Dr Oonagh Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Culture and Society at Goldsmiths, University of London. As an arts manager, writer and lecturer her research has taken her around the world to explore international best practice on the scalability of emerging technologies for cultural organisations.
Oonagh is Principal Investigator and co-founder of the Museums + AI Network, which is funded through an AHRC Network Grant. The Network was established in 2019 with Pratt Institute (New York), National Gallery (London) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).
She is a regular contributor to museum sector forums on digital culture, innovation and management, and has been invited to speak at leading cultural centres in the UK, Europe and US, including The Barbican Centre, V&A, National Theatre, the Belevedere, New Museum.
Stefan Lindström is the Finnish Foreign Services first Ambassador of Digitalization and Technology. He is a trade and networking expert with experience in branding, business promotion and building successful partnerships. His passion about emerging opportunities of technology, digital transformation and innovation and how this can benefit our society drives his work. He never accepts the world as it appears to be, and encourages everyone to dare to see what it could be.
Prior to this assignment, he worked as Consul General/Ambassador at the Finnish Consulate General in Los Angeles, as Deputy Director at the MFA in Helsinki, as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Finnish Embassies in Lisbon, Portugal and Jakarta, Indonesia. Before that, he was the adviser to the undersecretary of state at the MFA in Helsinki, Finland and served with the Finnish missions in the USA and in India.
Alan Salzenstein is Professor at DePaul University in Chicago where he directs the MFA/Arts Leadership and Performing Arts Management programs. Salzenstein is an international correspondent advisor to the board of ENCATC and past president of AAAE (Association of Arts Administration Educators). He has held various Executive Director positions for a wide array of arts organizations over the past thirty-five years, with a long history of theatrical producing, devising and presenting many special events, membership on various arts boards, and as an arts consultant. He is a frequent invited speaker on topics related to arts management and legal issues in the arts, having presented across North America, Europe and Asia. Salzenstein is also an attorney, focusing on issues related to the performing arts industry.
Alfons Karabuda is an accomplished composer with over 35 years of experience in the music industry; he is an integral profile and driving force within the world of music. His current engagements are broad, spreading globally across the musical ecosystem, with him also being the president of the International Music Council, honorary president of the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance as well as Executive chairman of SKAP (the Swedish Association of Composers, Songwriters & Lyricists).
In addition, he serves as a member of the executive committee of STIM (The Swedish Performing Rights Society), chairman of Musiksverige (Music Sweden), founder and senior advisor of the Global Node Stockholm, member of the board of the Global Music Vault and chairman of the Polar Music Prize Award Committee. Karabuda has previously been an expert in the field of artistic rights to the UN Human Rights Council and appointed by the Swedish government to the board of the Royal Colleague of Music in Stockholm, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Swedish Performing Arts Agency, Swedish UNESCO's arts committee and as an expert on the report Restart for Culture – Recovery and Development after Corona.
Karabuda's parents, Günes and Barbro Karabuda were journalists and filmmakers. The Karabuda children grew up travelling during their parents' many assignments, to which Karabuda himself credits his cultural, and political involvement.
Karabuda works in the areas of TV, film and theatre through his publishing company Naomi Musikförlag & Filmproduktion AB. His customers include SVT, SR, BBC, Zentropa, Dramaten and Stockholms Stadsteater.
Anita Kangas has been a chair of the Unit for Cultural Policy/Politics at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy in the University of Jyväskylä from 1996 until 2015.
She has directed the Interdisciplinary Programme of Cultural Management in 1991-2000 and the interdisciplinary M.A. Degree Programme of Cultural Policy from 2000 (in Finnish) and from 2012 (in English and Finnish). She chaired the national PhD School for Cultural Policy (SOVAKO/Multidisciplinary Graduate School for Cultural Policy: Organizing Creativity) in 2008-2015. She is a docent in the University of Eastern Finland.
She has served as a chair of the Arts Council of Central Finland (1986-1991) and was appointed as a vice chair of the Arts Council of Finland (1992-1997) a chair of the Committee of Media Arts.
In 2002-2016 she has served as a chair of the Board of the Foundation for Cultural Policy Research (CUPORE) and 2000- 2010 as a chair of the Regional Cultural Foundation for Central Finland (Finnish Cultural Foundation). She has been a dean (twice) and a vice dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and a member of various boards and committees in the university.
She has also been a member of e.g. editorial boards and the board of the European network on cultural management and policy (ENCACT), the Consultative Board for Popular Science Finland, the scientific advisory board at the Foundation for Municipal Development, the advisory board of Finnish National Gallery, the core team of the European Expert Network on Culture (EENC) and the expert group on cultural participation in the Statistic Finland.
