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Catania Seminar

June, 2013

Catania

June, 2013

Meeting points: University of Catania

The University of Catania is the oldest in Sicily and was founded in 1434 by King Alfonso V of Aragon (who was also King Alfonso I of Sicily). The Pope gave the right to grant degrees ten years later. The first four faculties were Medicine, Philosophy, Canonic & Civil Law, and Theology & Arts. The University’s main building stands in Piazza Università, in the former grounds of the hospital of St. Mark, destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. The building was designed by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini and is a magnificent monument of Baroque architecture. Departments are dispersed throughout the town centre, in addition to a modern campus in the northern periphery. The Department of Economics and Business was originally founded in 1920 and is the oldest in Sicily and in Southern Italy after Naples and Bari. It includes about 75 professors teaching six thousand students.

Zo Cultural Association

Zo is a “factory” planning and producing cultural events, in a network with similar international structures, aiming at promoting the diffusion of all contemporary artistic and cultural expression. Zo is a space which was born to receive multidisciplinary events with different requirements and characteristics, and trying to test new ways of presenting events. The actual building where Zo is situated is an ex sulphur refinery, owned by the Municipality of Catania, which is part of a group of factories dating back to the last century that constituted the industrial centre of Catania, the old source of local economic activity. Zo was financed by "Sviluppo Italia" (Italian development) and founded by Officine, a cooperative formed in 1997 by a group of young art promoters, which still runs the centre.

Programme Monday, June 10 10-12.30 MEETING OF THE PARTNERS 10.00-10.30 WELCOME ADDRESS

Prof. Michela Cavallaro, Head of the Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania

Mrs. Enza Cilia, Dept. of Cultural Goods –

Sicilian Region

10.30-12.30 Internal meeting

13:30-17:30 MULTI-PRODUCT FIRMS IN CULTURAL

SECTORS WORKSHOP 13:30-14:30 COFFEE-BREAK 14:30-16:00 Chairman: Ilde Rizzo, University of Catania

Speakers: Johanna Archbold - Block T, Dublin Francesc Duart - Magma Cultura, Barcelona Renato Lombardo – The Brass Group, Palermo Felicita Platania - Zo Centre, Catania

16:00-16:15 COFFEE-BREAK 16:15-17:30 Chairman: Tiziana Cuccia, University of Catania

Speakers: Daniele Zappalà - Scenario Pubblico, Catania Anna Mignosa, Officine Culturali, Catania Michele Trimarchi - University of Catanzaro

Tuesday, June 11 9:00-13:00 CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL

INCLUSION WORKSHOP 9.00 WELCOME ADDRESS

Prof. Giacomo Pignataro, Rector of the University of Catania

Prof. Mariarita Sgarlata, Sicilian Regional Government Secretary for Cultural Goods and Sicilian Identity

9:30-11:00 CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL

INCLUSION - EXPERIENCES Chairman: Roberto Cellini, University of Catania Speakers:

Gianluca Collica - Fondazione Brodbeck, Catania Peppe Lana - BOCS, Catania Nino Romeo - Teatro Coppola, Catania

10:00-10:15 COFFEE-BREAK

10:15-12:30 CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL

INCLUSION - INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES Chairman: Isidoro Mazza, University of Catania Speaker:

Antonio Presti - Fondazione Fiumara d’Arte, Tusa (Messina) Adolfo Morrone – ISTAT Victoria Ateca-Amestoy - University of the Basque Country

