Typically, cities awarded with the European Capital of Culture title allow a few months’ rest for the teams that worked on the winning application, however the Kaunas 2022 team is not planning to stop anytime soon.
While the international contest for creating the Kaunas 2022 image is taking place and while the open housewarming party of the headquarters on Laisvės avenue is being prepared for, new projects of the programme are eager to blossom. The Tempo Academy starts in September along with the platform Wake It, Shake It, both focusing on the changes in the cultural field of Kaunas and developing competence. Alan Brown (USA), the head of WolfBrown and a world-class consultant of cultural organisations, has agreed to give a speech at the introductory event for these projects on September 18.
Organisers of the cultural sector, researchers, academics, students and others will gather at the VMU Multifunctional Centre, where A. Brown will give a scientific talk called “New ways of planning art programmes”. The guest speaker will discuss fresh trends in the global cultural field in terms of audience development – processes he’s very much involved in. The main focus of the speech will be on independent programmes carried out by traditional art institutions, something that’s truly relevant at the moment.
“People of theatre, music, ballet and contemporary dance all work hard at reaching new segments of the public; one of the most successful methods of achieving that is relying on the events and formats created by independent artists or experts”, the American notes. He adds that the success of the connection between a contemporary brand and a quality programme lies in the manner such events are introduced to young audiences, which is a challenge for many institutions that have been active for decades.
Based in San Francisco, A. Brown pays a lot of attention to the needs of consumers of culture; he helps cultural organisations find new solutions, make decisions based on current research and react to this rapidly changing field. WolfBrown – a company led by A. Brown – works with organisations of different arts on fundraising, marketing, planning, research, evaluation, education and other projects. The company consults and develops new methods for organisations with specific intricacies.
The speaker is planning to meet the heads and employees of the city’s cultural organisations before the event and to hear more about the situation of culture in Kaunas.
A symbolic start of the Kaunas 2022 projects The Tempo Academy and Wake It, Shake It will take place with a talk by A. Brown titled “New ways of planning art programmes” at 6 pm on September 18 (Monday) at the VMU Multifunctional Centre (23 V. Putvinskio street, auditorium No. 106). Free entry to anyone interested.
