For Those Just Starting Out: How Clubture Opens Doors to Independent Culture

For people working in independent culture, late summer and early autumn bring a familiar task: preparing funding applications. Calls arrive from Croatia’s Ministry of Culture and Media, cities, municipalities and counties, while organizations also finalize applications to the Kultura nova Foundation.

That work coincides with the start of a new season, including premieres, rehearsals and performances. In the rush surrounding the best-known public calls, smaller opportunities can easily be missed. Some are designed specifically for young artists, new organizations, micro-initiatives and small local projects.

Clubture-HR opens its doors even earlier, including to initiatives that may not yet have become organizations. The Clubture network began in 2002 as an effort to connect clubs that could exchange cultural content. It soon expanded to include a much wider range of organizations working in culture and with young people.

Today, the Clubture Alliance brings together 70 associations, arts organizations and informal initiatives from 21 Croatian cities. Matija Mrakovčić says the network grew alongside the independent cultural scene, sharing both its progress and its problems. “The Clubture network was built by the independent cultural scene as its own framework for joint action and a fight to correct the system, and we are still here.”

The route into the network has remained largely unchanged. Prospective members are expected to gain cooperation experience through the Clubture-HR program as project holders. Membership does not cost money and provides connections with others in the scene, as well as a role in deciding which projects the program will support.

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The Clubture network was built by the independent cultural scene as its own framework for joint action and a fight to correct the system, and we are still here.