13:30-15:00 LUNCH

16:00 – VISIT TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS OF ARTS

PRODUCTION AND FRUITION IN POOR AND/OR PERIPHERAL

Record On Monday, the PUCK workshop in Catania opened with a welcome address by Prof. Michela Cavallaro, Director of the Department of Economics of the University of Catania. Thereafter, Mrs. Enza Cilia, senior officer at the Department of Cultural Goods and Sicilian Identity of the Sicilian Region, congratulated the participants for their research that she described to be of vital importance for the activities that the Sicilian Region undertakes in the cultural sector. After the speeches, the internal meeting of the project participants started. Prof. Juan Prieto clarified a few points raised about administrative issues and reminded attendees that proofs of all expenses and transfers have to be ready before the next meeting in Dublin (September 20-21). Afterwards, the discussion moved to the completion of the handbook that will collect the research topics analysed during the several workshops of the PUCK project. Then, Prof. Ilde Rizzo proposed to have an editor for each research institution, or at least for each country represented in the project. This proposal was welcomed by the assembly. The preliminary meeting ended with Prof. Beatriz Plaza’s presentation of the fifth thematic workshop of the PUCK research network, namely “Culture, data and smart cities”, which will be hosted by the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, (13-14 January). In that workshop, two major effects of digitalization on culture will be discussed. Firstly, digital engagement in relation to other types of cultural participation will be investigated. In this context, Mr. Hasan Bakhshi (NESTA) will be invited as a speaker. Secondly, the workshop in Bilbao will deal with the analysis of digitally collected or processed data for cultural economics. Prof. Daniel Fesenmaier and a representative of the Centre for Cooperative Research in eTourism CICtourGUNE will be invited to discuss new methods for measuring and modelling digital information. The assembly congratulated Prof. Beatriz Plaza for the detailed and stimulating presentation of the workshop. In this respect, Prof. Ilde Rizzo suggested that Dr. Sara Levi Sacerdotti (Istituto Superiore sui Sistemi Territoriali per l’Innovazione - SITI) could also be invited for her experience on trajectory analysis. After the break, the workshop started at Zo contemporary arts centre, a former sulphur refinery, run by a cultural association that is partner in the PUCK project. The topic of the day was the theory and experiences of multi-product firms in the cultural sector. The session was

chaired by Prof. Ilde Rizzo and, later, by Prof. Tiziana Cuccia. The list of speakers included national and international practitioners with long-established experience in the cultural sector. Each speaker was asked to provide information about the cultural and, eventually, non-cultural activities provided by the firm, criteria for the selection of commercial activities, sources of revenue and their evolution along time, and relationships with the public sector and the community.

Dr. Johanna Archbold illustrated the activity of Block T, a non-profit of organisation in Dublin, which has accomplished the goal of creating an entirely self-sustained enterprise to share art, culture and creativity. The organisation engages in several cultural activities (exhibitions, talks, school programmes, festivals) as well commercial activities (education programmes, brand development, graphic design). Afterwards, Mr. Francesc Duart described the firm Magma Cultura, based in Barcelona, which is engaged in several cultural activities (such as consultancy, production of cultural events, education, visitor management, marketing and communication) , and serving a large array of customers (i.e.: museums, heritage sites, auditoriums, theatres, public administration and agencies, foundations, private companies). Descriptions of four local cultural multi-product firms followed. Mrs. Francesca Vitale presented Brass Jazz Group, a former pub that has progressively become possibly the most important jazz theatre, together with further improving the bar and restaurant services. Mrs. Felicita Platania presented the activities of Zo, including cultural programmes on music, dance, theatre, book presentations, architecture workshop, as well as more commercial services, such as DJ sets, restaurant, and catering. Mr. Daniele Zappalà illustrated the activities of Scenario Pubblico, a multi-function association specialized in

performing arts and contemporary dance, in particular, but also supplying services for artistic productions, education and entertainment, as well as commercial activities (bar-restaurant). Dr. Anna Mignosa completed the series of experiences of cultural multi-product firms with the presentation of Officine Culturali, a non-profit association organising several cultural activities in the former Benedictine Monastery in Catania - such as visiting tours, educational and artistic programnwas for adults and children, performing art shows, and other cultural events - in addition to providing consultancy services to firms involved in the cultural sector.

