Arts Institute – Theatre Institute

Arts Institute – Theatre Institute Changes in name and amendments to the state of the organization In April 2007, in accordance to the proposal made by the Theatre Institute, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic has amended the statue of the Theatre Institute with an appendix to include a name change to the organization which will no longer be called the Theatre Institute, but will now be called: Arts Institute – Theatre Institute The main motive of this change was the reality that the previous name of the organisation did not justify the extent of our organisation’s true nature. For the past few years, we have been engaged in activities that have been related to fields other than merely theatre. This concerns the natural development whose vision was outlined in the “Concept of the Development of the Theatre Institute 2004 – 2009” and amended by the author of the concept Ondřej Černý, who was Director of the Theatre Institute until March 31, 2007. The proposal to expand the statute and the organization name change was submitted and discussed in detail with the author. This does not imply in any way that the information, documentation and specialized services, nor the publications or studies conducted by the Theatre Institute for the past several decades in the field of theatre will be reduced or limited. These activities, on the contrary, will continue to be expanded upon. One particular example is the foundation of the collection of scenographic works. The Arts Institute (AI) was founded on January 1, 2005, as one of the departments of the Theatre Institute. Those activities and projects outside the area of theatre were handed over to this department. In comparison to the extent of Theatre Institute’s activities and its number of employees, we have a rather small work space. However, after two years, the AI has demonstrated its justness and viability. Nonetheless, it has also demonstrated that the hierarchical subordination to the Theatre Institute appears illogical and unjustifiable during public presentations and discussions with partners working in similar spheres. The ambition of the Arts Institute is to become an all-encompassing information, consultation, education and production centre for all fields of the arts with the aim of: - contributing to the development and raising of artistic prestige in all levels of society; - supporting the exchange of information and experience between individual artistic disciplines; - offering information and consultation services to state and autonomous organisations, public and non-for-profit organisations and to the public who specialise in these fields; - encouraging the participation of Czech organizations and independent individuals in international projects and networks; - presenting and promoting Czech art abroad; - and concentrating on the education of artists and cultural employees, primarily in the management field. The information services of the Arts Institute stem from the creation of a new cultural portal that provides information on grants, residency programmes, collaboration, work placement opportunities, publications, etc. Part of its activities includes the creation of a complex database of organizations and institutions working in the cultural field, as well as a collection of documents focusing on cultural politics. The research activities of the AI can be found in the work of two grant projects for the Ministry of Culture that focus on cultural politics and the processing of the “Preliminary Analyses of the Current Structure of the Labour Market”, conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The Arts Institute conducted the research for the “Concept for More Efficient Support of the Arts 2007-2013” that was approved by the government. One significant division of the Arts Institute is the Czech Cultural Contact Point supported by the Culture programme of the European Union. The activities of this office (established in 2001) will continue to be the base of the administration of complete information and consultation services dedicated to the conceptual and financial support of artistic and cultural projects in the Czech Republic and foreign programmes and funds, primarily with emphasis on the use of resources from the European Union. The expansion of the professional scope of the Theatre Institute reflects other and current state of contemporary art that has a tendency to cross the borders of the individual artistic genres. The official title of our organization is the Arts Institute – Theatre Institute (in Czech Institut umění – Divadelní ústav). In this direction to the public however, both parts of the organization according to their independent activities and to their own representation will use the current title and logos. Eva Žáková Acting Director of the Arts Institute – Theatre Institute