A Fair New Idea?! #1: SHADOW tv

A Fair New Idea?! Oproep 1: zorgzaam werken in de kunsten

A Fair New Idea?! is veel meer dan de ondersteuning van één project voor verdere ontwikkeling. Het is een reeks van vier open oproepen rond verschillende thema’s. Deze eerste, met als thema ‘zorgzaam werken in de kunsten’, leverde 28 voorstellen op, hieronder vind je een van de ideeën die niet verder ontwikkeld zijn in het traject, maar daarom niet minder van waarde zijn.

Omschrijving van het idee

SHADOW tv is being developed as a reaction to recent announcements that seven Flemish arts institutions initiate Podium 19. The proposal evolved from the question: How can we truly achieve transparent, fair and solidary cultural field, if public opinion is being (in)formed by institutions that are only part of the establishment?

Wat ben je van plan?

In recent years journalism changed world wide. If you talk with a cultural worker one can hear that journalism shifted towards less critical, more storytelling or anecdotal approach, often lacking curiosity and wish to report on less mainstream practices. Often the reporting by mainstream media leans on values defined by museums or art market (or personal connections). However the majority of cultural workers and producers work parallel to mainstream institutions, often standing in opposition to them. A few years back social media was a channel used to communicate presence, but in recent years the visibility is guaranteed only if one can pay for it. Once again profit oriented institutions and corporations gain. I would argue that profit should not be a factor that determines value, in field of culture specially. It is important to acknowledge work by independent and critical spaces and cultural workers as their work is made by, for and with ordinary people. Public media such as Podium 19 should by its nature be populist, meaning that it should “strive to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” More than all it should be their professional duty to work for people, as they are publicly funded. SHADOW tv derives from the political term shadow ministry whose members are part of opposition. They shadow the positions of each individual member of the cabinet, criticising the actions of the government, as well as offering alternative policies. SHADOW tv program would challenge idea of hierarchy within arts, it will present cultural workers and organisations that present the opposition – against economic models that belong to creative industries, not reproducing mainstream norms, presenting different value systems, being driven by need to stay critical, engaged, disruptive, on margin. To acknowledge someones presence and value, refusing to make anyone invisible, is perhaps the first and basic step of care.

Hoe sluit je project aan op het thema en hoe kunnen we met jouw idee impact creëren in de sector?

The organisational structure of SHADOW tv, as well as programming scheme should be in the service of the arts sector and public in large. It is thought as Public Broadcasting Service, an independent, noncommercial television program, part of Podium 19, but keeps its programming independent. It should operate with public and government funding instead of with revenues from advertising. It is used to distribute educational and cultural program for free by broadcasting and online.

Hoe kan iemand die jou of je project wil steunen je contacteren?

Out of Sight, office@out-of-sight.be