We would urge the Italian government, whose cultural patrimony is of
supreme importance to the whole world, to discuss this proposal very widely
both at home and abroad, and to move with due deliberation before transfer-
ring the running of museums to private enterprise.
(published in the
Art Newspaper
, 22 October 2001)
In view of hostility to what ‘privatization’ could mean, the Ministry clarified that it
is about ‘private service providers’ being awarded fixed-term contracts to manage
individual sites of artistic and cultural heritage; control over policy would not be
abrogated (see the
Wall Street Journal Europe
, 7/8 December 2001). On closer
inspection, the role of private management in Italy’s cultural-heritage sector has
established roots: the so-called Ronchey Law of 1993 has allowed various services
(e.g. ticketing, bookstores, cafes, and merchandizing) to be contracted-out, as well
as allowing commercial prices to be charged for tickets. This is the case at
Pompeii, the country’s most famous and visited archaeological site. Performing
arts institutions have not been exempt: in 1997, La Scala was the first opera house
in Italy to be ‘privatized’. The year before privatization, 60 per cent of La Scala’s
budget came from the state and the rest from ticket sales; since privatization, the
subsidy has fallen to around 45 per cent. One key issue is to avoid privatization
becoming synonymous with commercialism (e.g. the latter could include compro-
mises to sponsors over choice of programme and production teams, namely a
radical ‘dumbing down’ in the pursuit of ticket sales).
Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre represents a renowned arts organization caught up in
wider political changes. The transition economy following the dismantlement of
the Soviet Union has led to big subsidy cuts. In order to address new economic
realities, the Bolshoi introduced a new pricing scheme for tickets; and increasing
the level of private donations has been recognized as a top priority (see Klintsov
and von Löhneysen 2001). The true value of seats for individual performances is
addressed in the new pricing structure, in contrast to the older distribution system
in which one-third of the tickets (offered to designated categories like artists,
theatre managers, and state bureaucrats) found their way to scalpers. Compared to
other international theatres like the Royal Opera House and La Scala, the amount
of private funding raised by the Bolshoi is miniscule. Fund-raising initiatives asso-
ciated with American arts organizations are being adopted (e.g. using trustees, as a
prime source of generating donations and sponsorship opportunities, and lobbying
for increased state support). On a related front, the Bolshoi needs to protect its
reputation from ‘pirates’ trying to capitalize on its international fame (by fraudu-
lent use of the Bolshoi name and logo). Two issues complicate matters: the Bolshoi
sends different official tours abroad to earn money; and dancers are allowed on
independent tours and to identify themselves as being from the Bolshoi (cited in
the
London
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