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ARTS MANAGEMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Bektaeva A^. (Republic of Kazakhstan) Email: [email protected]
Bektaeva Aigerim Erikovna - Bachelor of Economics, MODERN HUMANITARIAN ACADEMY, INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC, Doctor of Arts, ACCREDITATION AND ATTESTATION COMMITTEE, MOSCOW,
Member of Arts Academy Kazakhstan, Founder and Creator, SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS 'ZERE', ALMATY, REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
Abstract: this article considers the concepts of "art", "management" and "what constitutes" art management " in order to understand the terms more deeply. Also, a brief hostorical background of the emergence of art management as an independent direction is given. Further, the current situation in Kazakhstan art sector is given to understand the needs and challenges of the market. A review of the situation is based on personal experience of the author who is an artist and a member of Art Academy and her interviews with representatives of the cultural sector. It is revealed that for Kazakhstan there is a problem with managers in the field of culture and insufficient state support despite the emergence of art projects supported by the business. There are also problems of training and retraining of managerial personnel for creative organizations. Keywords: art management, cultural management, creative industries, art administration.
АРТ-МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ В КАЗАХСТАНЕ: ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ И ВЫЗОВЫ Бектаева А.Э. (Республика Казахстан)
Бектаева Айгерим Эриковна - бакалавр экономики, Современная гуманитарная академия, доктор искусств,
Международный академический аккредитационный и аттестационный комитет,
г. Москва,
Член-корреспондент Академии художеств Республики Казахстан, учредитель и создатель, Школа изящных искусств Zere, г. Алматы, Республика Казахстан
Аннотация: в данной статье рассматриваются понятия «арт», «менеджмент» и что представляет собой «арт-менеджмент» для того, чтобы глубже понять термин. Также проводится краткий экскурс в историю становления арт-менеджмента как самостоятельного направления. Далее рассматривается положение сферы культуры в Казахстане с целью понять потребности и сложности на рынке. Обзор ситуации проводится на основе личного опыта автора, который является художником и членом Академии художеств, и ее интервью с представителями из сферы культуры. Выявлено, что для Казахстана существует проблема с менеджментом в сфере культуры и недостаточная поддержка государства, несмотря на появление арт-инициатив при поддержке бизнеса. Также существуют проблемы подготовки кадров и переподготовки управленческих кадров для творческих организаций.
Ключевые слова: арт-менеджмент, культурный менеджмент, креативные индустрии, управление культурой.
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Introduction
Today arts management is more complex phenomenon than it was in 1960s when it was formalised in the higher education in the USA. Understanding the concept and of its praxis have changed with the shift of the focus from state subsidies to the development of commercial organisations in creative industry. As Derrick Chong (2009) questions that art organisations per se are being challenged in their own structural definitions: are they public or private, non-for-profit or for-profit? The industrialisation processes that were happening in the economies have led the art organisations to adapt to the models that of business corporations. Whilst the arts management takes its starting point in the USA in 1960s, it is worth to note that the Arts Concil of Great Britain was established around 1945 which initiated arts management courses and bolstered the engagement of the business with the arts. In the USA, it was the National Endowment for the Arts, foundations like Carnegie and corporations like IBM who helped to advance the ties of the arts and the business. Later, the emergence of the International Association of Culture and Arts Management (AIMAC) in the late 1990s contributed to the emergence of art management as a new discipline in global community (Suminova 2011). At the same time, the results of the fifth conference in Helsinki held by AIMAC can serve as a sign of separation of art management from the cultural economy. In addition, it should be also noted that the publication of the first international magazine dedicated to art management - International Journal of Arts Management more "legitimized" art management with managerial and scientific positions and became another incentive for the development of art management per se.
However, to what extent are the approaches and models peculiar to western countries applicable to other countries? How is the arts managements sector developing in post-soviet countries, in particular Kazakhstan? This article aims at the overview of the art management state from the viewpoint of an artist by defining the term, visiting the management theory and looking at local development in the creative sector of the country.
Defining the arts management
Arts administration is a discipline, which involves project management, art strategy and supply chain techniques to control a creative process (Enamhe, 2014). In the Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration, Dan Martin defines arts management as the following:
It is application of five traditional management functions - planning, organizing, suffering, supervising and controlling - to the facilitation of the production of the performing or visual arts and the presentation of artists' work to audiences. The administration and facilitation of the creative process and its communication to an audience is common to both public, nonprofit arts organizations (e.g. nonprofit theatres, symphony orchestras, opera companies, dance companies, museums, public broadcasting, and performing arts centers) and private commercial, for-profit artistic entities (e.g. commercial theatres private galleries, film, television and video).
Art management is often understood as artistic management, that is a professional management of the process of creating artistic values (material and spiritual), promoting cultural services to the market the results of creative activity of authors, directors, performers and organizational efforts of production teams (Suminova, 2011).
