Academic stay with Professor Pascale Bédard - Closing Conference

From 13 to 16 October 2025, in the frame of the ENCATC Working Group Art Markets and Cultural Goods Integrity, our member Université libre de Bruxelles in partnership with ENCATC welcomed Professor Pascale Bédard from Université Laval of Quebec, a renowned specialist in cultural policies and practices.

Across four conferences, lectures, and seminars, Professor Bédard invited us to reflect on the evolving nature of work in the cultural sector, the economic and social realities of artists, and the tensions between artistic creation and managerial logics in cultural organisations. 

Artistic organizations play an important role in the cultural vitality of our contemporary societies. Theater and dance companies, self-produced music groups, artist-run centers, and writer-run publishing houses, to name just a few examples, form a rich and dynamic constellation of artistic production. However, these organizations, often small in size and characterized by a resolutely artistic orientation—a logic of creation—are vulnerable and often marginalized in the world of cultural consumption, where they are confronted with other logics—commercial, managerial, etc. Indeed, these artistic production collectives face several challenges in order to sustain and support their creative activities, including the gaps between managerial and artistic approaches, administrative requirements from funding bodies, and the challenges of reaching audiences. What are the tensions and adaptation strategies currently driving these organizations?