Table Of ContentPrivatization and Culture
Experiences in the Arts. Heritage and Cultural Industries in Europe
Privatization and Culture
Experiences in theArts, Heritage
and Cultural Industries in Europe
edited by
PETER B. BOORSMA
ANNEMOON VAN HEMEL
NIKI VAN DER WIELEN
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
CIP Data Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag
Privatization
Privatization and Culture:
Experiences in the Arts, Heritage and Cultural Industries in Europe
ed. by Peter B. Boorsma, Annemoon van Hemel and Niki van der Wielen.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Subject headings: privatization , the arts and cultural industries , Europe
ISBN 978-0-7923-8408-3 ISBN 978-1-4615-5099-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-5099-0
Printed on acid-free paper
Editing: Boekman Foundation I Twente University
Design layout and DTP: Tekstueel, Alkmaar
Final editing (EnglishJ: Cathy Brickwood
Proof-reading: Mies van Splunter
AII Rights Reserved
© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1998
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1998
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Focusing the Cultural Political Debate in Europe
Peter B. Boorsma, Annemoon van Hemel and Niki van der Wielen 8
FOREWORD
LI Carla Bodo, Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison in Europe (CIRCLE) 15
1.2 Theodoor H. A dams, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands 18
L 3 Vera Boltho, Cultural Policy and Action Division ofthe Council of Europe 20
2 AN ANALYTICAL INTRODUCTION
2. I Privatizing the Muse 'and all that Jazz' 23
Peter B. Boorsma
3 APPROACHES TO PRIVATIZATION AND CULTURE
3.1 Rethinking the State's Role: Privatization, Economics and Cultural Policy 49
David Throsby
3.2 Beyond Privatization: The Hybridization of Museums and the Built Heritage 58
J. Mark Schuster
3.3 De-monopolizing Culture: Privatization and Culture in 23 European Countries 82
Cas Smithuijsen
4 CASE STUDIES
4.1 The Contradictions of Desetatisation: Museums in France 95
Franfoise Benhamou
4.2 Traditional Policy Tools and New Incentives: Built Heritage in Greece III
Effie Karpodini-Dimitriadi
4.3 The Shotgun Wedding of Opera and Industry: Opera Houses in Italy 120
Ugo Bacchella
4-4 Who Laughs Last ... : Film and Broadcasting in Hungary 131
Mihtily Galik
4.5 Unbinding Books: Publishing in the Czech Republic 142
Jifina Smejkalova
4.6 The Conflicts between Profits and Politics: Cultural Industries in Europe 160
Kirill Razlogov
4.7 Unlike Airlines and Phone Companies: Performing Arts in Europe 170
Dragan Klaic
4.8 Mixed Economy and Culture: Britain's Experience 183
Stephen Creigh-Tyte
5 CONCLUSIONS
Peter B. Boorsma, Annemoon van Hemel and Niki van der Wielen 201
Appendix A
About the Authors 210
AppendixB
CIRCLE'S Recommendations to the Council of Europe 213
Board of CIRCLE
AppendixC
C.I Introduction to the Work of CIRCLE 215
C.2 Introduction to the Work ofthe Boekman Foundation 218
c.3 Introduction to the Department of Public Administration and Public Policy of
'!Wente University 220
AppendixD
Index 221
6
Acknowledgements
The editors received help from many quarters in the process of monitoring the
privatization ofthe cultural sectors in Europe, of which this volume is the second step.
The first step was the CIRCLE Round Table 'Privatization/ Desetatisation and Culture:
Limitations or Opportunities for Cultural Development in Europe?', 11-14 June 1997, held
within the framework ofthe Dutch presidency ofthe European Union. Both were made
possible with the scientific support of the members of the Cultural Information and
Research Centres Liaison (CIRCLE), and with the financial assistance ofthe Dutch
Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Council of Europe, the European
Union, the Dick Meijs Foundation and the European Cultural Foundation. We are most
grateful to all of them for their generous support. Above all we should like to thank the
authors, with whom we had such pleasurable and fruitful relations.
