Dr. Solène Marié won the 2021 ENCATC Research Award for her doctoral thesis “At the centre of the edge: the development of cross-border cultural networks in border cities between Brazil and Uruguay and France and Germany” defended at the University of Brasília (Brazil) and Paris 8 University (France).

The 2021 Award winner was revealed at the annual ENCATC Research Award Ceremony held on the evening of 22 October. Due to the COVID-19 context, in 2021 the ceremony took place online on the last day of the 2021 ENCATC Digital Congress “Artists in the spotlight! In search of new agendas for education and research in the cultural management and policy field”(19-22 October).

A global audience of leading academics, renowned researchers, cultural professionals, and policy makers, and artists gathered virtually for the announcement of 2021’s winner. For the occasion of the 2021 Award edition, ENCATC President, Francesca Imperiale said: “The Jury had the difficult task to choose from this year’s pool of talented finalists. The 2021 winner has shown deep knowledge of the topic and her comparative and cross-cultural research fits perfectly into the Award’s scheme and purpose. Moreover, during course of the 2021 ENCATC Digital Congress, the speakers called for more interdisciplinarity in cultural education and the winner’s doctoral thesis will be an important contribution to achieve such objectives.

The winner Dr. Solène Marié expressed her special gratitude to receive the ENCATC Research Award and its prestigious international recognition: “I want to thank ENCATC for the opportunity and for the excellent organisation of this award, in collaboration with the University of Antwerp and its Cultural Management Fund. I am especially glad that the publication of my thesis in the book series on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Education published by Peter Lang will shine a light on cultural policy issues which get little visibility: those concerning peripheral areas of South America.”

The winner will have her work published in the ENCATC Book Series on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Education, by leading academic publisher Routledge.

Announcing the winner and presenting the Jury’s assessment, Annick Schramme, Professor at the University of Antwerp and member of the Award’s jury said: “The jury was impressed by the originality of the topic and its complexity, being conceptually well elaborated and having well-designed research methodology. The comparative perspective and having chosen as the first angle from the South American perspective compared to the European one, was highly appreciated by the jury as it was not Eurocentric.” 

ENCATC is proud to have led its Research Award for an 8th edition and continue its proven capacity to promote the careers of young researchers at the global level. ENCATC is delighted to welcome this year’s winner into the Award’s circle of scholars who are doing comparative research projects in cultural policy and cultural management,” said ENCATC Secretary General, GiannaLia Cogliandro Beyens.

Alongside the 2021 winner, the finalists were praised for their relevant and important contributions to the field of cultural management and policy research: Jon Alvarez Fernandez for his PhD “The Shift of Valuation and Management in ‘Denken Chiku’ Protected Townscapes in Japan: Comparative Analysis with Contemporary Western Protection Policies” defended at Waseda University (Japan); Dimitra Kizlari for her PhD “Foreign Cultural Policy through the work of the National Institutes of Culture: a comparative study on instrumentalism” defended at the University College London (United Kingdom); and Meike Lettau for her PhD “Artists as agents of change. Civil Society engagement and foreign cultural policy in transformation processes” defended at the University of Hildesheim (Germany).

Launched in 2014, the ENCATC Award is the only international Award recognising excellence in cultural policy and cultural management research. This prestigious recognition exists to stimulate academic research in the field of cultural policy and cultural management, to explore contemporary issues at stake and possibly anticipate new cultural policy orientations through comparative and cross-cultural research.