Book Presentation

Gender and Labor in the Cultural Field in Serbia

Tatjana Nikolić & Dr Nađa Bobičić

10th October 2023 from 3 p.m.at at IKM and via ZOOM
IKM, large seminar room (AW E0101)
mdw – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien

ZOOM
https://mdw-ac-at.zoom.us/j/63673758105?pwd=ZGVGR1p2aHZKTlRDNHNBR00rZERvQT09
Meeting ID: 636 7375 8105
Passcode: 319167

As part of a UNESCO supported multi-year national project "Gender Equality Generates Cultural Diversity" in Serbia, a quantitative and qualitative survey of obstacles to gender equality in the sector of culture, arts and creative industries in this country was conducted.
 

The study will have its first international presentation at IKM mdw and via ZOOM on Tuesday, October 10 2023 from 3 p.m. The presentation will be held in English language. RSVP for attending via ikm@mdw.ac.at.

The presentation and the discussion will be moderated by Laura Eichenseer, BA MAS, Stabstelle Gleichstellung, Gender Studies und Diversität (GGD) mdw and Universitätslehrgang Kulturmanagement.

 

The research tried to answer the following questions:
 

• What are the working conditions of cultural workers and entrepreneurs in the cultural sector?
• What are the living conditions of employees engaged in the cultural sector in Serbia?
• What forms of gender discrimination generate gender inequalities in cultural life?
• How can we contribute to the increased participation of women and their fairer representation in the cultural field in our society?

The results were published in a publication of almost 250 pages in Serbian and in English. The authors of the study are Dr Predrag Cvetičanin, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts in Niš and Head of the Center for Empirical Studies of Southeast European Culture (CESK), Tatjana Nikolić, Junior Researcher at the IKM mdw and Dr Nađa Bobičić, Research Associate at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade.

The illustrations on the cover are the work of artist Jelena Đorđević, and the publication was published by the Association Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia and the Faculty of Arts in Niš, Serbia.
 

The findings of the research served as a starting point for designing a capacity building program that was dedicated to improving knowledge and skills in the community. As part of the program, four seminars were held to develop skills in the areas of financial management and fundraising, public relations, association and personal organization, time management and self-care. Furthermore, through two workshops, a space was opened for the exchange of experiences of women workers in culture from different artistic fields. Free consulting was organized for female artists and workers in culture and creative industries, namely in the areas of public relations and financial management in the cultural sector; expert consulting teams were formed and were available to women cultural workers during the project via e-mail or via virtual "open doors". Special attention was devoted to strengthening the capacities of new generations, through the organization of girls’ rock camps, education for contemporary critical readings and street art workshops for girls and young women. The mobility program was one of the supporting activities, within which twelve female artists had the opportunity to directly learn and exchange knowledge with colleagues from the region of Southeast Europe. The establishment of a national network dedicated to gender equality at the founding conference in Novi Sad in May 2023 was the third and final segment of the project.

The project was funded by the International UNESCO Cultural Diversity Fund and co-funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and City of Belgrade. It aimed to create preconditions for a fairer approach that would provide women as creators of cultural expressions with equal opportunities in the cultural field in Serbia, and was chosen in 2020 as one of the 6 best and the only one from Serbia, out of a total of 1,027 projects from around the world.

The book can be downloaded freely from the website of the publisher: https://nezavisnakultura.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FINAL-Gender-and-Labor-in-the-Cultural-Field-in-Serbia-online.pdf