[spectre] very bad news for 115 digital art social centers and festivals in France

[Jean-Noël Montagné]

28 janvier 2008

Situation is getting worse and worse for artists 
in France: 115 digital art centers, festivals and 
mediathèques will not receive funds from Ministry 
of culture this year, and will have to stop or 
reduce strongly their activities. The 
coordination of this network publishes this 
communiqué for immediate release:


-----------

Culture Multimedia in France

We, the organizations and actors of "media 
culture" for the last 10 years, have been working 
on projects for the creation, the research and 
the distribution of digital art for cultural, 
education and mediation actions with the public, 
across territories and through networking, 
constantly inspired by the interests of the 
general public. Also, we participate in 
establishing benchmarks in customs and practices 
of multimedia in our information society and in 
general, by our participation and accompaniment 
in these projects.

The French Ministry of Culture, without 
consultation or hesitation and without providing 
any justification, has chosen to withdraw from 
the media culture, questioning its support of 
more than 115 organizations in France, and of the 
digital arts festivals and of digital creation 
aids. In doing so the actors and local community 
organizations involved are presented with a "fait 
accompli".

Yet the same Ministry of Culture, in 1998 had 
initiated a policy in support of cultural, 
multimedia and artistic creation and
democratization, through an emphasis on 
professionalizing of the actors, and on 
supporting innovative modes of production with 
artists and with the public. The policy was 
unanimously endorsed by each successive 
government, and its missions enacted, and it was 
recognized as being of public interest, and 
reaffirmed by the President in his letter of 
Mission to Madam the Minister of Culture.

This act is in complete contradiction with the 
strategic choices of this government on the 
information society.

This act has substantial consequences for those 
involved in the media culture, while the 
individual amounts involved seem ridiculous: 
between 5000 and 30000 euros per year, and have 
specific and immediate consequences:

-The precariousness of the economy structures;
-The abolition of posts;
-Difficulties in welcoming visiting artists and the dissemination of works;
-Difficulties in organizing cultural and 
educational actions for the public and for 
schools;
-The closure of places for mediation and creation 
for all the population on the whole territory;
-The endangerment of the newly created networks 
for the exchange in actors and creators for areas 
covering the entire country.


The balance of power created by the Ministry of 
Culture convinces us to reaffirm the importance 
of the actions that we carry out with artists and 
with the public, and to arm ourselves with the 
tools that will allow us to ensure the defense of 
this sector, of its structures and jobs, 
especially by formalizing the establishment of a 
national federation of actors in the
media culture.

With this structure and given the stakes, we ask 
for a review of government policy and call:

-Consistency between the statements by the 
President of the Republic and the strategic 
recommendations and practical implementation by 
the Minister of Culture;
-Maintaining and strengthening public policies so 
far in the field of media culture;
-Consultation with the industry players to 
collectively build multimedia cultural policies, 
public and private;

And we invite the actors of "media culture" for 
whom this process and in the values raised by the 
association is most relevant, to join the General 
Assembly of the federation on February 18, 2008 
in Paris.


This mobilization call for the review of 
government policy in terms of french media 
culture is part of a broader discussion related 
to disengagement of the french State in terms of 
cultural activities and more specifically in the 
need for persistence and preservation of actions 
brought with artists, researchersŠ and with 
publics by all actors of "media culture".

http://www.culture-multimedia.org/

---------