In order to better understand the term, it is necessary to look at keywords as arts and management separately. According to Arts Encyclopedia, the original classical definition derived from the Latin word "ars" which means "skill" or "craft". This broad approach leads to art being defined as: "the product of a body of knowledge, most often using a set of skills." As a working definition the author applies the following:
Art is created when an artist creates a beautiful object, or produces a stimulating experience that is considered by his audience to have artistic merit.
One should keep in mind the fact that art reflects and belongs to the period and culture from which it is emerged. The word "manage" has Italian roots from word maneggiarre which means to handle or train horses. Modern management has become a complex and significant branch of knowledge that is associated with the search for ways to solve theoretical and practical problems in emerging crisis situations. Undoubtedly, today with the rapidly changing global processes, it is relevant to understand the meaning of management. As Marshev (2005) puts it: "Yesterday we
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proclaimed management by goals, and today - strategic management, yesterday - a systematic approach to management, today - a situational approach, yesterday - restructuring, and today we talk about reengineering and change management ". Contemporary management turns out to be linked with the socio-cultural context where the innovation may occur. It is necessary to talk about the direct and indirect contribution of the art sphere to the economy and the economy in the art sphere in order to evaluate the overall development of the creative industries in countries, in particular in Kazakhstan in the next part.
Arts Management in Kazakhstan
Management in the field of arts is at its starting phase in Kazakhstan. Lack of skilled managers and producers in the art can be explained by low profitability of the sphere. As an outcome, qualified managers, especially young cadres are not attracted to the sphere of art management. However, international experience proves that art can be profitable for both the artist and the organizers of creative projects. In Kazakhstan, the economic profitability of creative sector has long been constrained by low purchasing power of the population and lack of state support in creating an environment which fosters the interest of sponsors and philanthropists who invest and donate in arts. In order to effectively use these funds and apply new methods and approaches, a qualitatively different level of management and a different mentality is needed. Below, the creative industry status-quo in Kazakhstan will be considered based on the interviews with cultural sector experts and personal experience of the author.
The research of creative industries was first undertaken by the UK Government Department of Culture, Media, and Sports in 1998. The initial goal was to identify creative industries and analyze their activities. As a result, it turned out that the creative industries have considerable economic potential: 4% of GDP, almost a million jobs and 7.5 billion pounds of export revenue. Subsequently, various creative industries development programs (Creative Economy, Creative London) were launched and the Commission for Creative Industries was established.
Based on the experience of Great Britain, many countries (Singapore, Taiwan, Estonia) have begun to apply mapping of creative industries taking into account local realities. The 2008 UN Creative Economy Report states:
"The theme of creative economics has become one of the most important in the field of international economics and development, requiring action strategies based on specific information from both developed and developing countries". According to this report, creative industries account for 3.4% of total world trade (2005).
In the case of Kazakhstan, the Concept of Cultural Policy was signed on September 24, 2014, which aims to "create modern cultural clusters that influence the successful development of the economy" and see the country as the cultural center of Eurasia by 2030, and the world center of art by 2050. The project considers the development of five creative clusters in Kazakhstan: Astana, Almaty, western Kazakhstan, eastern Kazakhstan and southern Kazakhstan.
Almaty is considered as a cultural capital and a main donor of the country's budget. In the GRP structure, it is currently impossible to discern the cultural sector as a separate component of the overall budget: in 2013, heavy industry accounted for 6% of the city's GRP structure, 4% for construction, 32% for trade, 16% for transport and warehousing and information and communications, operations with real estate - 11%, services and other industries - 31%. This leads to the assumption that the economic potential of the cultural sector remains an "untouched field" for city economy.
Interviews with creative entrepreneurs prove that creativity has no boundaries and requires comprehensive collaboration and cooperation. Most of the respondents plan to find new partners, launch joint projects with international companies and enter new markets. For example, the founders of a design store plan to "push" talented designers into the international market:
We will look at the development of each designer, and after a year we will choose one designer from each field fashion design and industrial design), which we will send for free to London. He / she could show his collection /products and gain links with the international market.
Representative of local cultural alliance believes that Almaty could be on a par with New York, Singapore, Liverpool, if it could realize extraordinary ideas with world art stars, in particular, with the top artist Tatsu Nishi, who was invited to Almaty few years ago:
"He is trying to look at some worthwhile things, which, due to such routine and cunning, people simply pass by, and don't even see that the monument to Columbus is standing. He makes some kind of forest, builds up rooms around the monuments ... That is, value of the cultural object reappears. He really wants to [do it] in Independence Square to do with the Golden Man" The importance of "creative dialogue" is also noted by local architecture: When we initiated the city art project, we invited colleagues from London to be our curators. We worked and realized that it would be interesting for us to work not only in art projects, but also in architecture. It was such a mutual desire to unite, and now we will be an international studio.
