What Will Culture Days Look Like?

Anything is possible during Culture Days – anything that brings creators and the public closer together. Visitors to a theatre are invited to attend a dress rehearsal; a professional songwriter pens, composes, arranges and records a song with a class of students; the crew of a television studio offers a guided tour; a glassblower shares the warmth of his workplace; a museum opens up its restoration workshop to the public; a nighttime tour encourages people to look at their neighbourhood architecture in a whole new light; engravers open the doors of their studios to reveal the secrets of their art; a playwright holds a performance in a laundromat.

Culture Days features free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate in the “behind-the-scenes” world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, designers... in their community. These types of activities are sometimes known as “cultural mediation:” Through exchange and dialogue, artists and creators have a unique opportunity to engage citizens of all ages in their practice, while citizens delve into stimulating participatory experiences exploring their own creativity and curiosity. See below for more on cultural mediation.

Visit the What’s Happening section of the website to read about activities in your province. We’ve picked out a few examples of activities that our Culture Days collaborators have presented in the past: Click to read about what’s happened in Québec, Ontario, and Alberta. Want your creative audience outreach activities to be featured too? Get in touch!

We’ve been telling folks what we think Culture Days will look like. We want to hear what you have to say about your experiences “going behind the scenes”… Been to an amazing art workshop lately? See an artist demonstrate their technique? Talked to a curator about how they put together an exhibit? Learned how architects or other creators find their inspiration? Share your story about your favourite glimpse of the creative process and the people who contribute to the cultural life of your community!

Below are examples of typical cultural mediation activities that many cultural professionals and organizations offer already. The imagination of Culture Days activity organizers, however, should not be limited to these suggestions. Be creative, we say! Invent a new type of interaction!:

• guided tours (galleries, museums, backstage, heritage sites, in costume)
• outdoor walking tours (historical, architectural etc.)
• creation workshops
• interactive demonstrations of technique, how-to etc.
• introductory courses / workshops / classes
• « meet the artists » events
• presentation / performance with discussion period
• public rehearsals (with artists talk-back)
• interactive performances
• improv creation & activities
• games, competitions
• collective creations

Read about how you and your community can become involved – wherever you are!

More information on the definition and practice of cultural mediation may be found here:

International Forum on Cultural Mediation organized by Culture pour tous
http://www.culturepourtous.ca/forum/index_en.htm

Short summary from the Québec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport, about the International Forum on Cultural Mediation
http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/artEtCulture9/index_en.asp?page=forumRencontre