Culture is a complex ecosystem. In addition to developing skills that allow people to have a better life plan, it also produces and disseminates cultural products and creative experiences that give meaning and direction to a social group. That is why sociologists believe that culture strengthens social relationships, exchange of ideas and knowledge, reinforces norms of group behavior, creates identity and social cohesion. But this is all theory, of course. And it often happens to theory that it is beyond reality… Let’s see.
To begin with, culture, like social life, is a battlefield: a political battle to manage public resources (well understood) so that they reach all civil society; the battle of cultural creators to better position their products in the cultural industry market; Managers’ battle to reach their audience; the battle of the cultural trade fabric to sell the goods it produces; Politicians struggle to monopolize them and extract electoral revenue from them… On this friendly fire, i.e. at the crossroads, there are also those who struggle to transform culture into a social elevator that promotes social justice and equality. These are just a few pranks.
This is what happens in these cultural ecosystems, as each has its own cultural agents, operating rules, goals and interests, its management and programming spaces, and its publics and audiences. In this war of ecosystems, culture ceases to be a social glue that creates collective values ​​and becomes a showcase of belonging. Here we have the first evils in the Murcian cultural ecosystem. We are in one thing and in our own thing, each to himself and to himself. And we need more interference, more recognition of each other, more rewarding of each other for what we do, and programming with universal objectives and not just for a specific audience, but our own. I mentioned this to a senior cultural manager in Murcia the other day at an awards ceremony. Regular people go to the openings of Veronicas room, and in Cartagena they always think so. Therefore, it is difficult for culture to form a social structure and unite us without leaving the ecosystem.
A manager told me that he presented a project about art and science fiction to a well-known cultural venue and they responded that, although they really liked it, perhaps the political leader did not have the same perspective on the issue. Big mistake. We should expect cultural policies funded by taxpayers’ money to reach all citizens. Overview.
And so we come to the second major problem of the Murcian cultural ecosystem, more serious and complex than the previous one, the political instrumentalization of culture. Using culture as electoral revenue creates cultural impoverishment and waste of budgets in the long run; Parodies and cultural events are rackets and when they end there is nothing left in Murcian society, money is burned in inviting big names who charge more and eat well, but do not develop a cultural business fabric , or skills or they do not provide any social benefit to the citizens.
The political instrumentalization of the Murcian cultural ecosystem is evident in the fact that it almost reached the end of the previous legislature without passing the cultural budget, which is less so this year: 0.4 in the budget Now delivered. The only possible conclusion that not even 0.4 of the total is spent is that the region has no cultural plan or strategic plan, and that we are spending taxpayers’ money on more spectacular fireworks displays. An assembly. That means nothing. The times that culture has to achieve its goals are long, the pyramids were not built in four years. Short term politics is not enough to see real results. From the Institute of Cultural Managers of the Region of Murcia, we have repeatedly insisted that the region needs strategic plans for culture, agreements and laws, clear plans and long-term objectives to create economic development (cultural business fabric), social development. Integration, development of cultural citizenship), development of creativity and innovation (creators and artists), development of tourism and regional projects… To do this we need to put aside the culture of short-term political instrumentalization and start thinking about what the cultural model is. For what kind of region, for what citizenship we want. …a long, long, long time.
Culture is a complex ecosystem. In addition to developing skills that allow people to have a better life plan, it also produces and disseminates cultural products and creative experiences that give meaning and direction to a social group. That is why sociologists believe that culture strengthens social relationships, exchange of ideas and knowledge, reinforces norms of group behavior, creates identity and social cohesion. But this is all theory, of course. And it often happens to theory that it is beyond reality… Let’s see.
To begin with, culture, like social life, is a battlefield: a political battle to manage public resources (well understood) so that they reach all civil society; the battle of cultural creators to better position their products in the cultural industry market; Managers’ battle to reach their audience; the battle of the cultural trade fabric to sell the goods it produces; Politicians struggle to monopolize them and extract electoral revenue from them… On this friendly fire, i.e. at the crossroads, there are also those who struggle to transform culture into a social elevator that promotes social justice and equality. These are just a few pranks.
