Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Issue 1 | Page 100

depend on public financial sources. Cultural institutions largely reflect
the establishment and development of nation states and state cultural
policies which may have been recently decentralized to the local and city
levels. Institutional culture is primarily concentrated on the establishment,
definition, and preservation of national cultural values which have become
“traditional.” These values are interpreted as being in keeping with ideas
of national cultural identity and they enable and preserve its development.
In this respect the preservation of cultural heritage and the (often hasty)
representation of authentic cultural values are of key interest. Such interest
is sustained and boosted through international cultural cooperation, the
organization of cultural events and festivals, and other cultural activities
representing national creativity and values. Investment in culture is
primarily directed to institutions and cultural infrastructure, but this does
not imply that they are being restructured or modernized; it simply secures
their survival in the changing social surroundings, often at a high cost. The
existing cultural institutions have difficulty in adapting to the globalized
cultural communication. They can barely sustain and support cultural
creativity. In this sense they prove to be dysfunctional and dependent on
obsolete concepts and programs which often result in a lowering of their
professional standards and the expulsion of the best artists or other creative
professionals. These, particularly in the case of post-communist countries,
often take their chances abroad. Those cultural institutions that are able
and ready to invest time and effort in adapting to new social contexts
and demands earn the position of protected cultural institutions, and are
preserved as part of national traditions and cultural heritage.
Independent culture has been developing through transitional processes, as a
kind of intermediary creative activity that grows through networking and the
use of new communication technologies. This is usually financially supported
by international organizations and foundations which may be either private
(e.g., the Open Society/Soros Foundations) or public (e.g., the European
Cultural Foundation). The “independent” culture functions mostly through
nongovernmental organizations and individual small enterprises. It is able to
attract an important number of creative individuals and to invest both funds
and effort in local cultural creativity. As the international financial sources are
being reduced over time, the “independent” culture tends to turn increasingly
to local public funds (which introduces a threat of political influence) and
to various private sources seeking to avoid the cultural marketplace. Such
intentions are reflected in efforts to institutionalize cultural activities and thus
change cultural mainstreams, sensitivities, and values. The “independent”
culture is present in public life through modern art, new dance trends,
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