Official vs. Manager—Transformations of the Role of Supervisor in Cultural Institution

Abstract

The article presents the silhouettes of directors of one cultural institution—its organizer and his successor. Their statements reflect the changes that have affected this type of facilities and resulted from political and economic transformation. These changes were related to the reform of local government and decentralization of cultural policy after 1989.

The first part of the article contains a description of the assumptions and methodology of the project from which the interviews at hand derive, as well as a description of empirical material. A comparative summary of both directors’ statements is preceded by their short metrics. The presentation of micro-narratives is divided into four thematic areas: the careers of both narrators, the vision of the institution (the role of cultural centers and their assigned tasks in respondents’ opinions), the principles of operation and potential obstacles to institutional activities, anticipated recipients of the cultural offer. Overall, the analysis of the most interesting topics that appeared in the statements of the two directors, which may be helpful to answer questions related to the nature of the transformation of cultural institutions, closes the whole study. One of the most important points is how the current shape of the centers of this type results from the clash of existing structures with new requirements posed to institutionalized culture, and the functioning of civil society, as well as the development of creative industries, related to the areas at hand.