With a background as an archaeologist and a two-sided English and Ciociarian soul, Antonia is a restless researcher who is focused on formal, non-formal and often international learning processes that are meant to improve the skills and attitudes of those who want to impact on society through culture. Curiosity and resilience are her top soft skills.
Carla Figueira, BA MA PhD FHEA FRSA, is an academic and consultant in the field of international cultural relations, cultural and creative industries, and linguistic policies. She is the Director of the MA in Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy and of the MA in Tourism and Cultural Policy at the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths, University of London. Carla is an international relations graduate of the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa (Portugal), she moved to London after a career in arts management. In the UK, she went on to gain an MA in Arts Management (City University, UK, Chevening Scholar) and a PhD in Cultural Policy and Management (City University, UK, Praxis XXI Scholar). Carla is a member of ENCATC, the leading European network on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy education and a member of the British International Studies Association. She is a Chevening Alumna and Buddy.
Carlotta Scioldo is a researcher and consultant focusing on EU cultural policies. Through her professional and academic trajectory, she has acquired a multifaced view of the cultural and creative sector in Europe. Her fundamental drive is to bridge the communication gap between the cultural sector and policymaking, ensuring that the functioning and aspirations of the artistic field are effectively conveyed. With this motivation, she has worked as dance dramaturg, joined the Creative Europe Unit at EACEA, and served as Network Manager and Policy Advisor the European Dancehouse Network. Carlotta completed her Ph.D. on how European Transnational Networks operate in the Cultural Sector at DIST the Interfaculty Department of the University and Polytechnic of Turin, and she was visiting researcher at the UCL’s Public Policy Department. Her work questions the political and empirical implications of Transnational Networks in the EU’s cultural sphere and the external dimension. She holds two master’s degrees, the first in Theater Studies from IUAV in Venice, the second in Cultural Projects for Development from ITC-ILO and UNESCO Centre in Turin. Carlotta's expertise was also acknowledged through a visiting fellowship at New York University.
Carmen Croitoru is the Manager of the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training (INCFC), professor and expert in cultural policies and strategies. She belongs to the first generation to promote cultural management to Romania, working for over 35 years in the cultural field, both in the private and public sectors. She is PhD Assoc. Prof. And coordinator of the Cultural Management and Marketing Course at the National University of Theatre and Film „I. L. Caragiale” in Bucharest. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Bureau of the Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape - CDCPP, Council of Europe. She is a member of the most important international cultural networks (Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends, ENCATC, Culture Action Europe, Scientific Council of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe) and is involved in the development process of strategies that can pave the way towards a coherent regulatory framework for culture in Romania. She has been collaborating with the Ministry of Culture for over 15 years, being involved in the development of the profession of cultural manager and the promotion of the law on management for public cultural institutions. She has also had an important contribution to the scientific field by coordinating studies related to the system and administration of culture, the cultural consumption or the analysis of the cultural and creative sectors.
Since 2014, he has taken over the leadership and reorganized the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training, as it is today, becoming an important link between authorities, cultural institutions / organizations and beneficiaries. Through all her coordinated research studies, as well as through all the national and international conferences that she’s been organizing, she has always campaigned for the importance and development of statistical research in the field of culture.
Catarina Vaz Pinto holds a Law degree from the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), Lisbon, and a postgraduate degree in European Studies from the College of Europe, Bruges. Catarina has served as Culture Councillor for the Lisbon City Chamber since November 2009. She is a cultural manager and independent consultant in the areas of cultural policy and development, cultural and artistic education. Catarina has been the Executive Coordinator of the Gulbenkian Programme for Creativity and Artistic Creation/Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (2003-2007) and a consultant for Quaternaire Portugal, SA, in the area of cultural projects and policy (2001-2005). She was executive director and lecturer in the postgraduate degree in Cultural Management for Cities at the Institute for Business Management Development – INDEG/ISCTE (2001-2004), State Secretary of Culture (1997-2000), Deputy Minister of Culture (1995-1997), and co-founder of Fórum Dança Cultural Association, acting as Chief Executive (1991-1995).
Catherine Magnant, a French citizen, graduated in international relations and Slavic languages. She started her career in Moscow, where she headed the Press and information section of the local European Commission Delegation. Back in Brussels, she worked on EU enlargement issues, and on the promotion of human rights in EU's external relations. She then moved to the Directorate General of Employment and Social Affairs where she coordinated the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for all. Catherine is now Deputy to the Director and Head of the Unit in charge of Culture Policy in the Directorate General for Education and Culture.