The first day of the workshop was concluded by Prof. Trimarchi who summarized the characteristics and open issues of multi-product cultural firms, outlined some fundamental issues about cultural participation, and offered a critical view of the connections between culture and economics. On Tuesday morning, the workshop started with the personal addresses by the Rector of the University of Catania, Prof. Giacomo Pignataro, an economist with a substantial research experience also in cultural economics, and by the Sicilian Regional Government Secretary for Cultural Goods and Sicilian Identity, Prof. Mariarita Sgarlata. The topic of the day was cultural participation and social inclusion. The session was chaired by Prof. Roberto Cellini and then by Prof. Isidoro Mazza. Again, specific attention was devoted to real-life experiences. The invited organizations gave information, among other things, about the composition of

their revenue and expenditures, their relationship with the public administration and, above all, the links with the community. Mr. Gianluca Collica, director of the Brodbeck foundation, illustrated its projects of support and promotion of international contemporary art in one of the most degraded areas in Catania. Mr. Peppe Lana presented the different perspective of a small centre of art production run by artists in the same neighbourhood. Afterwards, the experience of Teatro Coppola, an occupied public space in a very popular neighbourhood that has been transformed into a theatre, was presented. The last example of social inclusion supported by art production was offered by Mr. Antonio Presti, a visionary man who discussed several endeavours to promote culture and, in particular, the projects for Librino, a satellite quarter of Catania (see, infra, his short biography). After these case studies, Dr. Adolfo Morrone of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) summarized different initiatives that have been carried out in the cultural statistic domain in order to harmonize and enhance data on culture at international level and some fundamental problems in measurement of cultural participation. His presentation ended with the illustration of the BES framework (equitable and sustainable well-being) supplying data on cultural participation and available at ISTAT. The concluding presentation of the workshop was by Prof. Victoria Ateca-Amestoy, who presented a state-of-the-art survey of economic analysis of cultural participation. Overall the workshop aimed at involving not only researchers but also practitioners, who reacted enthusiastically. In total, there were thirteen presentations. The presence of the highest representatives of the University of Catania and the government of the Sicilian Region show the attention that the academia as well as the public administration have for the PUCK project. After lunch, the participants visited the Brodbeck foundation, exhibiting part of its extensive collection and the quarter of Librino, which is an emblematic laboratory to test the role that culture may have on social inclusion.

Paolo Brodbeck Born on April 17, 1949 in Catania. Principal of the Swiss School in Catania, he became an entrepreneur in the distributive sector of plumbing items. He is Chairperson of the European Association of Plumbing Wholesalers. He is an art enthusiast and collector of contemporary art since 1990. In 2007 he bought an industrial building complex of about 6000m2 in the heart of Catania and converted it into a place of art. In the same year Fondazione Brodbeck, of which he is a president, was launched. Since 2009 Fondazione Brodbeck has promoted contemporary art by artists’ residences, as well as by international collective and individual exhibitions in the open dialogue with the city.

Francesc Duart Llinares Francesc Duart Llinares is the Managing Director and partner of MagmaCultura. His main current responsibilities are structuring the company and designing the internationalization strategies of MagmaCultura, which is currently setting up new branches in Brazil and France. Francesc has a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Valencia and has a postgraduate in Business Management from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. He also has a European Business Degree from Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland.

Isidoro Mazza Isidoro Mazza holds degrees from the University of Catania, University of Maryland (M.A.) and University of Amsterdam (PhD) and is alumnus of the Tinbergen Institute. Isidoro is professor of public finance at the University of Catania where he has been coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Public Economics since 2004. His research interests and publications deal mainly with cultural policies, art market, interest groups, migration, public goods, fiscal federalism, voting, urban economics.

