”What can art and culture do in a time of crisis?” That is the assignment given by the Danish Minister for Culture, Mr Uffe Elbæk, to 12 European cultural notabilities when they meet in Copenhagen on February 27-28.The members of the cultural ”task force” Team Culture 2012 will explore Europe to find examples of art and culture that are making a difference and impacting society at large. Team Culture 2012 will end in June at a big meeting in Brussels, where the findings will be presented to an invited audience of decision makers, members of the European Parliament and European ministers for culture.
Press release, February 21 - 2012
The Danish Minister for Culture, Mr Uffe Elbæk says:
”Art and culture have a special ability to foster new ideas and new hope in a time of crisis. We are now embarking on a search for examples of European creativity that are making a difference in society at the moment. What can art, culture and the creative industries do right now? How can we make the most of the innovative power of art and culture to stimulate new ideas in terms of identity, community and economic growth?”
”We are setting a team of 12 European cultural figures coming from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds. We are asking this cultural elite team to both consult their national and professional networks and venture out into Europeto find great examples of art making a difference. At the same time we are asking them to write a manifesto on how the cultural sector can create new energy in the present crisis. The manifesto and the exciting examples will be presented in Brussels in June.”
The start-up session for Team Culture 2012 will take place in Copenhagen on February 27-28, where the team will find a common ground for their quest.
The team will be presented at a short, informal press conference on February 28th at 1pm at The Carlsberg Honorary Residence. The members of Team Culture 2012 will be available for individual meet-and-greets at the conference. Registration is necessary (please see contact information - below)
The Carlsberg Honorary Residence is at Gamle Carlsbergvej 11, 2500 Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The members of Team Culture 2012:
Benedetta Tagliabue (Italy/Spain): Architect, director of the Miralle-Tagliabue-EMBT Studio in Barcelona.
Efva Lilja (Sweden): Choreographer, Professor of Choreography and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Dance and Circus, Stockholm.
Josephine Green (United Kingdom/Netherlands): former Senior Director of Trends and Strategy at Philips Design.
Julie Edel Hardenberg (Greenland/Denmark): Artist, Photographer, Writer.
Kathryn Bennetts (Belgium): Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders.
Margot Wallström (Sweden): Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict to the UN.
Moukhtar Kocache (France/Lebanon): Art Historian, Curator and former Program Officer at the Ford Foundation.
Neil MacGregor (United Kingdom): Director of the British Museum.
Paul Khera (United Kingdom/Nepal): Designer, Photographer.
Peter Schneider (Germany): Writer, Commentator.
Stojan Pelko (Slovenia): Film Publicist, Essay Writer and former State Secretary, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
Vibeke Windeløv (Denmark): Independent Film Producer, owner of Windelov Productions.
Further information
Press Officer, Lars Christian Hvidberg, Ministry of Culture, tlf.: +45 50 91 77 18 /
Deputy Permanent Secretary, Jesper Hermansen, Ministry of Culture, tlf.: +45 33 92 35 18 /