The policy landscape
Across Europe, cultural participation is increasingly presented as part of the response to some of the most pressing challenges of our time, from democratic resilience and social cohesion to well-being, sustainability, and economic competitiveness. Yet as culture moves towards the centre of policy agendas, and expectations of its contribution to society continue to grow, a deeper question emerges: what forms of cultural life become visible to policy?
This collection of articles explores how contemporary cultural policies define participation and what happens when diverse cultural practices enter institutional frameworks. Through a critical reading of recent European policy documents, it examines how concepts such as access, agency, cultural rights, and value are understood, and how they shape the relationship between cultural life and public decision-making.
Combining cultural policy analysis with reflections on democracy and participation, The Policy Landscape explores how policy shapes not only the ways culture is supported, but also the very idea of what culture can be.
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