*Those artists who live by the State can be knifed-off wholesale... so much for the notion that only the liberal market inflicts "precarity."
*Carla Bruni is a "media worker." I'd be guessing her lifestyle pretty much defines "precarity," too, at least at the high end...
Culture Multimedia in France
We, the organizations and actors of "media culture" for the last 10 years, have been working on projects for the creation, the research and the distribution of digital art for cultural, education and mediation actions with the public, across territories and through networking, constantly inspired by the interests of the general public. Also, we participate in establishing benchmarks in customs and practices of multimedia in our information society and in general, by our participation and accompaniment in these projects.
The French Ministry of Culture, without consultation or hesitation and without providing any justification, has chosen to withdraw from the media culture, questioning its support of more than 115 organizations in France, and of the digital arts festivals and of digital creation aids. In doing so the actors and local community organizations involved are presented with a "fait accompli".
Yet the same Ministry of Culture, in 1998 had initiated a policy in support of cultural, multimedia and artistic creation and democratization, through an emphasis on professionalizing of the actors, and on supporting innovative modes of production with artists and with the public. The policy was unanimously endorsed by each successive government, and its missions enacted, and it was recognized as being of public interest, and reaffirmed by the President in his letter of Mission to Madam the Minister of Culture.
This act is in complete contradiction with the strategic choices of this government on the information society.
This act has substantial consequences for those involved in the media culture, while the individual amounts involved seem ridiculous: between 5000 and 30000 euros per year, and have specific and immediate consequences:
-The precariousness of the economy structures;
-The abolition of posts;
-Difficulties in welcoming visiting artists and the dissemination of works;
-Difficulties in organizing cultural and educational actions for the public and for schools;
-The closure of places for mediation and creation for all the population on the whole territory;
-The endangerment of the newly created networks for the exchange in actors and creators for areas covering the entire country.
The balance of power created by the Ministry of Culture convinces us to reaffirm the importance of the actions that we carry out with artists and with the public, and to arm ourselves with the tools that will allow us to ensure the defense of this sector, of its structures and jobs, especially by formalizing the establishment of a national federation of actors in the media culture.
With this structure and given the stakes, we ask for a review of government policy and call:
-Consistency between the statements by the President of the Republic and the strategic recommendations and practical implementation by the Minister of Culture;
-Maintaining and strengthening public policies so far in the field of media culture;
-Consultation with the industry players to collectively build multimedia cultural policies, public and private;
And we invite the actors of "media culture" for whom this process and in the values raised by the association is most relevant, to join the General Assembly of the federation on February 18, 2008 in Paris.
This mobilization call for the review of government policy in terms of French media culture is part of a broader discussion related to disengagement of the French State in terms of cultural activities and more specifically in the need for persistence and preservation of actions brought with artists, researchers and with publics by all actors of "media culture".
http://www.culture-multimedia.org/
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