#12 Half-time at the workshops – participation is written large

A lot has happened in the spring with the Innsbruck Cultural Strategy 2030. After intensive preparatory work, a 265-page baseline study was published in mid-March which was actualized in June. It contains not only a first comprehensive view on the arts and cultural sector in Innsbruck, but also numerous potential goals and measures for the cultural future of the city.

At the same time, the results from the baseline study were used for planning the ongoing workshop phase. At the first workshop in April 2021, more than 180 participants gathered in a Zoom video conference and took more than three hours to discuss their ideas on the topic of “City & Image: Culture instead of the Mountains vs. cultural city of the mountains?” The two subsequent workshops in May and June 2021 each also welcomed around 100 participants in the digital space. The topics here: “Promotion & Work” and “Education & Society”.

The workshops yielded valuable insights that will subsequently be incorporated into the cultural strategy. The great need for networking and exchange is obvious, especially across disciplines and genres as well as between the large institutions and the smaller initiatives in Innsbruck’s cultural sector. A frequently mentioned goal is to increase the visibility of existing cultural programs, which includes finding joint opportunities and addressing tourists and residents at the same time. Also a major topic in the workshops were objectives dealing with access for art and culture to the public space of the city: Active vacancy management, more cultural offerings in neighborhoods away from the center, and increased use of public space for cultural purposes are all addressed. On a higher level, the workshops also repeatedly called for a clear commitment by the city to the value of art and culture. This results in objectives such as increased appreciation of art and culture, recognition of the diversity of different cultural expressions, or the implementation of fair pay in the arts and culture sector.

The results of the workshops are always published promptly on the website and can be commented there. In addition to the latest news, information on the process, content and participation can also be found here. The latter, by the way, is very important to the Innsbruck Cultural Strategy 2030, as the following examples show:

  • After the workshops, a 7-member working group of representatives from the Innsbruck cultural sector always meets to reflect on and discuss the respective workshop results.
  • At the end of June, an advisory board of 30 personalities was convened for the first time, which will contribute its expertise on a selective basis.
  • The Cultural Committee of the City of Innsbruck is intensively involved in the process. Thus, an interim status of the work was presented to the members of the committee at the beginning of July and topics such as the status of art and culture in Innsbruck, the visibility of cultural programs or cultural education were discussed.
  • A subject-specific exchange takes place with various stakeholders such as Innsbruck Tourismus or Lebensraum Tirol Holding. We would like to take this opportunity to thank both of them, Innsbruck Tourism as co-financier and Lebensraum Tirol Holding as partner for supporting the project.

Three more workshops will follow in September, October and November. They are open to all interested people and enable active participation of the population in the cultural development of the city. The next workshop on “Space & Collaboration” will take place on September 29 at Haus der Musik Innsbruck (Universitätsstraße 1, 6020 Innsbruck). Registration at kulturstrategie-innsbruck.at/participation is possible from September 4 to 17.