Focusing the Cultural Political Debate
in Europe
PETER B. BOORSMA
ANNEMOON VAN HEMEL
NIKI VAN DER WIELEN
Since in the 1990S the concept of privatization found its way to the field of culture, it has
been one of the main themes in the cultural political debate in Europe. The necessity to
find alternative funding sources for the arts and culture makes privatization an extremely
hot issue in most European countries. Because many connect the term with selling public
institutions to private firms, it is also an emotionally charged one. One consequence of the
long-standing dependence on the state of many cultural institutions in Europe is a fear of
privatization on the part of many artists, art managers, researchers and policy makers.
What would happen to the cultural institutions if they were forced to survive on the com
mercial market? Not surprisingly, discussing privatization and culture has given rise to
heated debates and confusing discussions. Carla Bodo, quoting David Throsby clearly
puts these feelings into words:
, "We should ( ... ) bear in mind that the cultural sector is expected to serve the goals
not just of economic policy, but also of cultural policy and ( ... ) pure market solutions are
not likely to lead to socially optimal outcomes". The evaluation criterion for any privati
zation measure should be its ability to achieve a balance between the necessary improve
ment in economic efficiency and productivity on the one hand, and pursuit ofthe desired
social and cultural goals on the other.'
However, privatization does not have to be simply summarized as 'more market'.
There are many other possibilities, such as extending more autonomy ('autonomization')
to a state organization, using volunteers, contracting out by transferring the implementa
tion of some activities (such as a museum shop) to a private firm, or increasing private
funding via sponsoring or via raising entrance fees.
Until now privatization in the field of culture has been an uncharted area. Little is
known about privatization of different kinds of cultural institutions, in the different cul
tural sectors, and about the consequences for cultural policy and development. This vol
ume sheds light on that issue, focusing on heritage (museums and built heritage), the per
forming arts (theatre and opera) and cultural industries (film and television broadcasting
and the book industry). In order to make the debate on privatization and culture more
transparent, Peter Boorsma gives an overview of the concept of privatization, outlines the
recent history and background of privatization in general and discusses the definitions and
the various modes of privatization, resulting in a classification model. He balances the
main arguments for and against privatization, illustrated where possible by empirical evi
dence in the field of culture. Peter Boorsma's introduction served as a background paper
8 Peter B. Boorsma. Annemoon van Hemel and Niki van der Wie/en
for the authors of this volume. All contributors have different backgrounds. They are re
searchers, practitioners and policy makers, coming from different cultural sectors and a
variety of European countries. They offer a rich spectrum of experiences, perspectives and
concepts.
The authors wrote their contributions especially for this publication, but the present vol
ume still has clear ties with the CIRCLE Round Table 1997 (PrivatizationlDesetatisation
and Culture: Limitations or Opportunities for Cultural Development infurope), held
in Amsterdam as a joint effort of the Boekman Foundation (study centre for arts, culture
and related policy), Twente University (Department of Public Administration and Public
Policy) and the Felix Meritis Foundation, all situated in the Netherlands, under the aus
pices of the Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison (CIRCLE, a network sup
ported by the Council of Europe). Vera Boltho, Carla Bodo and Theodoor Adams directly
refer to this conference in their forewords, the other authors only indirectly. Some used
data published in the Conference Reader. The Conference and its Reader were a first step
in monitoring the process of privatization and culture in Europe, followed by the second
step: this volume.
The volume is divided in eight Parts, starting with the Forewords, which are followed by
Part II: Boorsma's analytical introduction into privatization in general and more specifi
cally in the arts. Part III contains theoretical approaches to privatization and culture. Em~
pirical data may be found in the Case Studies in Part IV. Finally, Part v until Part VIII, con
tain the Conclusions, Recommendations to the Council of Europe and an Index.
Approaches to Privatization and Culture
Cultural policy and the role of the market have long been a key-theme amongst re
searchers. In 'Approaches to Privatization and Culture' three authors elaborate their
thoughts about the changing role ofthe government, shifts in the organizational structure
of cultural institutions and the importance of a strong non-profit sector.
