Visnja Kisic | University of Belgrade (original) (raw)
Papers by Visnja Kisic
Social and Cultural Capital in the Western Balkans, 2012
The main aim of this paper is to explore developmental and transformative potentials of museums b... more The main aim of this paper is to explore developmental and transformative potentials of museums based on volunteer programs through suggesting a framework for the assessment of the generation of five capitals (physical, human, economic, social and cultural) for all key actors involved in the process. Furthermore, in order to offer insight into the current situation related to the five capitals of volunteering in museums in Serbia, it discusses the data collected in the course of a wider study on volunteering in Serbian museums and focuses on the case study of the National museum in Belgrade. A special focus is put on the case of the National Museum in Belgrade since I argue that, even though the museum has not developed successful tools for managing volunteers, the volunteer program has succeeded in generating five capitals to a greater extent than in other museums because it was designed in a way that is in accordance with the definition of volunteering.
Journal of the Center for Research of Cultural Development Kultura, issue 130, theme Cultural Policy, 2011
Kultura, Jan 1, 2011
VIšNJA kISIć 199 univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu UDK: 338.46:008(4) 304.442(4) 316.7 KULTURNE I ... more VIšNJA kISIć 199 univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu UDK: 338.46:008(4) 304.442(4) 316.7 KULTURNE I KREATIVNE INDUSTRIJE U EVROPI Sažetak: Usled tranzicije od kapitalističkih ka postkapitalističkim društvima, i prelaska sa ekonomije robe na ekonomiju usluga razvoj kulturnih i kreativnih industrija postaje fokus sve većeg broja država. Kako još uvek ne postoje međunarodno prihvaćena definicija sektora ni alati za njegovu analizu, razumevanje sektora i instrumenti kulturnih politika variraju od države do države. Komparativnom analizom kulturnih politika Velike Britanije, Španije, Srbije i Hrvatske ovaj rad pruža uvid u različit stepen razvijenosti mera i podrške vezanih za kulturne i kreativne industrije i nudi preporuke za dalji razvoj sektora. Komparativna analiza bazirana je na statističkim analizama, zakonima, smernicama i strateškim planovima ovih država, i organizovana kroz analizu jedanaest tema koje se pokazuju kao ključne za sektor: definicija sektora i ciljevi državnih politika u okviru sektora; mapiranje i analiza podataka; regionalizacija; međuresorna i međusektorska saradnja; obrazovanje i trening; tolerancija; informacije, komunikacije i tehnologija; poreska politika; intelektualna svojina; podrška malim i srednjim preduzećima; i internacionalizacija. Ključne reči: kulturne industrije, kreativne industrije, ekonomski razvoj, kulturne politike 2 Florida R., The Rise of the Creative Class. And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure and Everyday Life, Basic Books 2002, str. 13 3 Termin je ovde korišćen u množini kako bi se razlikovao od adornovskih negativnih konotacija, kao i zato što množina bolje opisuje varijetet kulturne produkcije druge polovine XX veka. 4 UNESCO, Backgrounder on Cultural Industries, 10. November 2010.,
In theory the concept of volunteering in museums generates physical, human, economic, social and ... more In theory the concept of volunteering in museums generates physical, human, economic, social and cultural capitals to museums, volunteers, audience and local community. Besides obvious impact on delivering museum’s services, it implies sustainable development, community participation, democratization, education, life-long learning, rising of competencies of the community, contribution to cultural diversity and rising of the overall quality of life of one community. However, extend to which this is accomplished varies significantly from country to country because of different legal frameworks and community’s culture of volunteering, as well as from the every single museum, because of the different organizational culture, level of openness, policies and management of volunteers.
I argue that, at this moment, volunteering in museums in Serbia stands between potentials it has for making a significant contribution to the society and misunderstanding of decision makers, museums, as well as citizens.
Through analysis of legal framework related to volunteering in Serbia, analysis of the history of culture of volunteering in this country and survey research of Serbian museums I prove the hypothesis that volunteering in museums in Serbia is underdeveloped due to underdeveloped of culture and recognition of volunteering in Serbia, misunderstanding of the concept of volunteering among museums in Serbia, low level of focus of museums on community and poor management of volunteers which causes the lack of implementation and exploitation of this practice and fails to generate five capitals to key actors and beneficiaries.
