
of the functioning of society that makes it so difficult, today, to plan and
organize time and space. The trade unions would have saved years for them-

1. Experienceshows also that,unless the ultimate aims of activities lying half-way between
tourism and culture are clearly dehed, at a level higher than the purely economic,
touristsvery soon destroy what they came to seek: genuine arts and crafts,a harmonious
setting, a shrine offering silenceand a place of contemplation.
 The role of the public authorities 185

selves and others had they started sooner to study management. Policy is
powerless,in this age of mass information,without the support of the masses;
and the application of force leads to obstruction which costs the economy far
dearer than does technological backwardness. Those whose main concern
is economic should realize that cultural action is far more effective, by and
large,than any purely economic measures that may be devised.
Apart from this,there appears at times,in rich and poor countries alike,
to be something lacking which prevents the general public, and youth,
from taking part in the development drive. Large segments of the popu-
lation-young people, intellectuals, workers, architects, and so on-in
East and West, North and South alike, refuse to participate in running a
purposelesssociety. In fact, no reasonable person can regard the consumer
society as the ideal and people cannot concentrate for ever on the pursuit
of economic development. Without ideals whence it derives its meaning
and its strength, society grows uglier and poorer, loses its vitality and fades
away. In one Western country, the national defence research centre spent a
third ofits time in 1971 on investigating cultural problems.Indeed,a nations
resistance depends on cultural factors.
It was this, no doubt, that J. K. Galbraith had in mind when he said
that the requirements of the industrial system would always have to take
second place to a concern for the things of the spirit and the mind. The
problem of governments is not to adapt m a n to the world, but to adapt the
world to man. This idea of the primacy of m a n over the inanimate, of the
subject over the object, of the individual over money is not an ideological
credo, but the necessary outcome of the evolution of society. Thus cultural
development,in so far as it signifies the development of man, is at once the
means and the end of economic development.
In the light of these considerations, it is essential to lay down certain
main principles of planning. At the round-table meeting in Monaco, a
Polish expert pointed out that many non-culturaldecisions have a greater
effect on cultural life than decisions bearing directly on cultural policy. The
problem is whether general development should be at the service of the
economy, or vice versa. This, as the Director-General of Unesco said at
Venice, raises a host of very complicated questions:
What place, for instance, does and should culture have in the central planning
agencysinstitutional,administrative and financial data? What should be the ratio
of investment in cultural facilities compared to other investments? H o w much
importance does or should the planning agency attach to cultural factors among all
the factors which determine the rate of growth in national productivity? And last,
is there a case for trying to 6nd new methods and, as it were, a new style for
planning general development so as to includecultural development;or for thinking
of a separate plan for such development?

The experience of the developing countries is indicative in this respect:they

have understood that development is not development unless it is total.
W h e n Leopold Senghor declares that culture is the Alpha and Omega of
any sound development policy, it is because he has learned by experience
 186 The role of thepublic authorities

that: M a n is the means and the end of development;he is not the one-
dimensional abstraction of Homo economicus,but a living reality, a human
person, in the infinite variety of his needs, his potentialities and his
aspirations.
Thus culture is seen, in the final analysis, to be a higher collective good
which societies cannot afford to forgo without destroying themselves.
Culture, in a governments conception of its role and in the blueprint it
must needs draw up for society, occupies a special place, corresponding to
the loftiest image which men, individually and collectively,have of their o w n
destiny. Cultural development is both the ultimate aim of political action and
the means of giving every individual a sense of his responsibility in the com-
m o n work of mankind.
Cultural policies reflect the fact that m a n today is faced with the choice
between seeking a purblind and despairing escape in nihilism, or resolutely
confronting the future.
 List of examples

Chapter I
National cultural councils: the national cultural councils in Sweden 26,
Colombia 26,Peru 21, Bolivia 27 and Quebec 27
The Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee (Canada) 28
The Bratislava Institute of Culture 30
The Quebec Institute for Cultural Research 31
The Studies and Research Department of the French Ministry of Culture 31

