Experiencing Generosity: An Autoethnographic Sketch from the Process of Coordinating the Research on Theatrical Life in the Pandemic

The publication is the result of the autoethnographic research covering a year-long process of coordinating the implementation of seven sociological studies on theatrical life in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 by two theatre pedagogists – a manager and an employee of the Department of Theatre Pedagogy of the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute. The authors try to answer the following research question: What does the autoethnographic analysis of the experience of people responsible for project management bring to the cultural sector, and how? Thus, they attempt to strengthen the project management discourse with the perspective of those whose work is not visible. As a result of the analyses, they have identified and described two subconscious coordination strategies: playing the speed game and playing the sense game. In order to draw the attention of cultural workers to the influence of private life on professional life and to the value of support received from a co-worker, the authors introduce the details of the experience by describing collaboration in a duet. The answer to the research question is enriched with the reflection that the project coordination methodology adopted by the authors has its source in the values of theatre pedagogy. The text is divided into four parts. The first one is a description of the method of autoethnography. The second one presents the dynamics of actions in a changing reality of pandemic. The third one is focused on cooperation in a duet. Finally, the fourth one presents the authors’ conversation summarising their autoethnographic analyses and showing the influence of the authors’ roots in the theatre pedagogy on the project management.  

The Culture Support Fund – COVID-19 Compensation or a Strategic Intervention? 

The aim of the paper is to discuss the Cultural Support Fund (CSF) as an example of a reactive financing scheme. In order to understand the implemented compensation mechanism for entities operating in the creative sector, a broader context is also explored, which, on the one hand, shows the general message of the Fund, and on the other hand, the lack of efficient management of the CSF. The research is based on the analysis of the existing data outlining the operation of private enterprises in the creative sector, with the emphasis on the performing arts backstage industry. The drama of the situation is accentuated in the individual in-depth interviews with four beneficiaries of the Culture Support Fund, which presents the perspective of the CSF recipients. In order to stress the multidimensionality of the CSF structure, the conclusions are built according to the three dimensions of the analysis: procedural, substantive, and contextual.

Omni-work and Overproduction in Culture. Pandemic-induced Reflections as by-products of the Scientific Explorations in the Poznan Cultural Milieu

Bartek Lis and Jakub Walczyk discuss the phenomenon of omni-work and overproduction in the field of culture, taking into account the changes brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Omni-work, i.e. being constantly at work and involved in many parallel initiatives using mobile media, is a phenomenon common to various types of activity. On the other hand, overproduction in culture involves preparation of events, implementation of activities, and creation of programmes to an outsized extent. Although both concepts have existed for a long time, they have particularly intensified during the pandemic and acquired new, clear exemplifications. The authors explore them in a section affecting individuals and groups engaged in organisational, curatorial, artistic, and social activities in the area of culture. It is the specific nature of employment typical for culture professionals that particularly often evokes the terms discussed in this work. Among other things, by drawing on the analysis of identified data, the authors describe the notions of omni-work and overproduction and the context in which the new ‘pandemic’ reality affects the specificity of the field, reinforcing and exacerbating the long-standing problems, divisions, and disparities.

* Badania „Przyszłość kultury. Badanie poznańskiego sektora” realizowane pod kierownictwem Katarzyny Chajbos oraz Bartka Lisa przez Centrum Praktyk Edukacyjnych w Centrum Kultury ZAMEK na zlecenie Wydziału Kultury Urzędu Miasta Poznania w okresie pierwszego lockdownu (maj–czerwiec 2020). Raport jest dostępny na stronie www.cpe.poznan.pl [odczyt: 15.12.2020].

Amidst Pictures, Algorithms, and Methodological Reflections. Culture in Paris in Times of the Epidemic 

Paris is a city filled with art and home to some of the world’s most famous institutions offering unique cultural events, including exhibitions of priceless works of art and ephemeral performative phenomena such as performances and concerts. Due to the closure of cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has completely changed. The city is deserted, while cultural institutions are focused on using the Internet to run their affairs and forge/maintain relationships with the audience without the possibility of meeting them face-to-face. Based on the author’s own research conducted in Paris in December 2020, the paper presents the analysis of public space in terms of the presence of traces of culture. For this purpose, a flexible methodological approach was designed, covering both the city space and the Internet, also understood as part of the public domain. Additionally, the author’s own research experience is taken into account, depending on the epidemiological situation and the ability to move around the city. The factors discussed in the paper have provoked a multifaceted reflection – starting from the privileges of researchers, through the sense of online culture, and ending with the future of cultural institutions. The aim of the paper is to document the situation of cultural institutions in Paris during the pandemic, with an emphasis on their presence, visibility, and accessibility in the city and the Internet.

