European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC)
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Closing the Gap roundtable three: Holstebro

Holstebro, Denmark
Irene Ropolo
Kristian Krog
Piet Forger
Ctg 3 2
The third Closing the Gap roundtable took place in Holstebro, Denmark, hosted by our member the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium.

The event happened in the framework of the 750-year anniversary of the city of Holstebro and was hosted by our member the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium.

In order to build bridges and enable a framework where the potential of culture can be fully developed, it is important to understand what generates the "gap". It is crucial to create spaces where all involved actors can speak openly and at the same level, acknowledging each other’s needs and views.

Local and regional cultural operators, artists, representatives of civil society organisations, local administrators and civil servants joined the discussion and shared their expertise and good practices on building bridges between cultural centres and local administrations.

Find out more about Closing the Gap here

8.45 - 9.00 Arrival of colleagues and partners from Holstebro and region

9.00 - 12.30 Roundtable with practitioners, experts, and policy makers: the potential of "uninstitutionalising" cultural houses; understanding the existing gap and building bridges through dialogue.

  • Introduction: Piet Forger, programme coordinator and ENCC board member; Kap Bech Jensen, director of Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium

  • Speakers: Irene Rolopo, consultant; Louise Godt and Emma Meyer, EU cultural advisors, Central Denmark EU Office of the Danish Government; Kristian Krog, director of Maltfabrikken

  • Coffee break

  • Working groups: discussing different dimensions of the issues at stake

  • Main conclusions and next steps

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch and networking

14.00 - 17.30 Study visits (optional)

Piet Forger has been the head of the department for cultural affairs at the city of Leuven, Belgium since 2015. He is the initiator and vice president of Vitamine C, a Flanders-based network of cultural professionals.

Irene Ropolo is involved in co-creation of European projects and, in particular, in systematising skills, knowledge, opportunities and objectives.

Kristian Krog is the managing director and co-founder of the independent Danish cultural centre Maltfabrikken. For the last 15 years he has played a central role in transforming an abandoned factory into an international institution.