Chapter 2
Listening and viewing patterns in the different European countries 36
Household audio-visualequipment in Europe 37
The field of the cultural industries (for purposes of analysis and public
intervention) 46
The role of the state in relation to the cultural industries 52
Chapter 3
Cultural practices in Finland 64
The agreementsof the Belgian Ministry of Culture 73
The G-15experiment in Copenhagen 75
The Czechoslovak model 81
Fonds de Coopration de la Jeunesse et de lducation Populaire (FONJEP)
(France) 82
The Samaria experiment (Niger) 83
The Fez experimental seminar on cultural animation 83
The L o m Intergovernmental Regional Centre 84
The Ricklingen Leisure Centre (Federal Republic of Germany) 88
The Billingham Forum (United Kingdom) 89
The Billund Cultural Centre (Denmark) 89
Libraries as cultural centres in Sweden 89
The Museum of M a n and Industry in Le Creusot (France) 90
Citizens$centres in Frankfurt a m Main (Federal Republic of Germany) 91
 188 List of examples

Chapter 4
The art and history museums in Brussels 94
The activeyoung television viewer experiment in France 96
The new audio-visual media in the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark
and France 97
A selection of experiments: Canada, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands,
United Kingdom, United States of America, USSR 98
The galleryas a creative centre for children in Torn (Poland) 99
The use of activity methods in art education in Nuremberg 100
Childrens museums and workshops in Marseilles and Paris 100
Art and disabled children in Switzerland 101
The Midlands Arts Centre for Young People (United Kingdom) 101
A cultural-actionexperiment in French schools 103
Concerts, theatres and exhibitions at school (Sweden) 104
Educationalparks (United States of America) 104
A school open to the whole family (United Kingdom) 105
A college for the whole community (United Kingdom) 105
The Educational and Cultural Centre at Val dYerres (France) 105

Chapter 5
The Visual Arts Federation in Denmark 114
Artists housing and studios in Yugoslavia 115
Lending centres in the Netherlands 117
The Canadian Arts Bank 117
The Swedish Centre for Travelling Exhibitions 117
The French Contemporary Art Centre 119
A n experimental symposium in Grenoble (France) 121
Montbliard: artists and film-makers in the urban community 121
Stockholm: an artist at the sorting-office 122
The artist as design consultant in Sweden 123
T w o years in the Uddevalla shipyard 123
T w o public squares entrusted to artists 124
Artists in the Stockholm underground railway 124
Audiences of live and televised performances (France) 129

Chapter 6
Figures relating to public reading throughout the world 138
Cinema audience trends throughout the world 140
The cinema in the Federal Republic of Germany 141
Films made in Czechoslovakiabetween 1957 and 1961 142
The number of architectsin selected countries (1965) 143
Artists in the United States of America 145
Musicians in the United States of America 146
National cultural expenditure: Sweden 147, France 148
Cultural expenditure by the state: Sweden 149, France 150
 List of examples 189

Cultural expenditure by regional authorities: Sweden 151, Switzerland 152

Cultural expenditure by municipalities: Sweden 154, France 155
Expenditure by eighty-nine European municipalities 156
Percentage distribution of cultural expenditure by sectors 156
Public expenditure on cultural activities at different administrative levels in
Finland, France, Norway and Sweden 157
Switzerland: distribution of current cultural expenditure by public auth-
orities in 1970 158
Total public expenditure on cultural activities: Sweden 159
France: budget of the Ministry of Culture for 1981 160
Cultural expenditure by households: Italy, France and Denmark 161

Chapter 7
Cultural and educational communities and cultural councils (Yugo-
slavia) 172
Cultural decentralization in the Federal Republic of Germany 173
A hierarchy of cultural committees (Tunisia) 174
National committees (Czechoslovakia) 174
The newcultural policy in Norway 175
Cultural bodies in Chaux-de-Fond(Switzerland) 176
Cultural action in Annecy (France) 177
Annecy Cultural Action Association 178
The Cultural and Social Office of Rennes (France) 179
[I.70]CLT.82/D.
151/A