However, if set to respect main principles of volunteering, deploy higher number of volunteers and create specific tasks for them, even if not managed perfectly, volunteer program in museums in Serbia can create a visible impact and make contribution in terms of generation of all five capitals to museum, volunteers, audience and community, which I prove through studying the case of volunteer program of the National Museum in Belgrade.
Books by Visnja Kisic
The research explores cultural policies and specific policy tools aimed at working with heritage ... more The research explores cultural policies and specific policy
tools aimed at working with heritage dissonance and heritage related
conflicts created for and implemented within the region of South East Europe (SEE) with the aim of contributing to reconciliation, mutual understanding and peace-building. In analysing conceptual shifts in understanding heritage dissonance within heritage and cultural memory studies and ways in which they are reflected in international policy documents, the research introduces the concept of ‘inclusive heritage discourse’ (IHD) that provides an alternative to the dominant way of understanding and governing heritage – ‘authorized heritage discourse’ (Smith 2006). It argues that understanding heritage within the inclusive heritage discourse brings a different view on the concept of heritage dissonance and the aims, actors and approaches in cultural policies related to heritage.
It studies in details four distinctive cases which worked with
heritage dissonance developed within and for the SEE region – the
transnational nomination for UNESCO World Heritage List of Stećaks,
medieval tombstones by the Ministries of Culture of Croatia, Serbia,
Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the regional exhibition Imagining the Balkans: Identities and Memory in the Long 19th Century involving museums from 12 SEE countries under the facilitation of the UNESCO Office in Venice; the exhibition Yugoslavia: From the Beginning to the End, an attempt to musealize Yugoslavia through the creation of a permanent display for the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade; and the oral histories archive Croatian Memories (CroMe) implemented by Croatian NGO Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past. Each of these cases illuminates some of the advantages, limitations and tensions characteristic for the particular discursive frameworks, actors involved and methods used in them.
Finally, it concludes by connecting the issues of heritage dissonance, conflicts and human rights to the current European policies related to heritage and to transitional justice, signalling the challenges they pose to the ideas of pluralist, intercultural, peaceful and democratic societies.
Social and Cultural Capital in the Western Balkans, 2012
The main aim of this paper is to explore developmental and transformative potentials of museums b... more The main aim of this paper is to explore developmental and transformative potentials of museums based on volunteer programs through suggesting a framework for the assessment of the generation of five capitals (physical, human, economic, social and cultural) for all key actors involved in the process. Furthermore, in order to offer insight into the current situation related to the five capitals of volunteering in museums in Serbia, it discusses the data collected in the course of a wider study on volunteering in Serbian museums and focuses on the case study of the National museum in Belgrade. A special focus is put on the case of the National Museum in Belgrade since I argue that, even though the museum has not developed successful tools for managing volunteers, the volunteer program has succeeded in generating five capitals to a greater extent than in other museums because it was designed in a way that is in accordance with the definition of volunteering.
