The base of our part is in the days around january 1st 2001. we spent this time at novi sad and petrovaradin, messing round with „art klinika"-people, having a lot of debates about life and fine arts:

Who is "WE" if I say "our"? Art historian Mirjana Peitler-Selakov and me, Martin krusche, artist. We collaborate since 2003. A year passed by, I also went to Bosnia i Hercegovina, to Kosovo, tried to get some ideas, how artists run their business in this post war-societies. Of course I asked for intentions and content too.

What would it be without difference? But on the other hand professionals share some problems and demands, no matter where they live. Next stop: Novi Sad. Some people met at "art klinika" to start an alliance. (See the note before!)

So I should give you a sketch of our experience running art projects in the "province". Some troubles occured this year. It was no surprise, because we saw it come. But many of us did not want to know: The state is running out of money and cutting down the budgets, especially for cultural matters.

In summer 2010 a survey told us: 92 % of austrian mayors and 95 % of austrian people would accept to decrease cultural budgets. No other sphere had that high percentage. What happened? The federal land cut about 25%, cities and villages about 60% and more.

That means for example, the middle class aint no more an educated milieu, being our audience and doing proper investments in culture. (Upper class goes other paths.)

It is an interesting challange, to leave a lot of old paradigms behind. As we know, art as a "social system" takes some more than only practicing arts. And the market? We will see. Strategies? Let's talk about. Collaboration? I would appreciate.

We are running a poject called "kunst ost", which I planned as a kind of laboratory; as I told you in the note before. I think, it could develop as an interesting mixture of collaboration, sponsored parts and parts based on grants. I am also very interested in debates about the current situation and what we are going to do to resist.

Collaboration, debates, exchange of experiences, this is, what Mirjana and me go for in that case. By the way, you may find this study interesting; we allready started to involve it: "Study on the contribution of culture to local and regional development – Evidence from the Structural Funds": [link]

[notes]

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