STREET ARTISTS IN EUROPE - Fondazione Fitzcarraldo

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Street Artists in Europe
now know the social factors that determine attendance at performances, as well as its various
genres (opera, concert, theatre, dance, etc.). One comparative international study even showed
that, barring a few exceptions, the same factors (education, age, gender, income, place of
residence) always influence or determine the access to such events.
If culture is to be posited as a factor in the creation of a European identity, then we cannot
accept the exclusion of a huge section of the population. Approaches, activities and resources
for resolving that problem differ very widely from one country to another. The principle of
cultural democratisation, as perceived in France, looks rather utopian to some actors in French
cultural towns. Supporters of the arts and culture in countries where no public policy has yet
emerged regard it as purely intellectual. The issue of culture for all must, however, be regarded
as fundamental. Audience diversity emerges as a European challenge.
2.1.2. What new audiences?
In England that challenge is seen as one facing artists and players on the ground. Between 1998
and 2003 Arts Council England funded a huge programme entitled the New Audiences
Programme 329 to support a variety of innovative activities addressed primarily at people not
engaging with the arts. It was designed, firstly, to target groups that were disadvantaged (by
disability, hospitalisation, prison, etc., by their positioning in terms of geography – rural area,
cultural desert, etc.) and, secondly, to try out new types of activity, especially by developing
projects outside the artistic and cultural institutions and projects directly involving the people.
The New Audiences Programme maintains that the worlds of art and culture cannot remain deaf
to developments in society and must show creativity in their search for the ‘non-public’.
‘When you’re looking to develop a new audience, where do you begin? Examining the changes
in society, whether on a local or a national basis, is a good start. Responding to those changes is
the challenge: planning strategically for change and finding creative ways forward’ 330 .
Street arts fit very well into this endeavour (which goes beyond their field of activity) to reach
new audiences. The New Audiences Programme, like other grassroots surveys, reflects the
impact of art moving into new territories. Just as industrial wastelands occupied by artists
become new spaces for artistic and cultural practices, public space becomes, through the work
of urban artists, a potential site for engaging with art and, therefore, a common space to be
shared. Although there is clearly no question of denying the legitimacy of theatres or museums,
there is a real problem of access to them. Seen from that angle, street arts seem in a position to
take up the challenge of democratising culture.
2.2. Links between the promotion of street arts and audiences
2.2.1. European festivals
There is a growing enthusiasm for festivals throughout the European Union. Thousands of
festivals, some entirely local, others on an international scale, are held every year. Some are
built around an artistic niche whilst others seek primarily to attract large crowds. A study 331
329
www.newaudiences.org.uk
330
New lifestyles, The Audience Issue, in Essential Audiences, ArtsProfessionnal, 5 May 2003
(www.artsprofessionnal.co.uk).
331
Klaic Dragan, Bollo Alessandro, Festivals: challenges of growth, distinction, support base and
internationalization, Tartu, Culture 2000, 2004.
PE 375.307