Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a special episode, "Elefsinian Mystery | Handle with Care", which  focuses on  the 2023 Beyond the Obvious conference, "Handle with Care | Culture for Social Well-being", co-organized by  Culture Action Europe, 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, and the CultureForHealth project. This international get-together invited practitioners, organisations and institutions, policy-makers, thinkers, researchers, activists and artivists from the cultural, social and health sectors working on topics related to care, well-being, health and culture.

This episode focuses on the significance of care as an ethical and political obligation for our societies and the role culture and cultural professionals can play in this. How can culture and participation in the cultural life of communities nourish the sense of social and individual well-being?

Special guests and contributions from:

• Maja Kuzmanović, co-founder of FoAM, a transdisciplinary network working across art, science, nature and everyday life
• Philsan Omar Osman, co-author of Dare to Care: Ecofeminism as a Source of Inspiration
• Angeliki Lampiri, Director of Cultural Training, 2023 Eleusis | European Capital of Culture
• Lars Ebert, Secretary General, Culture Action Europe
• Valeryia Urbanovich,  Club Silencio
• Carmen Valero, Red Noses International
• Georgia Georgiou, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, MuseIT project

Music Credits:
Funk Saviour - Ketsa, Can’t Stop We - Ketsa

Episode produced and hosted by:
Marco Fiore, Michael Culture Association
Maya Weisinger, Culture Action Europe

*Correction: In the intro of the podcast, it is stated that the 2023 Beyond the Obvious conference took place in May 2023.  The conference took place from 6 - 10 June, 2023.

Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a four-part collaboration exploring the current discourse and practice around cultural rights in our communities across Europe. The series focuses on the four focus areas of the 2022 conference Culturopolis, co-organized by the Culture Institute of Barcelona and Culture Action Europe, which brought together researchers, cultural workers, artists and policymakers to exchange ideas and work around cultural rights.

This episode focuses on digital environments. What is the relationship between cultural rights and digital rights? How can digitalising culture on the one hand create new possibilities for access and participation,  but on the other create new inequalities?

Special guests:
Fieke Jansen, Researcher at the Data Justice Lab
Núria Guiu, Dancer and choreographer - Cyberexorcismo
La Fera, Fàbrica Digital

Music Credits:
Intro: Funk Saviour - Ketsa
Intermediary: Memories in Color - Daniel Birch, Solace Sighting - Ketsa, Ramen - HoliznaCC0, Vast Possibilities - Daniel Birch, Path to a New World - Lobe Loco
Outro: Can’t Stop We - Ketsa

Episode produced and hosted by:
Marco Fiore, Michael Culture Association
Maya Weisinger, Culture Action Europe

Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a four-part collaboration exploring the current discourse and practice around cultural rights in our communities across Europe. The series focuses on the four focus areas of the 2022 conference Culturopolis, co-organized by the Culture Institute of Barcelona and Culture Action Europe, which brought together researchers, cultural workers, artists and policymakers to exchange ideas and work around cultural rights.

Today’s episode focuses on cultural work, with an important focus on the right to work in the cultural sector under decent conditions. How is the work of artists and cultural workers valued and recognised? What inequalities continue to occur in cultural work? How can we ensure cultural work and workers' economic, social and environmental sustainability? In this episode we have an up-close look at the realities of artists and cultural workers across Europe and how they and their allies are fighting for their rights.

Special guests:
Catherine Magnant - Head of the cultural policies department in the European Commission Directorate General for Education and Culture
Noel Kelly - Director of Visual Artists Ireland
Katharina Weinert - Policy Adviser, European Music Council - SHIFT Project
Julia Pagel - Secretary General of the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO)

Music Credits:
Intro: Funk Saviour - Ketsa
Intermediary: HoliznaCC0 - Ramen, Johnny Ripper - Typing, Daniel Birch - Birds Eye View, Daniel Birch - Memories in Color, Daniel Birch - Vast Possibilities 
Outro: Can’t Stop We - Ketsa

Episode produced and hosted by:
Marco Fiore, Michael Culture Association
Maya Weisinger, Culture Action Europe

Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a four-part collaboration exploring the current discourse and practice around cultural rights in our communities across Europe. The series focuses on the four focus areas of the 2022 conference Culturopolis, co-organized by the Culture Institute of Barcelona and Culture Action Europe, which brought together researchers, cultural workers, artists and policymakers to exchange ideas and work around cultural rights.

This episode focuses on Participation and Communities. Who is being left out of the experience of culture? What is the cultural sector doing to improve the situation? We asked these and other crucial questions to the people from across the sector who are looking critically at the various conditions that affect the right to participate in the city’s cultural life, as well as the various forms of cultural participation. 

