29.09.03
Cornwall shares cultural and marketing knowledge with Brazil

Due to the ongoing success of Cornwall Arts Marketing and the work they are undertaking to raise the profile of the arts in Cornwall and promote Cornwall as a cultural destination, Vanessa Harris, Marketer was invited by the British Council to visit Brazil and share her expertise in cultural marketing with the Department of Culture and the Minas Gerais State Institute for Historical and Artistic Heritage.

The three day conference, held in Bella Horizonte in August (18, 19 and 20 August 2003) and attended by the Municipal Secretary of Culture, involved three key speakers from the UK, two of whom work in Cornwall, lecturing on Cultural Marketing and Industrial Heritage.

Vanessa Harris describes her reasons for Cornwall Arts Marketing going and what they hoped to achieve.

"We were asked to lecture on 'Marketing - the Public Image of a museum, gallery or heritage site’ and then spend two days working with professionals within the Heritage and Culture sector sharing my knowledge on cultural marketing. The great thing about the conference was being able to work with these professionals in a workshop environment rather than spend 3 days lecturing. I believe this is the first time that interactive workshops have been used in Brazil to exchange knowledge, and the feedback from the British Council was that they were a huge success.

"With little expertise in cultural marketing, the professionals in my group were very receptive to learning more about the concept of branding and marketing and I feel confident that they will go away and build on what they have learnt to achieve their objectives of increasing awareness of their heritage organisations and increasing visitor numbers.

"The work that Cornwall Arts Marketing is achieving with arts organisations in Cornwall has so far been a huge success. Part of our remit is to promote the arts in Cornwall internationally so I was pleased to be able to share some of CAM's learnings with our Brazilian counterparts through live case studies. Like Cornwall, Brazil is very strong in mining and is rich in artistic culture and heritage so it was a great opportunity for me to experience how they do things out there!

"As a result of the conference, I believe that cultural links between the UK and Brazil, and in particular, Cornwall and Minas Gerais have been strengthened. They have already expressed an interest in getting Kneehigh Theatre Company to perform at a major festival next year which is great.”

The British Council is now seeking further ways to enhance the relationship with Cornwall and its Brazilian equivalent Minas Gerais.

Editor's notes:

Jason Clark
Communications Adviser
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Tel: 01872 241379
Fax: 01872 241388
objectiveone@cornwall.gov.uk

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