The CoNCA retrieves the survey "Analysis of the state of culture and cultural policy in Catalonia. Perspective of cultural agents"

The National Council for Culture and the Arts (CoNCA) has presented to the cultural sector the annual Report on the state of culture and the arts in Catalonia 2023 in an event at the Jaume Fuster Library that has had the assistance of a hundred cultural agents.

Afterwards, a debate took place on cultural policies and the challenges that arise from them with the participation of Rosa Cerarols, Xavier Fina, Lluís Noguera and Gemma Sendra, speakers who have collaborated in the preparation of the section on the report dedicated to the cultural policies of 2023 and moderated by journalist and communicator Maria Cusó, head of culture at RAC1. Previously, the report was delivered to the president of the Parliament of Catalonia, Josep Rull, and to the Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga.

The Annual Report on the state of culture and the arts in Catalonia 2023 collects the main milestones that have taken place during the year 2023 in the field of culture and the arts and in terms of cultural policies. The report consists of six chapters:

Events and trends 2023

The first chapter, "Events and trends", explains how the cultural sectors have lived in the year 2023. Highlights include the recovery from the pandemic crisis, the increase in the culture budget, the rise of artificial intelligence or the precariousness of some cultural sectors.

Exploratory articles

Three articles are included: two address the intersection between culture and gender and between culture and tourism respectively, and the other deals with the future of libraries.

Presentació al sector a la Biblioteca Jaume Fuster ©CoNCA

Review of the cultural policies of 2023

Cultural policy is analyzed from the three sides of the Parliament, the Government and the Department of Culture. 2023 has been marked by the municipal elections and the maintenance of the growing trend of the Department of Culture's budget until reaching 1.5% of the regional budget. The chapter incorporates the look of local cultural policies.

Survey " Analysis of the state of culture and cultural policy in Catalonia. Perspective of cultural agents"

This year, the survey that the CoNCA carried out and published in its Annual Report in 2016 has been recovered, which aims to capture the perception that culture professionals have about the state of culture and cultural policies Catalan

The results of the survey show that cultural policies should improve to encourage greater citizen participation and increase the recognition and sustainability of the cultural sector in Catalonia​​.

Culture professionals believe that Catalan society is not fully aware of the creative potential that exists in the country and demand more support for cultural creation and innovation, as well as greater involvement of the media, to adequately reflect the diversity and the country's cultural wealth.

It indicates the territorial imbalance in terms of cultural facilities: despite considering that the offer of these facilities is of good quality, it is considered that it should better reflect the existing cultural plurality.

Culture in data

For the first time, data from other areas are included in order to reflect the cultural reality of the country in a transversal way, such as, for example, those attending the network of Catalan theaters or cinema clubs.

The socio-demographic data reflect the great transformation that Catalan society is undergoing since the beginning of the 21st century. People of other origins censused in 2000 constituted 2% of the population, while in 2022 this percentage was 17%. This requires special treatment that mitigates the problems that may arise and that takes advantage of the benefits that come with a more diverse society. The CoNCA is working on the study on the application of diversity in cultural facilities in Catalonia, which it will present in the autumn.

The budget allocated to culture for all the Catalan administrations in 2023 reached 1,388 million euros, 9.6% more than the previous year. The amount places public spending on culture at 176 euros per inhabitant per year, thirteen euros more than the previous year.

Conclusions and recommendations

The CoNCA Plenary proposes ten lines of action aimed at public and private agents who act in the cultural sectors. It focuses on the identification of strategic objectives in the field of national culture that involve the progressive articulation of a reference cultural system. The CoNCA stands in favor of freedom and the fight against the precariousness of artistic and creative work.

It will also continue to work in the educational field in order to achieve the full incorporation of the arts into compulsory education and to consolidate and expand the new medium and higher artistic cycles of professional training, as well as the need to create a process of approval of teachers in artistic fields. The 2nd Education Arts Forum is scheduled to take place on October 30.

With regard to artistic creation, production and dissemination, throughout the year 2023 the CoNCA has promoted the POLITARTS laboratory, where public policies aimed at creation have been analyzed and different needs of the sectors have been highlighted, such as now review and update sectoral strategic plans and work to reduce the existing imbalance between production support policies and the difficulties in ensuring their dissemination and exhibition. The POLITARTS-23 Report will be presented next July 16 with the compilation of all the devices generated during the different work sessions carried out