Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Cultural Communication and Information

• code 10661
• course 1
• term Term 2
• type OB
• credits 3

Main language of instruction: English

Head instructor

Lda. Maria Teresa PEREZ - mtperez@uic.es
Lda. Cristina VILA - cvila@uic.es

Office hours

When requested by the students.

Implementing the correct communication strategy is crucial for the success of a cultural project. A communication campaign ensures visibility, as well as the understanding and the engagement of the audience. Since the implementation of the Internet, the communication tools are evolving in a exponential way, significantly changing the format, the speed and the relationship between the institution or the creator and the audience. At the same time, print formats and more traditional ways of interacting with the audience are still effective in communication campaigns.

Identyfing among the overwhelming number of communication tools which are suitable is one of the challenges of this course, which combines practical training with two visits -to a Museum and an art gallery- with a series of talks given by outstanding experts in different fields: Design, Heritage, Debates and Publishing. Ranging from independent freelancers to members of the staff of consolidated institutions, the lecturers will discuss their experience in communication campaigns and exchange ideas with the alumni.

The same as for the Master's Degree. 

• Understanding and having a good comand of the essential communication tools in cultural activities.  

• Being able to design and organize a communication strategy for a cultural project.

• Developing a critical approach to social media and digitial communication.

• Examining and identifying specific communcation strategies for each of the cultural sectors (Design, Heritage, Debates and Publishing).

Basic competence

To know how to communicate conclusions and the reasoning behind these to specialised and non-specialised audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.

General competences 

To manage, coordinate and take part in interdisciplinary work teams. 

To know how to communicate, encourage and mediate between the various agents who take part in a project, programme or cultural service. 

Cross-disciplinary competence

To design, direct, produce and evaluate projects, programmes, strategies, policies or cultural actions which involve a wide variety of different professional profiles, agents and institutions. 

Specific competence 

To analyse, apply and evaluate marketing strategies in different sectors, institutions and cultural projects and organise a basic communication strategy for a cultural institution or project.  

• Knows how to communicate conclusions and the reasoning behind these to specialised and non-specialised audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.

• Manages, coordinates and takes part in interdisciplinary work teams. 

• Knows how to communicate, encourage and mediate between the various agents who take part in a project, programme or cultural service. 

• Designs, directs, produces and evaluates projects, programmes, strategies, policies or cultural actions which involve a wide variety of different professional profiles, agents and institutions. 
• Analyses, applies and evaluates marketing strategies in different sectors, institutions and cultural projects and organise a basic communication strategy for a cultural institution or project.  

Monday, 12/01 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila / Raquel Crisóstomo

1.    Introductory session

• Presentation of the course, methodology, bibliography & evaluation.

Wednesday, 14/01 from 5 PM – Raquel Crisóstomo

2.    A context for the nowadays cultural communication, part I

• Human communication in the information society. Context matters.
• Communication and cultural spaces: an introduction.
• Storage industries and digital industries: different communication strategies.

Wednesday, 21/01 from 5 PM – Raquel Crisóstomo

3.    A context for the nowadays cultural communication, part II

• Product management and cultural brand.
• Knowledge of the cultural consumer.
• Analysis of some paradigmatic examples.

Monday, 26/01 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

4.    Set up your own cultural agency: Print and stamp / The digital landscape

• When is it still appropriate to use print formats? What to use and how to use it?
• Case studies: VIP invitations, leaftleats, brochures and contents
• Let’s go digital, what, when, how?
• Different projects, different social media: which tools are more suitable?
• Budgets and costs
• Reach the right audience: distribution

Monday, 02/02 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

5.    Workshop I: Take a walk on the paper side:

• Design, textures, sizes, thickness, design…
• Clarity and coherence are your best friends:
• Do’s and don’ts

Wednesday, 04/02 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

6.    Keep up with new (and old) Apps

• How to plan an App?
• How the Apps have changed the way we all interact?
• How to build an App prototype.

Friday, 06/02 at 4:30 PM – Cristina Vila / Magda Anglès

7.    Visit to Fundació Joan Miró

• The first contemporary art museum in Barcelona was the Fundació Joan Miró, founded by the artist in 1975 as a hub for emerging culture and designed by Josep Lluís Sert. It has been going on for 40 years now and has a very consolidated programme on contemporary art.

