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1.3 Lack of managerial and business skills
Hindering not only access to finance, the lack of business skills within the CCS also
weakens the sustainability of cultural and creative enterprises.
Arts organisations and artists themselves need to be fully equipped to unlock financial
resources but despite the high number of small and medium-sized companies and
freelancers in the CCS, practitioners in the sector feature a general lack of
entrepreneurial skills. Indeed, the general and arts education curricula do not integrate
this dimension and there seem to be a dearth of specific training programmes that
address the needs of the CCS.
Nevertheless, for cultural enterprises to be successful, they not only need awareness
to judge the economic sustainability of their (artistic) activities but also to understand
market requirements to be able to mobilise different sources of funding. Audience
analyses as well as the use of new technologies are other competences that should
be acquired by culture professionals.
However it is difficult for them to access and finance existing training sessions. It is
hard for artists to find cost-effective opportunities and difficult for organisations, to
release staff time for it (Creative and Cultural Skills 2009).
1.4 Internationalisation of the arts
Europe’s rich cultural and linguistic diversity constitutes one of its most precious
assets, but is also at the origin of one of the challenges faced by the CCS. Culture
and creative activities are closely linked to the local contexts where they are
originated so they often struggle to expand beyond national frontiers. Whilst
diversification along local and national lines confers them their specific identity and
uniqueness, it can also make it more difficult to reach other that are audiences
different from the one originally targeted.
Internationalisation of artistic creation- the
leitmotiv
of the CreArt
project
Cultural mobility is recognised in its role of fostering intercultural dialogue,
creativity and innovation, support the professionalization of artists and encourage
cultural literacy of the population.Artistic residencies may be an important phase
in an artist’s career. Immersion in a new cultural context indeed favours artistic
creativity and innovation leading to the enrichment of the artist’s work. They
also provide networking opportunities and help professional insertion through
encounters with the local arts community and institutions (arts schools, galleries
etc.) with which collaborations can take place in the future. In this way, they are
a source of professionalization increasing artists’ capacity for cultural awareness,
managerial skills, personal and organisational development (OMC 2014).
In addition to contributing to artists’ personal and professional development,
artists’ residencies more broadly benefit the host organisation and the city, region
