Press Release
25 November 2008
New issues and models surrounding cultural sponsorship presented at the first CultureBusiness forum
The first ever CULTUREBUSINESS forum organised by AGENDA brought together an international audience of over 200 participants at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris on the 20th and 21st November to tackle and discuss new practices and issues surrounding commercial sponsorship at this time of crisis. Being the only forum of its kind, CultureBusiness proposed a platform for various cultural sponsors (project bearers, companies, consultants, etc.) where they could encounter and confront their experiences on a European wide scale.
The international aspect of CultureBusiness meant that an audience of cultural and professional specialists from a variety of backgrounds, which spanned over Germany, Italy, Belgium, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States etc, were united for the first time. Amongst the notable participants were Artes Leuven, the British Council, CNC, Le Louvre, ICOM, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, The National Gallery of Washington, la Piscine de Roubaix, UNESCO, etc. A panel of experts and European professionals including François de Mazières, Président de la Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Maïa Guarnaccia of IMG, Thomas Girst from BMW Group, Mark Alizart from the Palais de Tokyo, Will Gompertz from the Tate and Jean-Yves Kaced from l'AROP - Opéra National de Paris; all took part in the forum, which was presided over by Nicole Newman. In addition to keynote speeches, round table meetings were held, one of which was moderated by Robert Fohr, a representative of the French Culture and Communications Ministry, tackling the subject of “The Artisit or the Institutio, what role does the institution play now?”, with the artist Nathalie Elémento and Bruno Gaudichon of the Piscine de Roubaix overseeing the debates and contributing their experience of modern day sponsorship. One other round table debate was moderated by the journalist and researcher Frédéric Martel (France Culture) which looked at the subject “In a time of crisis, is culture weakened by competitors?”, also evaluating where culture finds itself in relation to education, research and sport.
Exchanging, learning and meeting were the main keywords of the CultureBusiness forum. The participants not only had the opportunity to better understand the most modern practices in sponsorship, but were also able to meet with several potential sponsors. During an evening organised by the association "Mécènes en Scène" at the Residence of the British Ambassador in Paris, over sixty speed meetings took place, giving participants the chance to meet large companies such as GDF Suez or to receive advice from Croissance Plus, MEDEF and ADMICAL.
These two days of expectional encounters were further enriched by interactive working sessions named 'Chucotage sessions' where the collective intelligence of the audience was called upon. The complete programme of CultureBusiness is available on the site http://www.culturebusiness.net/programme.html.
CultureBusiness is an event conceptualised by AGENDA and receives the support of RMN - Réunion des Musée Nationaux. Our institutional partners include : Mission du mécénat du ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, ADMICAL, Arts & Business, Muse, Prométhéa, Promuséum, Samouraï, Thalys. Our media partners include : La Tribune, Le Journal des Arts, The Art Newspaper.
Media Relations: contact Philippe Fouchard: pfouchard@agendacom.com
telephone: +33 1 49 95 99 06
