STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

Street Artists in Europe
mandate and its control of culture vis-à-vis foreign policy, not to mention its continued control
over the best-known and most influential cultural institutions.’ 212
In Spain, therefore, the regional and local levels play a predominant role in cultural affairs. The
autonomous communities have legislative and executive powers. They have set up a consejeria
(department for culture) or autonomous secretariat, equivalent to a ministry, or have given
responsibility for culture to a secretariat for education. They, in particular Catalonia, regard
culture as a major building block for creating their own identity. Like education, culture is
regarded as a key strategic axis. The municipalities conduct their cultural policy through a
department of culture and another dedicated to festivals. After the Franco regime, when this was
forbidden, the street acquired a symbolic meaning and the reclaiming of the street today
explains the town councils’ strong commitment to culture with the organisation of festivals, fairs
and musical events. The provinces have powers at supra-municipal level only, but they are now
tending to expand their cultural services and institutions.
Cultural life in Spain is rooted in popular and liturgical traditions that have long regarded the
public space as a site of performance. There is a strong tradition of circus, puppets, gestural
theatre, mime, dance and street arts. It is also worth noting that in Spain amateur theatre and
circus performances are highly developed and represent an important activity in both artistic and
economic terms 213 .
Street arts could obviously not develop until the post-Franco period. Public support for that
sector dates back to the late 1970s. One of the earliest festivals, ‘La Fira del teatre al carrer de
Tàrrega’, was first held in 1980.
The Ministry of Culture can support street arts under various programmes designed mainly for
the circus and theatre. Several types of aid have been set up under the programme of aid for the
promotion of the theatre throughout Spain. They cover the promotion of dramatic art and
contemporary Spanish drama, the promotion of children’s and youth theatre, and partnerships.
There is also a programme of aid for the international promotion of theatre projects. Lastly,
there is a programme of aid for the promotion and development of theatre communication. It
provides aid for festivals, events, férias and theatrical activities organised either by local
corporations or private theatre managers, or by non-profit-making bodies, publication, and for
theatre communication with the autonomous island communities of Ceuta and Mellila.
In the case of the autonomous communities, the economic and cultural context is very different.
Robert Lacombe’s study shows that the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Madrid,
Andalucia and Galicia have the largest number of live performance companies (all disciplines
included) 214 . Public intervention by the Spanish regions is, however, very variable. Castilla-La
Mancha has no policy whatsoever on culture and there is apparently little street arts activity in
that region. ‘At present, the Castilla-La Mancha government has no specific action programme
in that area and there are no circus or street theatre companies in the region…’ 215 . Catalonia
appears to be the exception in Spanish cultural policy; it has introduced various types of aid
through the cultural department of the Catalonian Government, the Generalitat de Catalunya:
212 Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, op. cit.
213 Lacombe, Robert, Le spectacle vivant en Europe: modèle d’organisation et politiques de soutien, op. cit.,
pp. 283-284.
214 Lacombe, Robert, Le spectacle vivant en Europe: modèle d’organisation et politiques de soutien, op. cit.,
p. 288.
215 Reply to the survey by a member of the department of culture of the Junta de Communidades de Castilla-La
Mancha (Toledo, Spain).
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PE 375.307