* Tekst powstał jako efekt pobytu w Paryżu w ramach stypendium rządu francuskiego na zaproszenie Université Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Activities of Culture Animators during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Reflections of People Implementing Projects on the Internet

The paper deals with the topic of culture organisation/coordination during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed perspective is related to the recognition of the activities of cultural animators and presents the individual experiences of people involved in project implementation. The text presents the results of an empirical study based on interviews with culture animators. The topics discussed include: ways of adapting to the situation, challenges and barriers to implementing projects on-line, forecasting the use of new tools and acquired skills in the future, building a physical and mental work space, acquiring new competences, personal reflections about oneself, and, finally, relationships with recipients and in work environments.

Implementation of Scrum Elements in a Cultural Institution

Since March 2020, managers of cultural institutions have had to dynamically adapt their methodologies for teamwork, project management, and ongoing institutional tasks to the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines handed down by public authorities. Following the initial downtime in the spring season and the reopening in June 2020, the Pod Atlantami Municipal Library in Wałbrzych took vigorous measures to adapt its cultural project management to the new conditions, drawing on the experience of the broadly understood business sector. These measures included the implementation of certain elements of Scrum as an agile framework for project management. The goal of the paper is to showcase the pilot implementation of Scrum elements in project management in the selected cultural institution. The analysis relied on structured questionnaires and open questions, visualisation meetings, and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis showed the applicability of backlog management, iterative planning, and iterative task execution to projects pursued by cultural institutions, along with potential for winning the employees’ approval. However, a properly executed implementation is necessary, in which regard this paper offers a set of recommendations arising from the analysis.

Project Management in a Projectified Pandemic Reality – the Autoethnography of the Project Michał Wójciak – Open Studio

The main aim of the paper is to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the project management process and on projectification. Two research questions are posed: How does the COVID-19 pandemic affect the project management process and projectification? and What are the implications of projectification for the individuals? For this purpose, the author uses autoethnography, which is a research method based on the researcher’s personal experience. The subject of the study covered the project of an open fashion design studio launched as part of the Creative Scholarships of the City of Cracow 2020 in the period from July to December 2020. On the one hand, the pandemic was an impediment to the project, which is why it was necessary to adjust the planned activities to the imposed restrictions; on the other hand, the pandemic inspired certain project events, i.e. organisation of the masquerade ball.

COVID-19 vs Art. Economic, Financial, and Legal Consequences of the Pandemic Based on the Case Study of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz

Since March 2020, cultural institutions have become a field of social, economic, and legal experiment in terms of content, management strategies, and ways to implement a new work model. The governmental regulations have put the flexibility and strength of so-far firm public sector structures, with its resources and finances, to the test. The wide scale of positive and negative consequences of the limited operations of cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic shows well the complexity of managing change during uncertain times. The change has also become synonymous with moving activities to the Internet, which often is an ad hoc and last-resort measure. The scope of dilemmas and adaptations introduced in the economic and financial repertoire as well as the legal department of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz may constitute an interesting case study of a cultural institution operating in an existing and much disintegrated economic and financial ecosystem. The aim of the work is to analyse the situation in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz divided into three dimensions: legal, financial, and accounting. Each of them have generated new problem areas. The material for the study consists of interviews with the Philharmonic’s heads of departments (interview disposition). In the interviews, both detrimental and valuable effects of the pandemic are presented, and a new approach to the problems described.

Culture During a Pandemic – Managing the Organisational Resources Necessary to Adopt the New Formula of the Festival

The aim of the article is to study how organizers of three Krakow festivals managed to adapt the new formula of the event – an online festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research identifies the way of managing the organizational resources and discusses adopted tactics, changes in the use of resources, and supplementing their deficits. The results indicate the key importance of human resources and shortage in technical skills. The action taken by the organizers has been evaluated.