On the evening of 3 October 2019 in Dijon, France, Dr. Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski won the 2019 ENCATC Research Award for her PhD “Theory of institutions and cultural policies for contemporary performative practices” obtained from the University of Arts in Belgrade, Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Serbia. The Award Ceremony was held during the 2019 ENCATC Congress on Cultural Management and Policy (2-5 October). 

Following the welcome by Francesca Imperiale, ENCATC President and ENCATC Research Award Jury President, the Award Ceremony was opened by Jaime Ruiz-Gutierrez, ENCATC Research Award Jury Member, Associate Professor, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia.

Next the Award finalists were invited to present their research to an international audience of academics, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and artists.

To announce the 2019 winner, ENCATC was honoured to have Louise Haxthausen, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels and UNESCO Representative to the European Union deliver the award.

Speaking on behalf of the Award’s International Jury, Francesca ImperialePresident of ENCATC said: “The topic of institutions is a central concept in the context of cultural policies. This research provides valuable knowledge about institutions in the cultural sector. Furthermore, the concept of post-institution applied to Biennale or Museums to explain the New Public Management, where ‘the role of the managers, programmers in culture, or the professions managing the programmes and structures in arts and culture, gets new highlighted values, or characteristics’, it’s an original contribution. The New Institutionalism as a proposition to redefine the contemporary art institution, constitutes a very important reflection about the establishment of new and different cultural policies for the sector.”

The winner, Dr. Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski expressed her deep gratitude for the ENCATC Award’s prestigious international recognition: “I would like to thank ENCATC and the Research Award’s international jury for this great honour. My gratitude also goes to my PhD mentor, Professor Milena Dragićević Šešić. I believe that besides scholars dealing with issues concerning the notions of institution in culture, cultural policy, governance, contemporary dance and performance, diverse communities of practitioners, researchers, cultural workers and artists can also find interest in this interdisciplinary research which includes strategies, tactics, case studies, artistic, curatorial practices and theoretical propositions.”

Alongside the 2019 winner, the finalists were applauded for their relevant contributions to the field of cultural management and policy research: Dr. Annatina Aerne, for her doctoral thesis: “The Creation of a Public Sphere through a Network of Art Publics in Bogotá” obtained from the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland; Dr. Karla Nunes Penna, doctoral thesis:“A critical autoethnographic study of context-related influences on cultural heritage preservation education of World Heritage sites in Northeastern Brazil” obtained from Murdoch University in Australia; and Dr. Minna Ruusuvirta, doctoral thesis: “Does sector matter? Plural characteristics and logics in third sector festival organisations” obtained from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. 

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