Her career in arts and cultural administration spans more than two decades as a scholar, researcher, and arts administration professional. Before taking the helm of UConn’s arts administration program, she was the director of the LEAP Institute for the Arts at Colorado State University and created its award-winning online master’s program in arts and cultural management. As an independent consultant, she has worked with arts organizations, big and small, in the areas of strategic planning, fundraising, leadership development, marketing, board development, and other organizational needs. She is a Fulbright Senior Specialist in American Studies with the specialty of cultural management and policy. In this capacity, she worked with Tshwane University of Technology to design postgraduate and undergraduate degrees in arts policy and management. In partnership with HUMAK University of Applied Sciences, she was the lead organizer for the symposium series: Cultural Management and the State of the Field, which culminated in three publications highlighting stages in the field’s development. She created the MA in Arts Management degree at Claremont Graduate University and the Minor in Arts and Cultural Management at Northern Arizona University. She has lectured and taught arts and cultural management and policy in countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Significant publications include Arts and Cultural Management: Sense and Sensibilities in the State of the Field (as editor), The Arts Management Handbook: New Directions for Students and Practitioners (as co-editor), and Narrative, Identity, and the Map of Cultural Policy: Once Upon a Time in a Globalized World (as co-author). With co-research, Kristen Swanson, she developed CSE (culturally sustainable entrepreneurship) as a conceptual framework for use in cultural policy and tourism. She serves on the editorial and advisory boards of a number of journals including: Journal of Cultural Management: Arts, Economics, and Policy, Irish Journal of Cultural Policy and Management, and Irregular: Transylvanian Journal of Research in the Visual Arts. Her credits include awards for radio journalism and playwriting.
Dr. Cristina Ortega Nuere works as Chief Academic and Operating Officer of World Leisure Organisation, a non-governmental organization born in 1957 with consultive status of United Nations, since she was appointed in January 2016. Doctor in Leisure and Human Development, with a Master degree in Leisure Management, specialized in Cultural Management, she graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy from the University of Deusto and completed her studies in London, Middlesex and at Westminster University. She has done several research stages, the last ones at the University of Fordham (New York, EEUU) and Cambridge (UK). Previously to her present work, she has worked for over two decades at the University of Deusto as professor and researcher; the last five years as Director of the Institute of Leisure Studies and Principal Researcher of the official research group on leisure and human development. She has been the ENCATC President for 4 years, the leading European network of cultural policies and management education and research; and the Chair of ENCATC’s Policy Group Monitors of Culture, made up of over 40 cultural observatories worldwide. She has also been Jury member of the European Capitals of Culture. She has also been appointed twice as Member of the Basque Council of Culture of the Basque Government. Her area of specialization is cultural policies, cultural and creative industries, evaluation, wellbeing and human development. She has participated in more than 50 research projects and wrote dozens of books and articles in the leisure and cultural field. She wrote a book of reference on Cultural Observatories where she built a utility model adopted in several cities and countries, Ortega, C. (2010) Cultural Observatories: Mapping of Observatorios Culturales. Creación de Mapas de Infraestructuras y Eventos, Barcelona. Ariel. She usually participates as a speaker in international scientific conferences worldwide, among her last conferences: Monitoring cultural policies and measures for sustainable urban economies and societies, UNESCO Creative Cities Beijing Summit II, Beijing, June, 2016; Research, evaluation and cultural policies, UCLG Culture Summit Culture and Sustainable Cities, Culture 21, Agenda 21 for Culture, Bilbao, March, 2015; FOCUS UNESCO World Forum on Culture and Cultural Industries, Florence, October, 2014.
Dan has worked in TV production on several programs including “ER,” “The Sopranos,” “Party of Five,” “Time of Your Life,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.,” “She TV” and “The West Wing.” Dan directed the pilot “Munhall” starring George Wendt (“Cheers”) and Tom Atkins (“Law and Order”). As a theatre director, Dan has had worked produced in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. As a Casting Director, Dan cast “The Kennedy Mystique: Creating Camelot” for National Geographic Channel. He also cast “Nixon in China, 72” for Central Chinese Television (CCTV), Beijing, China. His Ph.D. dissertation centered on first-generation student experience at private universities in China using cultural capital as a lens. He is a board member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators and is co-chair the International Committee. In addition to his work with ENCATC, Dan is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Hollywood Radio & Television Society.
Daniel Nordgård is the co-editor of the recently published book Rethinking the Music Business, which will be be presented by him along with Guy Morrow (University of Melbourne) in the conference’s morning session of October 20, 2022 at mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Daniel Nordgård is associate professor at the University of Agder and also the author of the book The Music Business and Digital Impacts (2018). He has a broad background from music, foremost as musician and artist, but also has experience from concert promotion and festival management. Nordgård teaches music business and management at the University of Agder. His research is very much devoted to the music industry and the cultural industries, with a special emphasis on digital change. Nordgård holds several positions in different boards, nationally and internationally, including Gramo (Norwegian collecting society for neighboring rights), The Norwegian Film Institute, Gramart (The Norwegian featured artist organization). He also sits on the board of the International Music Business Research Association (IMBRA).
Since 2012 I have been working in a position of a Director of Kultura Nova Foundation which is a first and only public foundation dedicated to civil society organizations in contemporary arts and culture in Croatia. My educational background includes a Degree in Comparative Literature and Indology from the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and PhD title from the same Faculty. For more than fifteen years of my professional engagement in arts and culture, I worked as a manager of cultural organizations as well as an editor and journalist. My professional trajectory was built on numerous collaborations with institutions on local, national and international levels. The academic aspect of my professional engagement has been developing through regular publishing and editing of both scientific and expert books, papers and articles on contemporary cultural practices, as well as through delivering of lectures and presentations at conferences. As an Associate Lecturer at the Academy of Drama Art at the University of Zagreb, I taught courses in cultural policy. My research interests include contemporary arts and culture, cultural policy, management and development, civil sector in culture, cultural democracy, public domain, new governance models, participatory development, sustainability, and education for cultural sector.
Emilie Gardberg is the Dean of the Sibelius Academy at the University of the Arts Helsinki. Previously she has worked at the Finnish Institute in London, as the executive director of the Turku Music Festival and the chief executive of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also taught arts management and leadership as a visiting lecturer in numerous higher education institutions.
Dr. Emma Duester is Associate Professor at the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Previously, Emma was a Faculty Member in the School of Communication and Design at RMIT University (Vietnam). She held this position from 2019 until 2022. Emma was principal investigator of a funded research project entitled Digitization of Art and Culture in Vietnam, carried out from 2020 until 2023. Emma was part of a DFAT Grant project entitled Investing In Women across Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Emma has worked with government and national media to lobby for cultural development in Vietnam. She is the author of The Politics of Migration and Mobility in the Art World: Transnational Baltic Artistic Practices Across Europe, published by Intellect in 2021, and the author of Digitization and Culture in Vietnam, published by Routledge in 2023. Emma received a PhD in Media and Communications from Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2017, after undertaking an ESRC-funded doctoral research project on transnational artistic practices across Europe. She has expertise in both research and practice in cultural sector development and transnational communication in Europe and Vietnam. Her areas of research interest include technology and culture, digital culture, the culture sector, digitization of cultural heritage, digital technologies, museum and digital environments, transnational communication, migration and mobilities.
Mr Ernesto Ottone Ramírez is the Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO. Prior to this position, Mr Ottone Ramírez served as Chile’s first Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage from 2015 to 2018. As Minister of Culture, he created a Department of First Peoples, a Migrants Unit and strengthened copyright laws and heritage protections. During this time, he also chaired the Regional Centre for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (2016 – 2017). From 2011 to 2015, Mr Ottone Ramírez served as Director-General of the Artistic and Cultural Extension Center of the University of Chile, which manages the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, the Chilean National Ballet (BANCH), the Chile Symphony Choir and the Vocal Camerata. From 2001 to 2010, he held the position of Executive Director at the Matucana 100 Cultural Center in Santiago.
Gerald Lidstone, BA MA ATC Dr.h.c FRGS is the Director of the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London and founder of the MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy and co founder of the MA in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship programme and the MA in Cultural Policy, Relations and Diplomacy, the first worldwide. Previously he was HOD of the Department of Theatre and Performance in Goldsmiths, having originally trained as a scenographic and lighting designer as well as a production manager with extensive design and touring experience in Eastern Europe and the USA. For the British Council and other agencies he has also taught Arts Management courses including, Arts Marketing, Arts Education, Fundraising, Copyright and Strategic Planning in over 20 countries. He has worked for over twelve years on behalf of The Ministry of Culture and Information in Viet Nam establishing Arts Management education in Hanoi University of Culture, funded by the Ford Foundation, well as being awarded the national medal for culture in Viet Nam. He was also the director of a four-year British Know-How Fund (Foreign Office) project establishing arts management education in Slovakia. An outcome of this was the publication of the first book on arts management in Slovak and the British Council project Closer to the Museum. He has recently completed a major research evaluation of a dance projects for Sadler’s Wells in the UK using the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework created by the New Economics Foundation.
