Invest in the ERICarts Institute and share the interests and values of its mission.
In 2004/5, the European Association of Cultural Researchers e.V. (ECURES) founded the ERICarts Institute as a non-proft company (gGmbH). Three centres of excellence in the field of cultural research and monitoring then joined the Institute as Associates: Finn-EKVIT (Helsinki), OAC (Lisbon) and the ZfKf (Bonn/Berlin). Since 2009, Boekmanstichting (Amsterdam) participates in the work of the Institute as its fifth Associate; in 2011, the Finnish Foundation for Cultural Policy Research in Helsinki (CUPORE) replaced Finn-EKVIT as the Nordic partner organisation of ERICarts. Other centres meeting the criteria of becoming an Associate are invited to join the Institute.
Steering the Institute, ECURES and each Associate have a representative on the Board of Governors, the main decision-making body of the ERICarts Institute. Together they decide on the strategic mission, research agenda, and the future development of the Institute. This dynamic consortium not only advises the Institute but tangibly pursues its goals through participation in the comparative research projects of the Institute.
Boekman FoundationThe Boekmanstichting (http://www.boekman.nl/EN/index.html), located in Amsterdam/The Netherlands, collects and disseminates knowledge and information about the arts and culture in both policy and practice. It stimulates research and the development of opinion on the production, distribution and take-up of the arts and on national and international policy on the arts and culture. Boekmanstichting acts as an independant facilitator between interested parties from official public bodies, the academic world and the cultural field.
European Association of Cultural Researchers e.V. (ECURES)is an international association of scholars and experts specialising in cultural research.
CUPORE and Finn-EKVITCUPORE, the Finnish Foundation for Cultural Policy Research (http://www.cupore.fi/index_en.php), was founded in 2002 on the initiative of the University of Jyväskylä and the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The Ministry of Education and Culture was one of the initiators behind the establishment of the Foundation and is responsible for the financing of its research projects.
Observatório das Actividades Culturais (OAC) The OAC (http://www.oac.pt/menuobservatorio_ing.htm) was created in 1996 by the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS), the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Ministry of Culture. Its main task is to produce and disseminate information, in a systematic and regular manner, on current trends in the field of cultural activities with emphasis on audience research, cultural events and their impact, cultural policies, cultural agents (artists, users of cultural equipments etc.) and studies on cultural institutions (libraries, museums, etc.).
Zentrum für Kulturforschung (ZfKf) ZfKf, the Centre for Cultural Research in Germany (http://www.kulturforschung.de), is located in St. Augustin near Bonn and Berlin. It was founded as an independent research body in 1972.
