Meetings with the representatives of the independent scene were held to discuss the topic of the European Capital of Culture 2020, and one discussion was held within the Fluid States manifestation. The discussion was held in Filodrammatica within the Zooming Fluid States festival, and it gathered the representatives of the City of Rijeka, members of the team for drafting of the Rijeka’s candidacy concept proposal, and around 30 renowned guests from abroad with significant experience in the organisation of big cultural projects. After the presentation of the concept and objectives of Rijeka’s candidacy, there was a discussion in which artists, scientists and activists from around the world presented their view of Rijeka and the determinants on which the candidacy would be based.
The first meeting with a part of the independent scene (from the field of music and publishing) was held at the city hall on 23 October 2014. The City of Rijeka Administration Department of Culture shortly presented the Rijeka European Capital of Culture 2020 project and invited the interested parties to cooperate by drafting proposals for 2020 programmes. The programmes will be applied to the competition which will be organised soon, and they will be evaluated by an expert council. The selected programmes will be included in the programme part of the application for the first round of the candidacy. Rijeka European Capital of Culture 2020 project manager Irena Kregar Šegota pointed out that programmes must be in accordance with the general goals of the European Capital of Culture and must have a clear cultural and artistic content. She especially stressed the two points against which the programmes would be evaluated – the European dimension and the audience development plan. Head of the programme directorate Helena Semion Tatić invited all interested parties to contact the Department of Culture regarding all questions related to the European Capital of Culture, while daily news can be found on our Facebook page.
The second meeting in the Kortil gallery was held on 30 October and gathered many artists and culture professionals. Head Ivan Šarar and Rijeka European Capital of Culture 2020 project manager Irena Kregar-Šegota conveyed all the key information on the project to interested participants and invited them to apply their programmes to the competition that would be invited in mid-November. The competition will be opened for 60 days, and applications will be assessed by the Programme Council. The selected programmes will be included in the application which the City of Rijeka will be submitting by 17 April 2015 at the latest.
The participants agreed that this was the moment when it was necessary to act together, start new cooperation and deepen the existing ones, both on the local and regional levels. They expressed the need for another meeting, where they would be able to additionally communicate their vision of the programme. They agreed that the European Capital of Culture was an excellent opportunity for the City, as well as all individuals acting in the cultural and artistic scene, and that this was a good opportunity for improving connections, increasing of own capacities with joint forces and, in cooperation with the City, bringing the title of the European Capital of Culture to Rijeka.
