The Arts and Theatre Institute was the host of the ENICPA meeting for the first time

The meeting of the ENICPA organization took place on 15th and 16th October 2010 in the Small Hall of the Arts and Theatre Institute (ATI) – which is its member as well – for the first time in the Czech Republic. ENICPA (European Network of Information Centres for the Performing Arts, www.enicpa.net) associates representatives of important European information and documentation institutions and its main mission is to spread information about the field of performing arts among art communities. The aim of the ENICPA organization meeting is the exchange of information and experience and the development of common projects of member institutions.

Presentations of the representatives dealt with several topics like ways and criteria applied during the selection of collected data, realized projects, creation of collections (stage design, costumes etc) and marketing tools during project presentations and one's own presentation. The ATI representatives introduced their successful projects like On-line Marketing of Theatres (www.divadlaonline.cz), TACE (www.theatre-architecture.eu) a Preservation and Presentation of the Cultural Heritage of Czech and World Theatre (www.theatreheritage.cz, www.divadelnifotografie.cz). „Great attention of foreign colleagues was drawn to availability of the online database of theatre photographs and the TACE project initiated by the Arts and Theatre Institute that is focused on theatre architecture in Central Europe and it has also generated a vast database of theatres in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia apart from an exhibition and a book," says Ondřej Svoboda, the coordinator of the Prague ENICPA meeting and the director of the Collections and Services Section at the ATI. "The project has great potential to spread its activities in other European countries as well."

Representatives of Belgian, Finnish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Polish, Slovakian and Spanish cultural institutions took part in the meeting. Michael Freundt (the director of the German International Theatre Institute / ITI Germnany), Piia Ahonen (the representative of the ENICPA Council – Dance Info Finland) and Bianca de Wall (Theater Instituut Nederland) ranked among the most important guests.