Corina Suteu on Public Funding and the Performing
Arts in Romania in Boekmanstudies' "State on Stage"
The Boekmanstudies in Amsterdam has recently launched the book State on Stage. The impact of public policies on the performing arts in Europe. Edited by Ineke van Hamersveld and Cas Smithuijsen, this publication offers both a pan-European overview and national portraits of 15 EU member states, depicting a lively, dynamic performing arts scene. It also reveals what's happening behind the scenes - oversupply, with thousands of performing artists unable to find proper jobs, seeking additional income elsewhere. Despite the generosity of governments at all levels, public money comes either in insufficient quantities, or is spent inefficiently.
The national profile of Romania is covered by Corina Suteu, who, in the dedicated chapter of the book, sketches a picture of the evolution of the relationship between the performing arts field and the late developments of public funding in favour of these arts. The author draws a concise overview of the field in Romania, an endeavour which she appreciates to be difficult, bearing in mind that the legal and managerial system in performing arts is still in the process of reform, while an important number of changes in legislation, engaged in previous years, are still underway to be implemented. Among the essential elements of the Romanian national profile, Corina Suteu points to the structural subsidy and project-based support, the institutional system of the performing arts, the repertory theatre vs. the so-called ‘independent' scene, and the lust for entertainment.
Expert, consultant and trainer in the field of culturalmanagement and policies, Corina Suteu is currently director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York. Previously, she was for nine years director of the European Master's degree in Cultural Management of the Business School in Dijon. She initiated in 1995 the first regiona training programme in cultural management for Eastern European professionals, the ECUMEST programme, and from 1998 she is founder and president of the ECUMEST Association in Bucharest. Her expertise was enriched by extensive trainings held in the frame of MA programmes and other professional courses all over Europe.
She is author of Another brick in the wall. A critical review of cultural management education in Europe and of numerous articles and studies.
For more details and to order the book visit www.boekman.nl.
ROMANIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE IN NEW YORK
200 East 38th Street (at 3rd Avenue), New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-0180 - Fax: 212-687-0181
June 2008
