About the future of projectified areas. A closer look at scientific and artistic work

The article discusses selected examples of artistic projects and scientific papers in the field of management sciences from 2008-2018 in which the authors strived to outline the possible shape of the future. Two methodologies were used in order to show what visions of the world that is yet to come are veiled in the statements being analysed. The first one, the narrative collage, was applied at the stage of selecting the examples, while the second one, the discourse analysis, allowed to penetrate the content of the statements. At the same time, every effort was made to pinpoint the key theme of "relations" in which individuals and groups would be involved. Furthermore, the author factors in the organisational phenomena, and also the interactions within private relationships or communing with nature. The research part is complemented with a review of the literature on management and art, as well as with a comparison of the ways in which scientists and artists formulate their thoughts about the future. The focus on these two fields of activity, science and art, stems from the conviction that they are highly projectified. On the one hand, this justifies the choice of the future-related topic, because projects can be construed as tools that co-shape the future; on the other hand, it is a logical starting point for the research process combining these two perspectives.

The future of the past in digital reality – reflections on the digital heritage

The paper discusses the concept of digital heritage, which is becoming increasingly popular in the scientific discourse, but still leaves many questions unanswered and problems unsolved. The first part of the article constitutes an introduction based on the authors’ own deliberations and the definition proposed in the UNESCO documents. On this basis, the paper outlines the risks associated with the lack of appropriate security tools and methods. The second part of the article describes the duality of digital heritage based on specific examples. The final part – the research – shows the results of the questionnaire conducted in Polish museums.

Institutional revisions and (un)likely scenarios. The Polish “self-diagnostic” theatre.

The paper discusses the phenomenon of theatre performances as well as the curator practices focussed on the organisational/production/administrative dimension of a theatre which is reserved for theatre employees or experts with specialist knowledge and thus usually unavailable to a wide audience. We will treat the selected practices as a tool shaping the future of the institution (and the people employed in it). The most important questions which we will try to answer include: To whom and what do these practices give the floor? On what problems do they shed light? Are they a self-diagnostic tool, and if so, to what extent? How do they deal with the subject of the future? The first part is devoted to the phenomenon of institutional critique. It examines its specific nature and development in the activities of Polish directors and curators. In the second part, we show the most salient examples of the Polish “self-diagnostic” theatre. In part three, we are deliberating on the four problematic areas in which theatre institutions are to operate (hierarchisation, precarity of working conditions, capitalist model of “production,” and illusions that support the status quo) and the possible scenarios indicated by the theatre performances and curator practices described in the article.

A Library in a New World or a New World in a Library?

Due to the profound changes in the modern world, the role of a contemporary library is also not what it used to be. The paper presents new various roles fulfilled by libraries in the 21st century, showing that, in the current reality, measuring the effectiveness of a library only quantitatively oversimplifies the issue and does not do justice to the socially complex function of this cultural institution. Based on the quantitative and qualitative research, the author attempts to specify certain elements of the future role of a library, indicate how the library performance evaluation systems should be improved, and suggest his own original method of measuring the library total value and performance.

Facilitation of Team-based Strategic Diagnosis and Planning in Local Cultural Organisations

The goal of the paper is to describe the process of a team-based (participatory) strategic diagnosis and planning in a local cultural organisation. The team-based method involves the participation of as many organisation’s staff members and stakeholders as possible in strategic diagnosis and planning. The scope of such participation principally covers the management; however, it can be expanded to include a workgroup of selected employees, all the employees, and representatives of the organisation’s environment. The selection of the scope of participation in strategic diagnosis and planning is conditioned by the objectives set by the entity responsible for the organisation (e.g. the management or a supervisory body), the effectiveness of the planning process (decision-making dilemmas: participation – effectiveness), the needs of the local environment, and the selected model of the organisation. A crucial role in supporting the team-based (participatory) process of strategic diagnosis and planning is played by a facilitator. The facilitator’s task is to create optimal teamwork conditions, so as to reveal various perspectives and use the participants’ experiences, knowledge, and ideas in diagnostic and planning work. Preparing the organisation for change, so the process of strategic diagnosis and planning, should factor in the key forces in the organisation and the environment, as presented in the Kurt Lewin’s field theory. These forces have an inhibiting or supporting impact on the strategic management process in the organisation. The paper presents a preliminary analysis of these forces based on the perspectives of the organisation’s management, local self-government (the most common supervisory body of a local cultural organisation), and the organisation’s staff.

Application of the Effectuation Concept in Organising a Cultural Event – a Case Study

The paper presents how the effectuation model, which stems from the business studies, can be applied as a tool for analysing the activities undertaken as part of culture organisation. The key element of this model involves the control-based approach to the future instead of making predictions about the future. The outline of the theoretical background is followed by the results of the qualitative research, where the answers were provided by the founder of the foundation organising a cultural event. The elicited answers were analysed in terms of their compliance with the effectuation model and the causal model contrasted with it. The analysis demonstrated the legitimacy of using the models to describe the ways of organising cultural events. Furthermore, the conclusions drawn could be food for thought for people who manage such undertakings and face the necessity of dealing with the precarious future

Diversity Management as a Challenge to Cultural Organisations

The paper explains the concept of diversity management and answers the questions of whether, and if so – why, diversity management should be part of the cultural organisations’ strategy of preparing for the future. The article is an attempt to look at the phenomenon of diversity management in the cultural sector from the perspective of the challenges and benefits it brings to cultural organisations and managers. In this respect, the paper presents a fragment of a broader research project which discusses the five most-repeated arguments justifying a diversity-based approach: demographic changes, desire to reach the so-far-excluded groups of people and provide wider access, increasing innovation and adaptability, reducing risk, implementation of internal policies and/or legal requirements, and caring for a “better” work environment and commitment.

W tym co robię najbardziej wciąga mnie, spotykanie ze sobą różnych światów i ludzi, którzy kierują się różnymi wartościami. Jak stworzyć sytuację bezpiecznej niezgody? Jak wyjść z bańki, w której każdy z nas mieszka i pobyć z innymi ludźmi? Jak zbudować nowe formy dialogu? – z kuratorką i opiekunką Generatora Malta Joanną Pańczak rozmawia Waldemar Rapior.