June 5th, 2024Activities, News

Culture Next Mobilities: Elefsina in Cluj, late spring 2024

From the 27th of May to the 2nd of June, a four-people Elefsina delegation came to Cluj, Romania, in the framework of the Culture Next Mobility Programme.

The delegation was composed by Angeliki Lampiri, Director of Cultural Training, Anastasia Amanatidou, Head of CEO Office and Intellectual Property-Legacy Manager, Ioulia Kolovou, Head of Recovery Fund Project Implementation, and Chrysa Martini, Director of Venues, Premises & Infrastructure. The purpose of the visit was to investigate Cluj models of legacy management and governance, EU funding and alternative funding, stakeholders engagement, programming, and cultural venues management.

Tuesday, 28th of May

The first day of the mobility was fully dedicated to meeting the Cluj Cultural Centre management team: Ștefan Teișanu (executive director), Rarița Zbranca (programme director) and Meda Corovei (finance director). Conversation focused on the CCC governance model, history and management and included a presentation of WEAST, CCC’s theory of social change through culture:

W from Wonder     Imagining the new

E from Explore       Designing prototypes

A from Activate      Testing out

S from Share          Discussing results

T from Trust           Scaling-up

Wednesday, 29th of May

On the second day of the visit, the conversation included detailed presentations of the CCC funding model, such as the EU funds approach and creativity in private partnerships. We also visited Cluj Innovation Park, the Cluj municipal company that manages the Regional Centre for Excellence in Creative Industries, and the Pata Rât Community Radio, a grassroots project operated by the AltArt Foundation in the most vulnerable community of Cluj.

Thursday, 30th of May

On the third day of the visit, the Greek guest took part in the Eurocities annual conference, hosted in Cluj under the slogan Green. Innovative.Resilient and in the evening celebrations of the Cluj Days, the cultural festival of the local community.

Friday, 31st of May

The fourth day of the mobility included three site visits to review different partnership models for venues management: the Garrison, the future cultural hub of the city, realised in partnership with the City Hall; the Qub, a pilot space for art and science education created with mostly private funding; and the Centre for Urban Culture, the city hall’s management system for cultural venues.

The afternoon was dedicated to a meeting with representatives of the City Hall and Ovidiu Cîmpean, State Secretary for European Funds and Projects, on the subject of attracting EU money for large cultural programmes. The day ended with the CCC Partial Assembly, a garden party with members and collaborators of the Cluj Cultural Centre.

Saturday, 1st of June

The last day of the trip included visits to the sites of more cultural and public space projects, including a community skatepark, but also conversations on the topics such as placemaking (Urbannect), youth engagement Youth Federation) and UNESCO Creative Cities (CCC).

Read about the Mobility Programme from the experience of the Elefsina team,