Fin- eller populärkultur? En studie om hur europeiska kulturhuvud-städer påverkas av den kultursyn de möter i EU

Abstract

Lately the EU has shown a growing interest in cultural policy and cultural investments. It is therefore relevant to outline EU's cultural views. This study highlights the issue by focusing on the EU's greatest cultural venture – the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC). The study seeks to determine which cultural views that are perceived in the EU and how these influence the ECoC's cultural programmes. To reach this purpose, interviews were conducted with representatives from the upcoming ECoC's Marseille, Košice, Umeå and Riga. Furthermore, the study seeks to explain how and why the EU's cultural views contribute to maintain the fact that the ECoC's audience primarily consists of upper social classes. The ECoC representatives prove together to perceive more ‘high cultural’ views in the EU. These do also, to varying degrees, influence the ECoC's cultural programmes. Finally the EU's cultural views, by influencing the ECoC's cultural programmes, seems to reinforce the fact that the ECoC's audience primarily consists of upper social classes. This because high culture is rather consumed by privileged then less privileged social groups.