Respondents unanimously reiterate that there are not enough specialists. An important role in the lack of personnel is played by the educational system for the training of creative specialists, which does not correspond to modern trends. There is also certain cadre vacuum between the generation of the Soviet and the current, when there is 'extinction' of first-generation specialists, and the new generation is not ready to pick up the baton. The main problem of museums in aging personnel says the museum worker: "There is no generation continuity, this is a very big problem, the loss of communication between generations".
The problem of lack of personnel is not always related to the level of education. The problem of employability and lack of creative space is also the reason for the lack of staff. That is, the labor market in the creative industries does not provide work, which as a result entails a "leak of talent":
We have a lot of talents. And most interestingly, a lot of people over the past 5-8 years have moved to Russia and created a good base in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It so happened that a lot of people learned architecture and because of the financial crisis they stopped building, and these people in Almaty were left without work. Many of them left for Russia. Producer.
Today there is the only law "On Culture", which has been repeatedly amended. However, this law is outdated and does not cover the characteristics of individual sectors of creative industries. Practice shows that cluster development is effective and leads to innovation. Despite the fact that there is a kind of "creative egoism" and the unwillingness to share their idea, most creative entrepreneurs believe that the time for the creative cluster has arrived: there is a need for space and collaboration. It is necessary to create a space in the city:
"This is exactly the case when the state must somehow radically help - take and give away a quarter or an old factory. Nobody says that make a renovation. They will do everything themselves, as they need repairs and everything will be put in order. People have motivation, people want to unite, understand the meaning of this association, and the benefits".
Many creative entrepreneurs, especially designers, architects, publishers and artisans, believe that the absence of tax benefits for the import of raw materials and the purchase of complementary goods is a barrier to efficient production, which further affects the pricing policy of the final product:
We do not produce anything that is needed for light industry. We have no fabrics, no threads, we have nothing but labor and desire. Accordingly, people ask why Kazakhstani designers so expensive? And how can a Kazakhstani designer be cheap if we import everything at all. Plus we have to clear it all with a 20% tax, then we have to get a certificate for everything. If you do everything beautifully and as needed, and we have to pay taxes, I have to pay all income, pension, social taxes for all my employees. Designer
Although the state cannot and should not take over the control and maintenance of the entire spectrum of cultural needs of society, commercial structures, civil institutions, and sponsorship should be represented in the cultural sector. Art and art education, the protection of cultural objects are areas that need the protection of the state. If the state does not have enough budget, then it is necessary to think over a tax policy in which it would be profitable and prestigious for private capital to engage in patronage. It is also necessary to change the mindset of officials and businessmen towards the culture.
According to Valeria Ibrayeva, art expert, it is expensive to invite professional art dealers and curators. There are not many local sponsors in Kazakhstan, charity is not developed, and economic conditions have not been created for this. There are businessmen who are ready to do this without any benefit, but this should be encouraged by the state. Culture is not only objects of an ideological orientation and as an artist, I can claim that judging by the sales of the only auction house in Kazakhstan so far, we can talk about the preference for work with national color on the theme of Kazakh history. This is not surprising, since the cultural policy of the state, its ideology are based on the position of ethnicity and revival, and the strengthening of people's roots.
In addition, it is inclined to finance official structures such as the Association of Artists etc. which are often symbolic and have little support for the real cultural process. Artists need support, they are engaged in art in their free time. It is very difficult to remain an artist in such conditions:
Thus, we see that some Kazakhstani artists are famous out of the country. For example, artist Batukhan Baymen is widely known in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Cyprus and Turkey. He received an award for his contribution to the development of the culture of the Republic of Cyprus. At home, Batuhan Baymen, unfortunately, was not so widely recognized.
Dina Duspulova, art dealer and expert, is convinced that Kazakhstan has enormous potential for the development of art. To do this, first of all, we need commissions from highly qualified art historians and improve the art education of people. The state of "stagnation" in Kazakhstan's art culture began to gradually move from a dead point in 2017 when the head of state started talking about the fact that Kazakhstan should enter the world market not only as a country rich in natural resources, but also to show its rich culture.
According to Dina Duspulova, on average, a painting by a Kazakhstani artist costs up to $ 10 thousand, and this is a segment of inexpensive art which goes up to $ 50 thousand. Such paintings are most often bought all over the world. The premium segment starts from $ 1 million. Kazakhstan potential buyers do not have knowledge about the art market of Kazakhstan. As there are no people who would professionally develop it. On this matter, I contemplates that prices for paintings are dictated by the market. The greater the demand, the higher the price. Ideally, the artist should not be distracted at all by thinking about prices, finding sites where you can put up works for sale, etc. The only task of the artist is creativity! And the implementation should be carried out by specialists in this field (art dealers, gallery owners, managers, producers).
