Branding Belgrade as a proactive development in the sphere of culture : a comparative analysis of Fest and Bemus

[M. Toković]

[8] 268 listova

Sociologija - Urbana sociologija / Sociology Narrow scientific field: Urban sociology

U poslednjim decenijama 20. veka gradovi su postali deo ekonomije simbola i industrije kulture. Brendiranje se javlja kao novi naziv za promociju kulturnog identiteta grada sa akcentom na ekonomski razvoj (kultura u službi ekonomiji). Da bi postao brend, od grada se traži da pruži više od sušte funkcionalnosti. Kreativni resursi se stavljaju u službu unapređenja identiteta lokalne zajednice, stvaranja povoljnog okruženja za investitore, promociju pozitivnih vrednosti, podizanja nivoa javne / društvene svesti o značaju različitosti za održivi razvoj. Analitički okvir ovog istraživanja zasnovan je na konceptu „tradicionalnog kulturnog identiteta“, kao i na konceptu „uzbudljivog“ grada (Ričards i Palmer). Jedan od ciljeva istraživanja je da prikaže kako kulturne aktivnosti, kulturne manifestacije i ekonomija iskustava mogu da pomognu gradovima da ostvare svoje kulturne, ekonomske i socijalne ciljeve. Imajući u vidu da su gradova u poslednjih nekoliko godina postali povezani sa ekonomskim razvojem (kultura u službi ekonomiji), razmotrićemo potencijale brendiranja Beograda, osvetlivši na taj način postojeće strukturne prepreke za proces brendiranja gradova kroz kulturu, koristeći kao primere dve kulturne manifestacije: Fest i Bemus. Dve navedene manifestacije su odabrane na osnovu pretpostavke (koja će takođe biti analizirana u ovom radu) da pripadaju odvojenim idealnim tipovima identiteta grada u kulturnoj sferi koji imaju različite potencijale za brendiranje. Bemus, sa jedne strane, doprinosi razvoju tradicionalnog kulturnog identiteta grada, dok Fest predstavlja identitet „uzbudljivog“ grada. Dakle, cilj ovog istraživanja je da profiliše odabrane manifestacije kako bi se predstavile prednosti i ograničenja ova dva modela za brendiranje Beograda u kulturnoj sferi. Nakon utvrđivanja kulturnog identiteta odabranih manifestacija, akcenat je stavljen na ispitivanje njihovih publika, sa jedne strane, kao i njihovih kreatora (stručnjaka u polju organizacione strukture), sa druge. S obzirom da polazni identitetski modeli predstavljaju idealne tipove, traga se za specifičnom nišom koju bi brend Beograd mogao da zauzme između ovih tipova, a po osnovu istraživanih manifestacija, na takav način da se kulturna komponenta ne izgubi, a da se grad predstavi kao „uzbudljiv“.

In the closing decades of the 20th century cities were becoming a part of the symbol economy and the culture industry. Branding emerged as a new name for promotion of the cultural identity of the city, itself now more connected with economic development (culture in service of economy). To become a brand, a city needs to offer more than functionality – creative industries and creativity are becoming a basis for the improvement of quality of life in urban areas. The politics of development demand that creative resources be put into service of: improving local community identity, creating a favourable investment environment, promoting positive values, raising the level of public/social conscience on the significance of diversity for sustainable development. The analytical framework of this study is based on concepts of “traditional cultural identity” and the concept of the “exciting” city (Richards and Palmer) as a approaches to development and key urban development strategies that emphasises the significance of culture industries. The aim being to show how cultural activities, cultural manifestations and the economy of experiences can help cities achieve cultural, economic and social goals. Considering the fact that in recent years the identities of cities are now also linked to economic development (culture in service of economy), we will discuss the potentials of branding for Belgrade but, at the same time, we will shed light on existing structural obstacles to the process of city branding in culture, using as examples two festivals: Fest and Bemus. These two events were chosen on the assumption (which will itself be examined in this paper) that they belong to different ideal types of identity of the city in the sphere of culture, which have differing branding potential. On the one hand, Bemus represents the traditional cultural identity of the city while, on the other hand, Fest come to be accepted as more representative of the identity of the “exciting” city. The aim of this study is, therefore, to establish how the selected events are profiled and to highlight the advantages and limitations of these models for branding Belgrade in the sphere of culture. The emphasis is on the internal perspective of the audiences and organisers of these events. The first stage being to determine the cultural identity of the two festivals. Considering the fact that the starting identity models are ideal types, the search is for a unique niche that would, on the basis of the studied festivals, span these ideal types and which the brand for Belgrade could inhabit in such a way that the city could be presented as “exciting” without the cultural component becoming diluted.

grad, identitet, kultura, festival, Beograd

city, identity, culture, festival, Belgrade

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