Europe at work

Venice remains a place for the arts and for the artists. The entire city is a supreme work of art, but Venice has also established its reputation as a contemporary forum and its Biennale is justly famous all over the world. To create, within the scope of the Biennale, a kind of reference point for the representatives of Eastern European countries conforms fully with the goals of the Central European Initiative, an organisation created in 1989 and currently embracing 17 Member States with headquarters in Trieste. Among the many fields of activity of the Central European Initiative, culture and the arts occupy a prominent place. Indeed, almost 40% of the co-operation activities supported by us in the current year are related to culture. It is therefore not surprising that we welcome this idea launched by Trieste Contemporanea to organise, within the margins of the Biennale, an encounter dedicated to aspects of the art scene and the peculiarities with which artists are confronted in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
I am particularly pleased that this meeting has brought together representatives of the art management, i.e. directors and curators of museums and galleries who are intimately acquainted with questions of public acceptance and government support to contemporary art in a period of transition from state control to competitive markets. The repercussions of such a transition on the art scene are worth analysing because we are likely to find ourselves in front of a dilemma – on the one hand, the creative artist needs freedom of expression to be able to develop his or her full potential, on the other hand artists need the support and encouragement of society and of the state since they cannot survive, let alone thrive without sponsorship. So how do governments in these transition countries deal with this situation and what can the outside world, what can organisations such as the Central European Initiative do to improve it?
To exchange views on these and other important questions regarding the situation of the arts in the above-mentioned context should, indeed, prove to be a useful and perhaps even necessary exercise. Let me wish you success in these efforts and let me assure you that the Central European Initiative remains open to cooperate with you in these endeavours.