Page 2 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 2014With this AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) is initiating a series of publications whose aim is to equip both professionals and the public with the information necessary to assess the impact the new technologies are having on the arts. It is the outcome of a period of internal deliberation which began a year ago, on how to incorporate the digital dimension into the aims of AC/E and our work in support of the cultural industries.On the basis of essays by a group of experts, this project analyses digital trends: how digital technology is changing the way culture is designed, produced and exhibited in our country. It is, furthermore, a barometer for predicting trends in the very near future. It is, therefore, a publication that brings together information about the arts and culture that is not readily accessible and which is often only to be found in a very scattered form.Every edition of the AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report will include a specific section that collates best practice at home and abroad on digital technology in a particular discipline. In this first edition we are focussing on the performing arts where, during the course of their work, the researchers have found a wealth of richly varied data that has far surpassed our initial expectations.AC/EPeople working in the field of culture are immersed in a transformational process that implies the progressive adoption of technological innovations to meet the demands of the market and the public. This has led to major changes that have made it necessary to reassess the cultural industries, their role in society and their relationship with it. The application of advances based on technological innovation has brought about a revolution in the ways solutions are found to such questions as production, exhibition and services to the public. At the same time, this revolution has ushered in new technical challenges as well as establishing a new definition of the function of the cultural industries, a function that is both broader and more inclusive.At AC/E we feel we should showcase the creativity of the cultural industries in recent years as they have endeavoured to take advantage of the advances that have been made in digital technology, and disseminate this information amongst researchers, the general public and all those who work in the field of culture. We feel sure that everyone will be interested in what we have had to say and that it will inspire new ways of experiencing culture.Teresa LizaranzuPresidentAcción Cultural Española (AC/E)AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORTFOREWORD CURRENT PAGE...2