Due to the lack of art dealers, most Kazakhstani artists seem to be on the same level. In the world no one knows which of them is a "rising star" and who is a professional with extensive experience. As the art expert notes, the good news is that galleries began to appear, mostly funded and supported by philantropists and the business. Examples of such galleries are the "Kulanshi" modern art center located in Nursultan and Esentai gallery located in Almaty.
Kulanshi ArtSpace was initiated by ForteBank's major shareholder and businessman Bulat Utemuratov. One of the major achievements has been a return of 24 paintings by famous Kazakhstan artists back to the country. Works of Kasteyev, Stepanov, Tynsykbayev and other artists were bought back from overseas and exhibited for visitors for free (The Steppe, 2019). In the gallery, one can also see the works of Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and modern artists from Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Turkey etc. The gallery is headed by well-known artist Leila Makhat who organises the exhibitions based on her experience she gained western countries: «When I studied at the Berlin Municipality Museum Academy, we had practical lessons in various museums and galleries. In Astana I started doing what I have learnt by then and how I saw it myself. You cannot just come and put paintings up, every project must have its concept".
Fig. 1. Kulanshi Art Center, photo taken from www.bulatutemuratov.com
Esentai Gallery was established by Capital Partners with the assistance of the Italian studio d'Arte Cannaviello gallery and its owner Enzo Canaviello, who served as art director of the gallery. The exhibitions under the curatorship of invited expert focused on European artists. Currently, the gallery is managed by local company 'Art Future'. which focuses on further promoting Esentai Gallery as an active player in the art market, a platform for developing and testing art projects. The gallery seeks to support domestic talents of contemporary art as well as organize weekly lectures on the theory and history of art and music and other events:
Fig. 2. Esentai Gallery, photo taken from kursiv.kz
"The development and support of art is extremely important in the context of our entire society, this is a reflection of the development of social processes» - says Togzhan Sakbayeva, founder of Art Future.
These are the few examples of how private capital is involved in art managmenet development with international masterpieces and experts being attracted. However, at a larger scale, on national level, most of the managers who are now working on the development of art culture are not qualified enough and do not have sufficient tools to promote artists. Around the world, 90% of paintings are sold online. Therefore, Kazakhstan art should be promoted on digital platforms. In this regard, as an artist, I would share my thought to other artists in order to be in demand both nationally and internationally, we as master should try ourselves in different styles and manners. Monotony in creativity is boring, and you always want a new one. Yes, one may have a penchant
for something that the market ignores at a certain stage, but, for sure, the artist will have works that will attract potential buyers. He or she will sell something, but something will remain with him to please the eye and warm the soul. At some point, supply and demand will find each other. Summary
In this article, art management was defined as a discipline, which involves project management, art strategy and supply chain techniques to control a creative process. As a result of discussions with local creative entrepreneurs and art sector representatives, it can be stated that arts managements is at its starting phase in Kazakhstan. It is necessary to strengthen the legislative framework, in particular the adoption of a law on patronage of arts. Also, the creation of creative spaces for creative entrepreneurs and community of curators who are ready to promote artists / projects would be an asset in the sector. Finally, it is necessary to improve the art education in higher educational institutions.
References / Список литературы
1. Bojor E. "Art Management: a versatile tool for managing and developing visual arts education in Nigeria", Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2014. Vol. 3. № 2.
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4. Esengeldy Zh. "Are the art business and art investments in Kazakhstan?" Interview with Dina Duspolova. [Electronic Resource]. URL: https://businessfm.kz/opinions/dina-duspulova-sushestvuet-li-art-biznes-i-art-investicii-v-kazahstane/ (date of access: 14.04.2020).
5. Marshev V. "History of Management Thought". Moscow: INFRA-M, 2005.
6. Kindirova A. andMukhametalieyeva Z. "Fortebank Kulanshi Art Space: How a bank created an art space in its office", 2019. [Electronic Resource]. URL: https://the-steppe.com/lyudi/fortebank-kulanshi-art-space-kak-bank-sozdal-tvorcheskuyu-galereyu-v-svoem-ofise/ (date of access: 14.04.2020).
7. Suminova T. "Art Management as Sociocultural concept". VESTNIK MGIKU. 3 (41), 2011.
8. Vlasenko O. "In free float" Interview with art experts. [Electronic Resource]. URL: http://expertonline.kz/a9472/ (date of access: 14.04.2020).
9. "Esentai Gallery resumes its work". [Electronic Resource]. URL: https://kursiv.kz/news/pischa-dlya-uma/2018-03/esentai-gallery-vozobnovlyaet-rabotu/ (date of access: 14.04.2020).
