26 and 27 April
10am – 1pm CET (9am – 12pm WET)
Online
Trainer: Maria Vlachou
“If we closed tomorrow, who would cry for us?”
Most cultural organisations consider their “mission” to be the description of what they do. Thus, we have many – so many – museums that collect, preserve, study and exhibit; or many – so many – theatres that present theatre and dance performances, concerts, debates, etc. Rarely, however, do these organisations question why they do what they do, what their purpose is, why they exist, and who would miss them if they didn’t exist…
In this course we shall examine ways of answering these questions so that we can make clear (to society, but first to ourselves) what moves us and what citizens can expect from us. By looking at a number of concrete examples, from different parts of the world and different kinds of cultural organisations, we will see how a clear mission statement – short, clear, concise – allows us to better orientate our work, invest on existing resources, meet objectives and meet the needs and demands of the communities we claim to be serving.
Target audience
Professionals in the areas of cultural management, communications, education services / visitor experience / mediation, public relations
Registration fees
Standard: €30
Students / Unemployed: €25
Access Culture members: €20
Registration form
(details on payment will be sent after receiving the registration form)
Bionote
Maria Vlachou is a Cultural Management and Communications consultant. Founding member and Executive Director of Acesso Cultura | Access Culture, promoting access – physical, social, intellectual – to cultural participation. Author of the bilingual (pt/en) blog Musing on Culture, where she writes about culture, the arts, museums, cultural management and communication, access. She is the manager of the Facebook group Museum texts / Textos em museus and co-manager of the blog Museums and Migration. She participated in the European project RESHAPE – Reflect, Share, Practice, Experiment, having joined the trajectory “Arts and Citizenship”.
In the past, she was Communications Director of São Luiz Municipal Theatre and Head of Communication of Pavilion of Knowledge – Ciência Viva (Lisbon). Board member of ICOM Portugal (2005-2014) and editor of its bulletin. She has collaborated with different programmes of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Fellow of ISPA – International Society for the Performing Arts (2018, 2020); Alumna of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center in Washington (2011-2013); she has a M.A. in Museum Studies (University College London, 1994) and a B.A. in History and Archaeology (University of Ioannina, Greece, 1992).
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