Giuliana Ciancio is a researcher, cultural manager, curator and lecturer internationally active in the cultural field. Deeply convinced about the key role of cultural cooperation in the development of the contemporary world, she explores these topics both as an academic and as a practitioner. With a PhD in Management, Giuliana is a member of the C.C.Q.O. (Culture Commons Quest Office) at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). She studies cultural policies and cultural activism with a focus on the role of political emotions in these areas. As a practitioner, she collaborates with public and private Institutions and independent organizations. Author and curator of several award-wining project proposals (at EU and national level), she often brings together international festivals, universities, municipalities, civil servants, artists and cultural activists. She is the co-founder of the Italian social enterprise Liv.in.g. (Live Internationalization Gateway) and she publishes in academic and popular journals in English and Italian.
PhD in “Art History, Theory and Criticism” from the University of Barcelona. He is Lecturer at the Cultural Management Programme of the UB, and Coordinator of the Postgraduate Course on International Cultural Cooperation. He is the Project Manager of CHARTER. He is currently teaching in different Universities and academic programs internationally. Herman combines academic research, cultural management, curatorial practices and artistic methodologies, collaborating with a wide range of networks, projects and organizations internationally.
Jordi Baltà Portolés works as an advisor for the Committee on Culture of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), providing research and advice to local governments with an interest in developing cultural policies and sustainable development. He is also a freelance researcher, consultant and trainer in the areas of culture and international affairs, for several organisations, including the Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS).
Previously he was a researcher and project coordinator at the Interarts Foundation (2001-14). He is a member of the UNESCO Expert Facility for the implementation of the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Jordi teaches at the Online MA in Cultural Management of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and the University of Girona (UdG), as well as the Degree in International Relations of Universitat Ramon Llull (URL). He is a PhD candidate at the universities of Girona and Melbourne.
Julia Glesner, born in Saarlouis in 1975, earned her PhD in Karlsruhe after reading theatre studies, political science and German philology in Mainz and Paris. After working as the head of the PR department at Erfurt Opera and head of communcations and marketing for the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, she became professor of Culture and Management at the FH Potsdam in 2017.
Project manager for national ESF-social inclusion projects coordination and national coordinator of ASSET project aiming at boosting theatre marketing. Principal lecturer working mostly with master-level thesis supervision and futures and leadership teaching.
Running EU-funded projects since Finland joined the EU. Lately worked with futures forecasting (Producer 2020, Toive, Klerot), different innovation structures (CoINNO) and building multidiscplinary co-working networkks (Creative and Inclusive Finland). At the moment working as a project manager for national Osuma – The Inclusive Finland that coordinates the work of nationa ESF inclusion projects
Kerrine GOH, a Singaporean national, joined ASEF in March 2023. She has extensive project management experience, specialising in events management, international relations and cultural exchange projects.
Prior to joining ASEF, Kerrine worked at the National Arts Council, where she was managing the Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award portfolio, Singapore’s pinnacle awards that recognises exemplary artists for their distinctive bodies of work, artistic excellence and their contributions to the development of Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape. From 2018 – 2020, she was also a Project Officer at ASEF, supporting Mobility First!, ASEF’s travel grant for artists and cultural professionals and culture360.ASEF.org, a digital platform offering up-to-date information and insights on arts, culture and heritage from 51 countries in Asia and Europe.
Kerrine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Management from LASALLE College of the Arts. Her dissertation explored how cultural exchange programmes worked in the context of Cultural Diplomacy.
Associate Professor of Spatiotemporal data-analysis for sustainability science at the department of Computer Science. Her current research interests cover data analysis techniques, mainly computer vision and machine learning, for robust navigation and situational awareness benefitting the development of automated traffic and smart cities, for GNSS interference mitigation as well as for utilization of spatiotemporal data for sustainability science. She was Leader of the Sensors and Indoor Navigation research group at the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute 2013-2018.