Special guests:
Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
Gaia Raisoni from IED Istituto Europeo di Design S.p.A. – Società Benefit
Luca Bergamo, Cultural professional, former Vice-Mayor and deputy Mayor for Cultural Development of Rome
Maud Ntonga (MCA) and Ines Martorell (Dedale) from the MEMEX project

Music Credits:
Intro: Funk Saviour - Ketsa
Intermediary: HoliznaCC0 - Ramen, Johnny Ripper - Typing, Daniel Birch - Birds Eye View, Daniel Birch - Memories in Color, Daniel Birch - Vast Possibilities
Outro: Can’t Stop We - Ketsa

Episode produced and hosted by:
Marco Fiore, Michael Culture Association
Maya Weisinger, Culture Action Europe

Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a four-part collaboration exploring the current discourse and practice around cultural rights in our communities across Europe. The series focuses on the four focus areas of the 2022 conference Culturopolis, co-organized by the Culture Institute of Barcelona and Culture Action Europe, which brought together researchers, cultural workers, artists and policymakers to exchange ideas and work around cultural rights.

This episode focuses on Diversity, on the difficulties around invisibility or lack of diversity and on the importance of participation and the decision-making capacity inherent in the design of cultural policies. This area tackles the diversity of identities included in cultural rights (gender, sex, ethnicity, language, origin, background, etc.) and the difficulties that may be encountered with regard to freely experiencing this diversity.

There is a need to tackle the insufficient presence and visibility of diversities in cultural expressions and practices, as well as in participation and the decision-making capacity inherent in the design of cultural policies.

Special guests:
Creative Homeless - An initiative for combating the stigma of being homeless through artistic practice
Jaslyn Reader - ​​Alumni Deakin University, Society of Gender Professionals
Sara Brighenti - Deputy commissioner of the National Plan for the Arts – promoter and co-author of the Porto Santo Charter
Joana Dark (Ariadna Rulló)

Music Credits:
Musical excerpts from Joana Dark
Intro: Funk Saviour - Ketsa
Intermediary: Typing - Johnny Ripper, Daniel Birch - Birds Eye View,
Outro: Can’t Stop We - Ketsa

Episode produced and hosted by:
Marco Fiore, Michael Culture Association
Maya Weisinger, Culture Action Europe

Click here to listen on Youtube.

Today we will be listening to a sound diary from three different cultural organisations based in Malmö and Lund in Sweden. The sound diary aims to “sonify” the daily operations of the people and organisations who make out the local culture sector there. It is an initiative from the European cultural network Trans Europe Halles in Lund, as a part of Culture Action Europe's project Amplify: make the future of Europe yours.

In the podcast, you will hear three sound pieces in a row - three diary entries - from Stpln , a culture incubator and coworking space in Malmö; from NGBG, a hyper-local culture association and festival in Malmö; and from Krognoshuset, a member-driven art gallery in Lund. The recordings were collected on days in April 2022. If you have the possibility, we recommend that you listen with headphones in a quiet space.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

The Amplify Sweden hub will be part of the upcoming event #AmplifyinAction, a day full of debates, conversations, presentations, cultural and artistic programs and actions to put culture centerstage. We’ll see you on Europe Day, the 9th of May 2022, on our livestream at europeday.eu. Follow the hashtag #AmplifyinAction and find the full program on the Culture Action Europe website.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel

In this episode, we spotlight Qisetna, a digital platform seeking to preserve the cultural heritage of communities affected by conflict and displacement. Qisetna was founded in London in 2013 in response to the conflict in Syria. The organisation originally sought to reframe the narrative of those being displaced through the practice of sharing stories. The organisation encouraged Syrians of all backgrounds and denominations to capture their memories, producing a rich archive of different stories. Today we get a glimpse into how Qisetna uses storytelling in its many forms in order to protect cultural heritage.  I spoke with Sarah Barker, who volunteers her time to write articles and manage Qisetna’s digital content.

Qisetna acts as a platform for outreach, advocacy, community involvement and research. This means that they actively contribute to collaborations such as the UNESCO Unite4Heritage project and have also produced their own storytelling workshops.

Throughout this episode, you hear music from Maya Youssef, Dima Orsho, The Nefes School and Nawa Band.  Qisetna has also written a contribution for “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours,” Culture Action Europe’s project that brings underrepresented voices within the cultural sector to  EU decision-makers.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel

Today we talk with Anja Zag Golob, a fierce voice in a movement to protect cultural and democratic rights in Slovenia. Anja is often described as a rising star of European poetry, winning awards such as the Jenko Poetry Prize for best Slovene Poetry Collection and the 2020 Kritiško sito award for best Slovene book. Anja also participated in the Culture Action Europe project, “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours,” collaborating with fellow artists and cultural workers to demand more for the cultural sector in Slovenia and across Europe. Ahead of the upcoming national elections in Slovenia this Sunday [24 April, 2022], Anja reflects on how the Slovenian arts and cultural sector has been impacted in the previous two years and the work that lies ahead for both artists and politicians.