Journal of the Center for Research of Cultural Development Kultura, issue 130, theme Cultural Policy, 2011
Kultura, Jan 1, 2011
VIšNJA kISIć 199 univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu UDK: 338.46:008(4) 304.442(4) 316.7 KULTURNE I ... more VIšNJA kISIć 199 univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu UDK: 338.46:008(4) 304.442(4) 316.7 KULTURNE I KREATIVNE INDUSTRIJE U EVROPI Sažetak: Usled tranzicije od kapitalističkih ka postkapitalističkim društvima, i prelaska sa ekonomije robe na ekonomiju usluga razvoj kulturnih i kreativnih industrija postaje fokus sve većeg broja država. Kako još uvek ne postoje međunarodno prihvaćena definicija sektora ni alati za njegovu analizu, razumevanje sektora i instrumenti kulturnih politika variraju od države do države. Komparativnom analizom kulturnih politika Velike Britanije, Španije, Srbije i Hrvatske ovaj rad pruža uvid u različit stepen razvijenosti mera i podrške vezanih za kulturne i kreativne industrije i nudi preporuke za dalji razvoj sektora. Komparativna analiza bazirana je na statističkim analizama, zakonima, smernicama i strateškim planovima ovih država, i organizovana kroz analizu jedanaest tema koje se pokazuju kao ključne za sektor: definicija sektora i ciljevi državnih politika u okviru sektora; mapiranje i analiza podataka; regionalizacija; međuresorna i međusektorska saradnja; obrazovanje i trening; tolerancija; informacije, komunikacije i tehnologija; poreska politika; intelektualna svojina; podrška malim i srednjim preduzećima; i internacionalizacija. Ključne reči: kulturne industrije, kreativne industrije, ekonomski razvoj, kulturne politike 2 Florida R., The Rise of the Creative Class. And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure and Everyday Life, Basic Books 2002, str. 13 3 Termin je ovde korišćen u množini kako bi se razlikovao od adornovskih negativnih konotacija, kao i zato što množina bolje opisuje varijetet kulturne produkcije druge polovine XX veka. 4 UNESCO, Backgrounder on Cultural Industries, 10. November 2010.,
In theory the concept of volunteering in museums generates physical, human, economic, social and ... more In theory the concept of volunteering in museums generates physical, human, economic, social and cultural capitals to museums, volunteers, audience and local community. Besides obvious impact on delivering museum’s services, it implies sustainable development, community participation, democratization, education, life-long learning, rising of competencies of the community, contribution to cultural diversity and rising of the overall quality of life of one community. However, extend to which this is accomplished varies significantly from country to country because of different legal frameworks and community’s culture of volunteering, as well as from the every single museum, because of the different organizational culture, level of openness, policies and management of volunteers.
I argue that, at this moment, volunteering in museums in Serbia stands between potentials it has for making a significant contribution to the society and misunderstanding of decision makers, museums, as well as citizens.
Through analysis of legal framework related to volunteering in Serbia, analysis of the history of culture of volunteering in this country and survey research of Serbian museums I prove the hypothesis that volunteering in museums in Serbia is underdeveloped due to underdeveloped of culture and recognition of volunteering in Serbia, misunderstanding of the concept of volunteering among museums in Serbia, low level of focus of museums on community and poor management of volunteers which causes the lack of implementation and exploitation of this practice and fails to generate five capitals to key actors and beneficiaries.
However, if set to respect main principles of volunteering, deploy higher number of volunteers and create specific tasks for them, even if not managed perfectly, volunteer program in museums in Serbia can create a visible impact and make contribution in terms of generation of all five capitals to museum, volunteers, audience and community, which I prove through studying the case of volunteer program of the National Museum in Belgrade.
The research explores cultural policies and specific policy tools aimed at working with heritage ... more The research explores cultural policies and specific policy
tools aimed at working with heritage dissonance and heritage related
conflicts created for and implemented within the region of South East Europe (SEE) with the aim of contributing to reconciliation, mutual understanding and peace-building. In analysing conceptual shifts in understanding heritage dissonance within heritage and cultural memory studies and ways in which they are reflected in international policy documents, the research introduces the concept of ‘inclusive heritage discourse’ (IHD) that provides an alternative to the dominant way of understanding and governing heritage – ‘authorized heritage discourse’ (Smith 2006). It argues that understanding heritage within the inclusive heritage discourse brings a different view on the concept of heritage dissonance and the aims, actors and approaches in cultural policies related to heritage.
It studies in details four distinctive cases which worked with
heritage dissonance developed within and for the SEE region – the
transnational nomination for UNESCO World Heritage List of Stećaks,
medieval tombstones by the Ministries of Culture of Croatia, Serbia,
Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the regional exhibition Imagining the Balkans: Identities and Memory in the Long 19th Century involving museums from 12 SEE countries under the facilitation of the UNESCO Office in Venice; the exhibition Yugoslavia: From the Beginning to the End, an attempt to musealize Yugoslavia through the creation of a permanent display for the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade; and the oral histories archive Croatian Memories (CroMe) implemented by Croatian NGO Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past. Each of these cases illuminates some of the advantages, limitations and tensions characteristic for the particular discursive frameworks, actors involved and methods used in them.
Finally, it concludes by connecting the issues of heritage dissonance, conflicts and human rights to the current European policies related to heritage and to transitional justice, signalling the challenges they pose to the ideas of pluralist, intercultural, peaceful and democratic societies.