He received a B.Sc. in Physics (2005) and pursued studies of M.Sc. in Physics (2007), both from the National University of Colombia. Later he moved to Spain where he obtained an M.Sc. in Nanotechnology (2009) and a Ph.D. in Computational Materials Science (2013) both at the University of the Basque Country. After three years of postdoctoral research (2013 – 2016) at Aalto University (Finland) where he researched the optical and structural properties of DNA interacting with metallic nanoparticles at a quantum scale, he switched his research interests towards the area of Machine Learning, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. From August 2017 until 2019, he joined Arcada as Researcher and Lecturer. In January 2020, he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Big Data Analytics and in 2023 he was promoted to Principal Lecturer in Engineering. Since 2022 he is also the degree programme director of the Master in Big Data Analytics. He has a very broad range of research interest comprehending, but not limited to, areas such as autonomous intelligent machines, mining of big datasets, clustering of time series, causality, quantum machine learning, extreme learning machines, creative machines, philosophy of artificial intelligence, computer vision, deep reinforcement learning among many others.
Before joining academia, Leticia Labaronne studied Performing Arts in the United States, and then went on to work as a professional ballet dancer in Europe for over ten years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the United Kingdom and a Master of Science in Public and Nonprofit Management from Switzerland.
Since 2009 she has been working with the Center of Arts Management at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Labaronne directs the executive Master in Arts Management at ZHAW. Since 2019 she serves as a Head of the Center of Arts Management at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
Her focus with respect to consulting and research is cultural policy, fundraising as well as evaluation in the nonprofit and arts sector. Her current doctoral research relates to evaluation practices in the Performing Arts. The research focus of her doctorate was motivated by her late artistic career. Labaronne is committed to applying her working knowledge of the field to explore new research paradigms that can better capture the complexity of artistic activities, and shed more light on the creative processes in the Performing Arts.
Lead officer for exploring the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the creative industries
Lluís Bonet is Professor of applied economy and Director of the Cultural Management Graduate program at the University of Barcelona, specialized in cultural economics, cultural policies and arts management. He has been president of ENCATC, board member of many academic and cultural organizations, and coordinator / active participant of many international research projects (H2020, Eramus+, Creative Europe, IADB, National research or Arts councils …). He is the coordinator of the Erasmus+ project CHARTER ('Cultural Heritage Action to Refine Training, Education and Roles').
Dr Marcin Poprawski } senior lecturer & researcher at HUMAK University of Applied Sciences (FIN); formerly at AMU University of Poznan - Institute of Cultural Studies (PL); guest lecturer: Sibelius Academy - UniArts Helsinki (FIN), Universita del Salento (Lecce, Italy) and ZHAW (Zurich, CH); Expert of the Association of Polish Cities (PL), European Expert Network on Culture (Barcelona/Brussels) and of the NU Foundation (PL). Member of the editorial board of The Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy (Transcript V.). Since June 2023 involved in EKIP Horizon Europe Research Project (European Cultural and Creative Industries Policy Platform) as the Finnish Team's Manager and Researcher
// Research & teaching interests: organisational cultures in cultural, art and heritage institutions / festival management models / cultural policies / audience engagement / culture & sustainability / arts management & entrepreneurship / aesthetics in management studies.
He was involved in several research projects, e.g.: study on audience engagement for the European Commission (Fondazione Fitzcarraldo – Turin) and the E+ Knowledge Alliance project 'Connecting Audiences' (UDeusto - Bilbao) or European Research Partnership on Cultural and Creative Spillovers (ECBN Rotterdam), Festivalisation of values. Axio-normativity of Music Festivals (Adam Mickiewicz University / National Science Centre PL). Since 2013, he was twice elected Vice-president of ENCATC network. As the Association of Polish Cities representative, he is the co-leader of the research group of the SMUP 2 - TGR9 (Culture) of the nationwide (EEA funded) project on Monitoring System of Public Services in Poland.
He was also a co-founder and a director of the Guitar Academy Festival – an international music festival located every summer since 2007 in over 20 towns of Western Poland. He did an internship in the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick (UK) in 2012. He was a Director of the AMU Audience Development Postgraduate Diploma and the Director of AMU ROK Culture Observatory research centre - Poznan, PL. He was a guest lecturer at DAMU Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (CZ), JAMU Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (CZ), EUV - Frankfurt O. (D), Heritage Academy of the International Cultural Centre (Cracow, PL). He was a Deputy Dean of the AMU Faculty of Social Sciences (2016-2019)
She is the director of the Foundation of Cultural Policy Research Cupore. Her duties include e.g. management and development of the research of Cupore, development of research cooperation, acquisition of research funding, management of research projects, monitoring of general development in the field of national and international cultural policy, and own research activities.
