Cultural connectors
What’s needed to make the programme work

Making art accessible to all, a truly democratic aim, lies at the heart of this project, so any financial obstacles must be absolutely eliminated. Admission to the museum has to be free to the Cultural connectors and their guests.

Implementing this programme requires several institutional groups to work together, communications, curators, and the institution’s reception staff. Secondly, the whole of the cultural institution must be open to being studied and scrutinised by the Cultural connectors, in order to draw lessons from the experience and continuously improve how the institution reaches new audiences and welcomes visitors generally.

An individual already working in the cultural organisation must be able to devote a certain amount of their work hours to ensure that the programme is indeed functioning as intended. Starting up the programme represents on average 20% of a staff member’s working hours over 6 months. Later, coordinating the programme and hosting meetings with Cultural connectors and their guests will take 5 to 10% of a staff member’s time. These figures will vary of course according to the size of the group and the frequency of the meetings, as well as in terms of specific projects.

The project requires a professional cultural mediator who is part of the institution and brings with them the skills needed to run events and host meetings, and a familiarity with approaches that draw visitors in and help them participate. The cultural mediator must also be well-versed in the discipline or disciplines featured at the cultural institution (fine arts, performing arts, etc.). Another possibility is two cultural mediators whose areas of expertise complement each other’s, e.g., a cultural mediator from the institution and a social or cultural activities leader from a social organisation (when a partnership between two institutions is involved, for example).

– Human resources (project management, activities leadership, specific extramural interventions)

– Documentation provided free of charge to the Cultural connectors (exhibition catalogues, etc.)

– Admission vouchers for the Cultural connectors

– Admission vouchers for their guests

– Cocktail events, snacks, expressions of the institution’s appreciation and gratitude

– Miscellanea (tableware, drinks, etc.)

By way of an example, MCBA mounts 3 temporary shows annually and can count on 27 Cultural connectors; its annual budget for the connector programme is CHF 4000.

Any cultural institution wanting to start its own Cultural connectors programme is invited to do the following:

– Get in touch with MCBA

– Display the Cultural connectors programme logo on documents related to the programme

– Join the conversation between cultural institutions that are developing their own Cultural connectors programme (event held once a year)