Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.61.2.2
Inherited, Important and Invisible: The Role of Zagreb Cultural Centers without Cultural Policy Frameworks
Kruno Kardov
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Croatia
Anamaria Klasić
orcid.org/0000-0002-2902-1476
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Jelena Ostojić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Croatia
Abstract
Next to numerous public cultural institutions and other cultural organizations in the nonprofit
and for-profit sector, in Zagreb there are also 15 public cultural centres. Their initial
establishment and purpose were determined by specific post-Second World War cultural policies.
In the transitional period, public cultural centres remain without a clear position and role
in the Croatian cultural system. Therefore, this paper deals with the question of how the leaders
of these institutions construct the roles of cultural centres. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted in nine cultural centres in the city of Zagreb, and the thematic analysis showed six
themes related to their role and purpose: accessibility of culture, creativity and mediation, first entry
into culture, (re)production of community, public service and useful rest. The first four themes
are related to the cultural paradigms of excellence, democratization of culture and cultural
democracy, which show that they have not disappeared, but still have an active role. The last
two themes signal the crisis of cultural centres in the transitional and post-transitional period,
which concerns the social base and the position within the framework of public policies. These
insights provide us with better understanding of local reactions to social, cultural and political
changes and reveal different rationalities related to the problem of legitimation and finding
purpose in the new cultural system.
Keywords
cultural centres; cultural policy; cultural democracy; democratization of culture; Zagreb
Hrčak ID:
308949
URI
Publication date:
18.10.2023.
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