She is an active decision-maker in the fields of culture policy, research and education. She is a former director of Division of Art Policy in Ministry of Education and Culture (2013–2015) and former director of Arts Promotion Centre (2013). She has been a professor of Digital Media Management in the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (2006–2012), Dean of the Department of Art and Media (206–2009), publisher, and multimedia producer. She has been working as a consultant and trainer for digital media projects as well in governmental as private sector. She is the founder and managing director of Publishing House Taifuuni Ltd. Since 1988 she has published over 200 books, mostly fiction and non-fiction from Russia and Eastern European countries. Her dissertation for University of Turku for digital culture is about narratives people create with mobile applications: Co-Created Mobile Narrative (2013).
Dr. Milena Dragićević Šešić, prof. emerita, former President of University of Arts, Belgrade, founder of UNESCO Chair in Interculturalism, Art Management and Mediation, professor of Cultural Policy & Management, Cultural studies, Media studies. Diplomas: D.E.A. Paris-VIII 1977, Mag. University of Arts Belgrade (1981), and Ph.D. in literature and communication University of Belgrade (1990). Commandeur dans l`Ordre des Palmes Academiques (French Ministry of Education) 2002. ENCATC Fellowship Laureate 2019. University of Arts Laureate in 2004 & 2019. Guest Lecturer at numerous world universities. Published 20 books and more than 200 essays: Vers les nouvelles politiques culturelles; Art management in turbulent times: adaptable quality management; Intercultural mediation in the Balkans (both with S. Dragojevic); Culture: management, animation, marketing; Neofolk culture; Art and alternative… Translated in 17 languages. Expert for UNESCO, European Cultural Foundation, Council of Europe. Realized 50 projects & programmes in cultural policy and management (Europe, India, Cambodia, Arab countries, Central Asia).
Milena’s career in arts administration spans over 15 years during which she has served nonprofit organizations across different disciplines through programming, strategic planning, and fundraising. A graduate of Baruch College’s MA in Arts Administration and Sofia University’s MA in Cultural Studies, she has planned and organized annual conferences, special events, interdisciplinary art residencies, award ceremonies, international literary festivals, and creative writing workshops on two different continents, and has written grants and organized fundraising drives to support these projects. Her successful track record includes grant proposals for the NEA, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Lois Roth Endowment, JP Morgan Chase, and the European Union, to mention a few.
Milena also served the Staten Island Arts Council in New York, providing capacity building support to local cultural nonprofits in their practice of arts administration. During her most recent tenure at the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation for Creative Writing (EKF), she tripled the organization’s revenue by securing grants, individual giving, and online fundraising campaigns. She spearheaded collaborations with the University of Rochester in the US and the University of East Anglia in the UK, and helped curate the New Literature from Europe Festival in Manhattan, along with 15 EUNIC members from the New York cluster. Under her leadership, EKF’s work has garnered coverage by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Publishing Perspectives, and Poets & Writers.
Dr Natalia Grincheva is an internationally recognised expert in innovative forms and global trends in contemporary museology, digital diplomacy and international cultural relations. She received many prestigious international academic awards, including Fulbright (2007–2009), Quebec Fund (2011–2013), Australian Endeavour (2012–2013) and SOROS research grant (2013–2014).
In 2020 she was awarded a Fellowship for her visiting research residency at the Digital Diplomacy Research Center at the University of Oxford. Her publication profile includes over 30 research articles, book chapters and reports published in prominent academic outlets.
Her most recent publications are two monographs: Museum Diplomacy in the Digital Age (Routledge: 2020) and Global Trends in Museum Diplomacy (Routledge: 2019).
Dr Grincheva's professional engagements include her dedicated work for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity at UNESCO (2011) and International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (2011–2015), her research industry placement at ACMI X creative hub at the Australian Center for the Moving Image (2017–2019) as well as service for the international Cultural Research Network (CRN) (2018–2020).
Richard G Maloney, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Performing Arts Administration graduate program at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University (USA). He teaches courses in performing arts management, cultural and creative industries, and cultural policy.
Dr. Maloney’s research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, and published by the Brookings Institution and the Journal of Cultural Management and Policy. His primary research interest is exploring why and how small and midsize municipalities pursue cultural economic development as an urban regeneration strategy. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the journal “Cultural Management: Science and Education.”
From 1985 to 1998, Dr. Maloney played guitar and keyboards in several rock bands in the Boston area. Since that time, he has focused on the renaissance and baroque lute and has performed in dozens of early music concerts. In addition, Dr. Maloney worked as an arts administrator for seven years before entering academia.
