The Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies that includes the Cultural Management study program pays constant attention to the quality of the study process and is in search for more diverse possibilities when it comes to students’ practice. Professor Virginija Jurėnienė and Associate Professor Aistė Urbonienė are sure that the cross-European opportunity provided by the Erasmus program is a perfect way to not only deepen one’s professional knowledge and acquire new skills, but also get acquainted with another country’s culture and broaden the outlook.
During the last visit to Spain via the Erasmus non-academic visit program, Prof. Jurėnienė and Assoc. Prof. Urbonienė visited several cultural organizations in Madrid. The VU scientists were welcomed by the local telecommunications company Fundación Telefónica which is in the top 10 largest business organizations worldwide. The activity of its subunit VIDA (Art and Artificial Life International Awards) is oriented towards artists who work in media and technologies in not only Spain, but also on a global scale, and who are awarded annual prestigious awards. “The four-storey premises of the company’s buildings hold an art gallery, and the relations between art and technologies are evident in every exhibit”, says Prof. Jurėnienė. She maintains that collaboration with culture manager Laura Fernandez Orgas who, in this company, is responsible for art and cultural projects has taught the Lithuanian representatives about not only the hard work that Fundación Telefónica puts into the country’s culture, but also about the challenges faced.
The lecturers of VU Kaunas Faculty of Humanities also met VIDA’s art director Monica Bello who is currently working on a project in a cultural center in Gijón titled LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial. The director of the center Oscar Abril Ascaso introduced this progressive cultural organization and shared his ideas for the future. LABoral act and creative industries center has become a partner with VU Kaunas Faculty of Humanities as far as students’ practice opportunities go.
The biggest impression that the VU Kaunas Faculty of Humanities scientists was left with was the trip to the globally acknowledged Madrid Matadero cultural center. The center that belongs to the municipality of Madrid includes a creativity incubator and includes nine cultural organizations the majority of which represent private capital. “They have an impressive million-strong budget, a million visitors a year, only 11 members of staff and impressive premises in a former large slaughterhouse. The territory of the cultural center occupies 65.000 m2. In 2013, the center was visited by 711285 visitors, and its website – by 984900 visitors. Also, in 2013, there were over 2482 activities created in the center”, says Associate Professor Urbonienė.
The director of Centro Matadero Madrid Carlota Alvarez Basso acquainted the guests from Kaunas Faculty of Humanities with the activities of the center and the staff and summarized the history of its development. Currently. It is one of the most important cultural organizations on the global scale, the activity of which is written about on the New York Time every year. Together with the director of the center, opportunities of collaboration between the center and the VU Kaunas Faculty of Humanities were discussed. According to Professor Jurėnienė and Associate Professor Urbonienė, the territory of this cultural center includes a private capital company “Factoria Cultural” which is also willing to accept Cultural Management students for practice.