In 'Rethinking the State's Role' David Throsby gives a theoretical economic per
spective on privatization and culture. He discusses the key issues in this debate, stresses
that the role of the government will have to change and indicates the opportunities and
challenges the evolving economic environment presents for artists, cultural institutions
and consumers. Throsby highlights possible pitfalls for future development of private ini
tiatives in the cultural sectors.
'Privatization has been used so many times by so many people in so many different
ways to mean so many different things that it is hard to use it with much confidence,' stip
ulates Mark Schuster. In 'Beyond Privatization' he analyses privatization initiatives in the
field of cultural heritage from an organizational-structural point of view. Schuster comple
ments Peter Boorsma's modes of privatization by adding the notion of hybrids, institutions
'with varying degree of publicness and privateness incorporated into the various elements
of the organization's functioning'. He illustrates, for example, how organizational restruc
turing decisions can be made and what the consequences can be for cultural institutions in
general and more specifically in the field of museums and the built heritage.
Focussing on the Cultural Policital Debate in Europe 9
In preparation for the 1997 conference, empirical data on privatization in the cultur
al sectors in Europe was needed. A questionnaire, based on Boorsma's scheme of themes
and variation in privatizing initiatives, was sent to rapporteurs from 23 European coun
tries. In 'De-monopolizing Culture' Cas Smithuijsen analyses from a socio-economical
point of view the empirical material gathered. He discusses the varying influence of priva
I
tization in the arts, heritage and cultural industries and considers the different ways of and
motives for privatizing initiatives in these sectors. Smithuijsen highlights the need for the
existence of a large non-profit sector, also called the 'third sector', in Western as well as in
Eastern Europe. Only this third sector can guarantee a diverse and substantial cultural
supply.
Case Studies
In 'Case Studies' authors from different European countries survey privatization initia
tives within the specific cultural sectors, and evaluate these experiences. In 'The Contra
dictions of Desetatisation' Franr,:oise Benhamou outlines the French tradition of inter
ventionism in the museum sector and the limits placed on this policy by the crisis of
legitimacy of public institutions and the crisis of supervision. She elaborates on the possi
bilities of bringing about changes in the organization and its structures, the legal environ
ment and the financing of museums in France. Benhamou refers to the illusion ofthe prof
itability of commercial activity and the contradiction between the tasks of the traditional
museum - i.e. collection and research - and the need to make profits once the museum
is privatized.
Privatization is not a key element of Greek heritage policy, emphasizes Effie Karpo
dini-Dimitriadi in 'Traditional Policy Tools and New Incentives: Built Heritage in Greece'.
However, the role of the private sector ensuring better funding is fully accepted, and there
is a clear tendency to respect heritage activities or heritage property in private hands. There
is a growing interest in the re-use of buildings and other monuments of architectural her
itage. Still, Greece considers the heritage in general and the built heritage in particular as
a primary responsibility of the state.
An empirical example of privatization initiatives in the field of the arts in Italy is
given by Ugo Bacchella under the revealing title: 'The Shotgun Wedding of Opera and In
dustry: Opera Houses in Italy'. The Italian government aims not only at fundraising - by
creating incentives for individual and corporate support for culture, for example through
tax relief - but also at involving the private sector in the process of reshaping and manag
ing cultural institutions. Bacchela describes the transformation ofthe thirteen opera hous
es in Italy from the legal status of semi-autonomous bodies into private foundations. The
legal modifications needed to realize this were put forward in a decree law in 1996, which
faced - and still faces - support as well as opponents. Bacchella outlines the arguments
for and against, and the difficulties accompanying the legal implementation process.
In Western Europe privatization has had only a moderate impact on culture, as these three
contributions prove. It is important, however, to distinguish between Western European
privatization policies and privatization policies in the former communist countries.
'Under dictatorship, when culture and politics formed Siamese twins, the term privatiza-
IO Peter B. Boorsma, Annemoon von Hemel and Niki von der Wie/en
