LOOP PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS Date and hours: Viernes 3 de Junio, 13 – 14 Venue: Hotel Catalonia Ramblas, Carrer Pelai 28, Barcelona Title: Let’s talk about production! Moderator: Anna Manubens, Curator & Augeste Orts Carolina Olivares, Co-Producciones Participants: Alyssa Decq, Contour Biennale Arda Yalkin, Artist Charlotte Lagro, Artist Eleni Kamma, Artist Elias Heunick, Artist Helen Dowling, Artist Helena Kritis, Beursschouwburg Johan Bergström Hyldahl, Artist Lissa Kinnaer, F la n d e rs A rts In stitu te Louis-Cyprien Rials, Artist Maxime Rossi, Artist Mamela Nyamza, Artist Robyn Denny, Artist Pieter Geenen, Artist Vincent Stroep, Producer, Escautville 1
Meeting report by Ma. Laura Rios SUBJECTS: Models of official and independent audiovisual art production, the relationship producer-artist in the European context and in other countries 1) Outlook of artistic audiovisual production •
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There are some initiatives to organize professional meetings for the field of production realizes work projects. In addition, these initiatives are used to create a cartography to understand what is happening in Europe with this sector, the production of artist films. Currently public policies to support artists are limited. Usually are the creators who often self-manage the entire production process of their work. In countries like Belgium there are art centers that are funded by the government and belong to larger institutions. These kind of centers are focused on presenting finished projects and co-produce moving images works of emerging artists. These centers also provide a space for work and for professional meetings without any cost to the artist. Spaces like these also offer logistical and institutional support and provide a space to exhibit the artist’s works. Public policies of the different countries of the European Union show the disparity of priorities in the field of culture. It depends in many cases of the artistic discipline. Visual arts require certain technological structures and are more expensive than other artistic disciplines. Often these costs difficult to obtain financing.
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The present report aims to provide a summary of the discussions that took place during the meeting. It does not aim to be a transcription of the conversations, so we emphasize its summary character.
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The exhibition of visual arts is dominated by art galleries and many artists do not find alternative spaces to display their work. At the same time, art galleries are not responsible for the production of works. In a general context of economic crisis in Europe, it is not the best time to be a producer, mainly because the lack of money for art and culture. Producers are looking for different ways of financing such as crowdfunding platforms. In Spain self-management has emerged as a solution to many artists and producers because of the lack of institutional support and funding by the government. If we talk about the context of production outside Europe, there are countries with many artists seeking private funds, and in the end, in most occasions, they become sponsored by private companies.
2) Production and working conditions and project development • •
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How to consider the artistic films from different points of view such as production, criticism, the economy and practices? There are production proposals that help artists to realize their work and projects. The peculiarity of this work is the lack of a previous script, which imposes on the producer's relentless pursuit of resources. However, there are many structures work they need a formal script to obtain funding Art cinema is not the same as the film industry because it has an unconventional way to produce Some professionals are uncomfortable with the category of producer because it is usually associated with the film industry. For this reason, some professionals combine the work of producer with the work of curator. There are producers that work independently. These producers help artists to carry out their projects by managing the entire production process (management, finance, salaries, etc.) Many video artists are aware of the need to come together to give visibility to their work. The figure of the independent curator sometimes confused with the self-produced artist because both work in a very close way throughout the production process. There are production models that emphasize the realization of projects and there are other models that combine production and curatorship in the figure of the producer-curator. Both ways of producing are totally different. Visual arts often encounter more difficulties in obtaining funding than other artistic practices such as theatre or cinema. That situation arises that many artists end up self-financed and self-producing their own projects with economic and creative consequences for the artist. How to implement projects and finance them? Audiovisual as art (or video-art) is a type of unconventional production that often has difficulties to finance themselves. The question is how to find a solution to produce these projects for the artists, especially for the ones who are not really producers. It is necessary to put in contact the agents (artists, producers, curators, institutions, etc.) to work together in a certain way. There are different types of producers but the most important role should be that these people should know how to work with the formal aspects of a project and also they must assist the artists with their work. In many cases the problems begin with the artist looking for financial support asking to public institutions, and in most cases is the artist who has to deal with all the bureaucracy.
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Then there is also the curator / producer relationship which is not always easy. The producer needs to work with a real and concrete material to achieve a goal. These are projects that start with an idea but they will materialize into a certain product.
Conclusions •
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Audiovisual artistic production is a sector with many difficulties to give visibility to their work. At the same time, it must deal with finding funding in a general context of lack of government support. There is no common cultural policy in Europe that provides the video artists material and logistical support to carry out their projects. The artists become producers when they run into bureaucratic and economic difficulties that often force them to self-manage and self-finance their work. However, there are several local and regional initiatives that are trying to bring together artists and professionals, to improve their working conditions and to exhibit their works.