"The changes will not magically happen. People will come to power. Whoever is elected...This is something we need to envision as we start to rebuild the country...It’s not just a problem of culture, but about how to reapproach change."

Another one of Anja’s key focuses is the publishing house, VigeVageKnjige. With Anja as the co-founder and editor-in-chief, the publishing house focuses on raising awareness about graphic novels in Slovenia. She says it’s important to deal with the prejudice that the graphic novel genre faces in the literary world.

Under the coordination of the organisation Motovila, Anja participated, alongside other cultural agents in Slovenia, in the Amplify project. You can read their contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe here.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel, "Gently Does It" by Ketsa

Today we explore the work of Ben Maier, an artist and a photography student at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague, Netherlands.

In the autumn of 2021, under the coordination of the organisations Creative Court in the Hague, Het Geluid in Maastricht and H401 in Amsterdam, Ben was selected to take part in a pan-European project, “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours,” as a participant representing the Netherlands. Amplify, a project led by Culture Action Europe and co-funded by the European Parliament, aims at gathering the ideas and concerns of underrepresented voices within the cultural sector to take into the fold of EU-level decision making. Partnering with organisations across 12 European countries, Amplify asked participants to bring ideas, proposals, recommendations, and concerns about the vision of culture for the Future of Europe.

Alongside 10 other student artists, Ben proposed his art project focusing on the gig economy, an issue that he is interested in from an economic perspective, but also has a personal stake in the matter, as he is currently a delivery rider for UberEats and Deliveroo. Mostly Ben’s work is focusing on the aftermath of neoliberalism. As he has a background in economics, as an artist he calls himself a “visual economist” and works around themes that clash with ethical values in our society.

Rabiaâ Benlahbib is the founder and director of Creative Court, an organisation that works at the interface of arts and global justice based in the Hague. Rabiaa made a pitch about the project to the  Bachelor of photography class and 5 students’ proposals, including Ben’s, were selected.

The exhibition featuring Ben’s work along with 10 other artists will open on Europe Day, the 9th of May 2022 at the closing event for the Amplify project. You can find out how to tune into the Amplify live stream to see the full, digital exhibition on the Culture Action Europe website.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel, "Vast Possibilities" by Daniel Birch

In this episode, we head to the Flemish region of Belgium and focus on a community centre in the heart of Merksem, a multicultural district of the city of Antwerp. Merksemdok Community Centre serves as a meeting point for people in the neighbourhood to participate in programs such as community theatre, Dutch language practice groups and a number of cultural and artistic programs for children.

In December 2020, the centre held the “Stay Yourself” Fashion show and exhibition, an event culminating 2 months of work during which 10 young people created their own collection focusing on fashion & identity. The fashion show gave the pre-teens, all girls between the ages of 10 and 13, the centre stage to present their self-designed and handmade creations to a live audience comprised of their families, friends and other community members. In a flurry of purple and pink lights and accompanied by the beats of their handpicked songs, the girls took their turns striding down the runway, presenting their garments that not only aimed to show off their newly acquired textile skills but also tell stories of their heritage and experience growing up in their neighbourhood.

We hear from Koen Pyls, Fadime Tezerdi and Laura Vargas about their experiences overseeing the workshops.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practises and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Intro and Outro music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel

In this first episode of the series, we visit Italy to explore the recent work of visual artist, Iginio De Luca. For many years De Luca has focused his work on the production of videos, photographic images, and sounds that activate public spaces with bold, satirical actions that aim to interrupt everyday life in order to hold a mirror to the absurdities of current politics. It is largely due to this interplay between political awareness and poetic sensibility that ECCOM decided to reach out to him for his involvement in the project, “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours.”

Over the course of nine times, De Luca led participants, on foot, up one of the 15 towers that visually characterize and dominate the Tor Bella Monaca neighbourhood in Rome, Italy. The final work, which is presented in video format, expresses the progressive fatigue, hardships, hopes and disappointments, local politics, Europe and private lives of those living in the neighbourhood.

We also speak with Cristina Da Milano from the organisation ECCOM about how she envisions the role of artists, such as Iginio de Luca, in institutional decision-making at the European level.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Intro and Outro music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel