Cultural Cartography: Chile´s largest
cultural register
Claudio
Di Girólamo, head of the Culture´s
Division, has recently presented the Cultural Directory
2001-2002, made by the Department of Studies and
Analysis of this public office. It is a pioneer
work that gathers valuable information about people
and institutions that actively participate in the
making, production and distribution of artistic
works and cultural products in Chile. Its second
version grew in 30,000 registers and 129 activities.
The presentation ceremony was held at La Moneda
(Presidential House) in front of local and foreign
authorities, and representatives of the artistic
and cultural world. Since 1997 this project has
been working in the registry and definition of the
country´s cultural and artistic activities,
a unique database first published in 1999.
For the Cultural Directory 2001-2002 all the registers
previously gathered and published in 1999 had to
be renewed, a job done by a net of assistants in
all Chile and even abroad. That´s why the
registers grew in almost 30,000 and 129 new activities
had to be added. The cadastre now includes all those
artists and cultural agents living abroad, in a
place symbolically named "the 14th Region of
the Reunion".
This time, the information gathering process had
to be elaborated with a more specialized database
that allowed for new activities to be added. That
means that the current edition has information about
creators and interpreters but also about technicians,
teachers, make-up artists, sound engineers and all
those involved in Chilean creativity and identity.
There is the conviction that projects such as the
Cultural Cartography are useful for the design of
cultural policies that are able to decentralize
and deconcentrate the administration and resources.
Ministry of Education´s Studies and Analysis
Unit is already working in the Directory´s
next edition, projected for two more years.
The Directory also helps the dialogue with those
in charge of the cultural administration in other
Latin-American countries. It helps promote Chilean
culture abroad, showing all its richness and diversity.
There are now seven thousand copies of the Directory
being distributed among libraries, schools, cultural
organizations and unions. It has also been given
to Chilean Embassies around the world.
