The vast majority of cultural institutions organise educational courses for the public and nowadays informal education in the arts is becoming a phenomenon by which various arts clubs and associations (non-state non-profit sector) and even cultural institutions (e.g. libraries, museums, culture houses) serve an educational function for the public. Museums and galleries are the furthest along in this area and have proposed adding ‘museum educator’ as a position in the National System of Occupations and this proposal has been approved by the board that oversees the museum sector. There has been a boom in education connected with cultural heritage conservation, thanks in particular to ‘ Let’s Have Fun with Monuments’, a large-scale project run by the National Heritage Institute.
Informal arts education is supported through various subsidy programmes of the Ministry of Culture. This form of education receives systematic attention from the MC’s contributory organisations, in particular the Arts and Theatre Institute, NIPOS, the Moravian Gallery in Brno, the National Gallery, the National Institute of Folk culture, and the Czech Philharmonic.
The Arts and Theatre Institute is engaged in a wide range of activities with an international scope (e.g. international theoretical symposia organised as part of the Prague Quadrennial, programmes for managers in the arts, dramaturges, and artistic directors of festivals and theatres, theatre critics and theorists, publishing and consultation work). Since 2016 the ATI has been systematically engaged in providing an educational programme for people who work in the culture sector through the ATI Academy, which is devoted to teaching the skills (strategic planning, marketing, leadership, fundraising, project management, creative thinking) that are necessary for the effective management of cultural organisations. Courses where people who work in the culture sector can develop their skills are also organised by other contributory organisations, such as NIPOS, libraries, and galleries.
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