Culture in Motion 2012: European Audiences – opening round table

Engaging the public with European cultural works is a priority for the European Commission, as well as for most cultural organisations and public authorities in Europe. This year’s Culture in Motion Conference focused on the topic of Audience Development as a central aspect of Creative Europe, the future funding programme for supporting the creative sectors in Europe (2014-2020). Audience development is a strategic, dynamic and interactive process of making the arts widely accessible. It aims at engaging individuals and communities in experiencing, participating in and valuing the arts through various means, from digital tools to volunteering, from co-creation to partnerships. It brings cultural, social and economic benefits. Audience development as a concept may be relatively new, but cultural organisations have already been engaged in a dialogue with their audiences for a long time. The conference was the occasion to present a snapshot of projects supported by the EU’s current Culture and MEDIA programmes, other EU programmes or without direct EU funding, to provide inspiration for our work ahead.