Currently, Dr. Maloney is Secretary of the board of directors of ENCATC, the European Network on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Education. He is a member of the jury for the ENCATC Research Award, given annually to the best dissertation in the field of cultural management and policy. He also serves on the board of directors of the arts advocacy organization Mass Creative, where he is co-chair of the Arts Policy working group. Previously, Maloney served six years on the board of directors of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE).
Dr. Maloney has undergraduate degrees in European History and Music (classical and jazz guitar), a Graduate Diploma in Early Music Performance (lute), a master’s degree in Arts Administration, and a doctorate in Law and Public Policy (cultural policy).
Rod Fisher founded and directed the International Intelligence on Culture (which specialised in international cultural policy research and consultancy) from 2000-2015 and its predecessor, the ground-breaking consultancy International Arts Bureau. He also has specialist knowledge of cultural policies beyond Europe, especially in Asia. Prior to establishing his company, he worked for the Arts Council of Great Britain in several capacities, latterly as International Affairs Manager, and spent nine years managing arts/leisure programmes for local authorities. He was also Director of the European Cultural Foundation UK Committee from 2002-2012. Fisher co-founded the CIRCLE network (Chairman 1985-94), and he chaired the expert group evaluating cultural policy in Finland (1994). He was, for many years, member of the Orientation Board of the European Diploma in Cultural Project Management, nomadic training programme fostering cultural cooperation. He has conducted research, lectured, and delivered conference papers in over 35 countries worldwide and has written, compiled or edited some 25 books and reports and more than 60 journal articles. Currently, he is Associate Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, lecturing on cultural policies in Europe and, from 1984-2007, led a Master’s degree module on a similar subject at City University, London.
Sara Tvrdišić, born in Belgrade. A third year PhD student at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in the field of Cultural study of cyrillic sript. Has won numerous international awards in the field of art photography, as well as national and city awards in many different fields.
Tiffany Bourgeois returns to the Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy as an Assistant Professor of Arts Management. Bourgeois earned both her PhD in Arts Administration, Education and Policy and master’s degree in Arts Policy and Administration at Ohio State University. She most recently served as Audience Development Director of the Ensemble Theatre in Houston, Texas, and as Adjunct Professor for the University of Houston-Downtown. Her scholarly work examines the relationship between sports mega-events, cultural organizations, cultural outcomes, and changes in perception. Bourgeois’ recent publications can be found in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and the American Journal of Arts Management.
Valentina Riccardi is Head of Culture at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), since 2021. With over 19 years’ experience in the arts and cultural sector in Asian and European contexts, she leads the team in the overall strategy of its programmes in culture. She has extensive experience in developing complex projects and partnerships in the field of cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations. Valentina holds a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Rome, La Sapienza. She obtained her MA in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Singapore.
Cultural manager and researcher. PhD in Artistic Studies from the University of Coimbra (2022) and Master in Cultural Policy and Management from the City University of London (2009). Worked as a manager, curator and consultant for several cultural organizations, both in the institutional sphere and with independent structures. Author of 2 books on production and management in the performing arts. Currently, Principal Researcher of the R&D project Green Production – Performing Arts in Transition.
Violeta Simjanovska currently works as a Head of Arts Management Department and Lecturer at Sibelius Academy, UNIARTS in Helsinki, Finland. She does research in Cultural Policy, Arts and Cultural management, Audience Engagement, Arts and Society, Arts Values, Analyses of the needs of the cultural sector, etc.
A pioneer of net art, Vuk Ćosić is a leading figure among the artists who first explored the creative possibilities of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. He is the co-founder of the influential mailing lists nettime, Syndicate, and 7-11, as well as of the Ljubljana Digital Media Lab. He is known for creating still and moving image artworks with ASCII code, using a custom-made software he developed in 1996.
Dr. WU Chieh-Hsiang is Professor of the Department of Arts in the National Changhua University of Education of Taiwan, Taipei City. She earned her master and doctorate degrees of sociology and art history in Carl von Ossietzky Oldenburg, Germany. In 2013 and 2014, Dr. WU chaired Taiwan’s Association of the Visual Arts, a nationwide association for the rights and benefits of visual artists. Since 2021, Dr. WU chairs the Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies. In addition to her devotion to cultural policy, Dr. WU is an accredited essayist and art critic; her articles are published in various periodicals and platforms. Her recent research focuses on the culture of memory and art projects reflecting the unjust incidents in the past, as well as the interrelations between the state power and exhibiting institutions.