Rivers of Opportunities 2013-2015

This Learning Partnership by bringing together 10 European organisations aimed at sharing knowledge on practising culture in public places as a way of engaging audiences (also current non-audiences) in new environments, specifically on urban waterfronts/ river banks across Europe. The underlying issue was to how to use audience development strategies for this purpose. Today audience development is a necessity, if broader access to culture is to become a reality.

The competences of the learners from the involved organisations were enriched in this respect by applying transversal and intercultural methodology from the realms of e.g. sociology, marketing, civil society involvement, public space/urban planning, environment, sustainable development etc. By means of this project good practices were identified, possibilities explored and eventually, new models of non-formal education art projects drafted and disseminated.
Project main activities: 5 leading seminars and 5 extension workshops-case study visits providing recommendations and feedback for the seminars based on the local context. Thus each partner hosted a face-to-face meeting open to local community: either in the form of a bigger gathering – seminar parallel to some waterfront event just happening or a think-tank get-together in smaller workshop groups. Each host identified audience development aspects related to local issues which will influence the content of a given meeting, as well as found local target groups to participate in the meetings to profit from our contribution.

Throughout our project we made an attempt to define cultural, social and educational opportunities and benefits audience development brings to the waterfronts in European cities.

Rivers of Opportunities was made possible through the network River//Cities.