Anna Mignosa Anna Mignosa holds a PhD from Erasmus University, Rotterdam. She is currently a lecturer at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, and at the University of Catania and the Art Academy of Catania. She is a member of the Board of the Association of Cultural Economics International (ACEI) since 2001 and was a Canon Foundation fellow for the year 2007. She is one of the founders of CREARE a Dutch foundation active in education and research projects in cultural economics and of Officine Culturali a cultural association active in the enhancement of culture and cultural heritage

Adolfo Morrone Mr Morrone has 14 years of experience in the field of statistics and national surveys. Up to 2010, he was Senior Researcher at the OECD Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies. He worked on a Eurostat project on measuring economic and social vulnerability in OECD countries and, for more than 12 years, for the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), dealing with projects on “Integration of social and demographic information” and “Inquiry and quality control system”. He also supervised the multi-purpose survey on “Citizens and leisure time”. He was Head of the Task Force on cultural participation within the Eurostat Leadership Group on Culture statistics, and a

member of the Eurostat’s Task Force designing the guidelines for new European surveys on measuring Long Life learning. International collaborations include the evaluation of the cultural statistics systems in different countries in Asia and Africa, carried out by the Unesco Institute for Statistics.

Felicita Platania Felicita Platania is co-founder of Zo center for contemporary cultures in Catania. She is the project manager, curates theatre programmes and is deeply passionate about social innovation projects. Mrs. Platania also teaches cultural marketing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania and cultural management on the University master's degrees in cultural economics.

Antonio Presti Antonio Presti is the president of Fiumara d’Arte Foundation. At the age of 29 years, he understands that his father’s business doesn’t represent his future. Therefore, he decides to dedicate himself, spirit and body, to its vocation of "artist". Art and ethics will influence all his numerous enterprises. Among them, a prominent example is the Sculpture Park of Fiumara d’Arte. From 1990 to 1996, he organised the art event “A kilometre of canvas” involving hundreds of artists and residents of the village of Pettineo. In 1990, he transformed a 40 room hotel in Castel di Tusa into the art hotel Atelier sul Mare, where each room is produced by one or more artists, such as Mario Ceroli, Paolo Icaro, Piero Dorazio, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Fabrizio Plessi, and Raul Ruiz. In 2002, the visionary project of Terzocchio–Meridiani di Luce begins in Librino, a peripheral and degraded satellite neighborhood of Catania. The project aims at giving back the citizens their identity, pride and self-respect through beauty. This project generated several art productions and the creation of landmarks in that neighborhood such as the Gate of Beauty, which is formed by fifteen monumental works including 9,000 terracotta sculptures moulded by 2,000 primary school students under the supervision of artists. One of the latest projects is the Diffuse Museum, aiming at creating a historic archive of social identity formed by 30 thousand pictures made by twenty established photographers.

Ilde Rizzo Professor of Public Finance at the University of Catania. In 2013 she received a Degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa from the University of Buckingham, UK. She has directed several editions of the Postgraduate Master on the Economics of the Cultural Sector held by the Scuola Superiore of the University of Catania. She was a member of the Italian National Public Works Authority (1999-2004) and also a member of the Public Finance Advisory Committee at the Italian Treasury (2007-08). She is currently President of the National Independent Commission for Evaluation, Transparency, and Integrity of Public Administration (CiVIT).

She has published monographs and edited books in many fields of public finance, authoring also many referred articles in professional journals and several other papers.

Michele Trimarchi Michele Trimarchi is Professor of Economic Analysis of Law (Catanzaro) and teaches Cultural Economics (Bologna). A PhD in Economics, Michele has extensively published on cultural economics and policy, on the features and impact of creativity. Previously a member of the executive board of the Association for Cultural Economics (2001-2006), of the Commission on Creativity and Cultural Industry of the Italian Department for Culture and the Performing Arts, and President of the Theatre of Abruzzo at L'Aquila, Michele is a member of the editorial advisory board of the Creative Industries Journal, and of Tafter Journal, and is the founder of Tools for Culture, a nonprofit organization active in training and education of the arts professionals.

This seminar has been funded with support from the European Commission. The opinions

expressed in the presentations reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot

be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.