Tuesday, 10/02, at 4:30 PM – Cristina Vila

8.    Visit to the CCCB

• The Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona has a very broad programme: music concerts, photo exhibitions, literature festival, conferences and seminars... How does the institution work? The students will learn about its different areas and how important its location at the heart of the city is.

Wednesday, 11/02 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

9.    Workshop II: Newsletter management

• Programming a newsletter: basic elements
• Examples and knowhow
• Do’s and don’ts

 Monday, 16/02 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

10.  Case Study (I): Visual Arts – Exhibitions

• Metamorphosis was a successful exhibition at CCCB curated by Carolina López. This exhibition presented the works of four key figures in the field of animated films: Ladislas Starewitch, Jan Švankmajer and the Quay Brothers. Which elements were used to communicate the contents of the show and engage a young audience?   

Wednesday, 18/02, at 4:30 PM – Cristina Vila

11.  Visit to L’Automàtica

• A collective situated in Gràcia, L’Automàtica was created in 2009 to save a traditional letterpress from bankruptcy. It is now a cultural hub where designers, musicians, artists and dancers meet and work together.

 Monday, 23/02, at 5 PM – Todojunto studio: Tiago Pina & Ricardo Duque

12.  Meet a designer:

• Todojunto is an emerging team of designers full of new ideas. They will talk about their experience on web design, blogs and booklets. They have work for MACBA, The International Poetry Festival in Barcelona, Museu Picasso, among others. Their work is a good combination of sensitivity and knowledge of the medium, be it digital or print.

Monday, 02/03 at 5 PM – Raquel Crisóstomo

13.  The role of social media in cultural communication

• How the web helps to cultural communication.
• The social network: facebook, twitter and pinterest among anothers.
• What’s transmedia and why is so important?

Wednesday, 04/03, at 5 PM – Sònia Lopez

14.  Case Study (II): Social Media

• Anytime, anywhere? What for? Cultural social media managing
• The relationship of cultural institutions with their visitors has changed dramatically in the last 15 years. But probably the most important change has to do with the emergence of social networks and peer to peer communication. Cultural institutions are now in visitors pockets, in their smartphones, but, to achieve and to offer what? This session will examine some key theoretical approaches in different cultural communication through social media networks and will also review some emblematic case studies.

Monday, 09/03, at 5 PM – Judit Carrera

15.  Case Study (III): Conferences and debates

• Judit Carrera is Head of the Academic Programme at the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona. She will explain how the institution works, its different areas and how important its location at the heart of the city is. She will also explain in full detail her job: organizing and broadcasting conferences and debates, fostering critical thinking today.

Wednesday, 11/03, at 5 PM – Helena Nogué

16.  Set up your own cultural agency (III): Press

• Media and culture: two coexisting worlds.
• Introduction to a press officer duties and responsibilities.
• Instruments for media communication: press materials, press room
• Case studies from cultural institutions and organizations.
• Media for culture and new media industry. Practical examples.
• New ways of communicating to media: new content formats and social media.
• Communications campaign and media communication: case studies.
• Recommendations and tips to be up to date on media communication.

Monday, 16/03 at 5 PM – Àlex Hinojo

17.  Case Study (IV): Heritage

• It's been a while since we started to listen that Wikipedia may be a useful tool for cultural institutions producing open-access, freely-reusable content for the public. After some period of mind changing, most of the people of the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) agree with this idea. Now is time to demonstrate how can GLAMs get closer to the wiki community, sharing some useful tips, dos and don’ts in order to start a useful win to win relationship with this huge community of volunteers.

Wednesday, 18/03 at 5 PM – Anna Soldevila

18.  Case Study (V): Publishing

• Anna Soldevila is the senior editor of new formats at Grup 62, the biggest publishing house in Catalan. She will explain how did the base their marketing in a strong and definite image, and the importance of their relation with their readership.

Thursday, 19/03 at 5 PM – Cristina Vila

19.  Workshop - Counselling

• Oral presentation and discussion on the more convenient digital tools for each group’s Master’s Project.

The programme aims at a very practical training, with case studies, workshops and vists to cultural institutions in Barcelona, which are considered a key experience for the alumni. Students are expected to participate in class, join the debates with articulated and documented opinions, and respond actively during the workshops. 

Evaluation is divided in two parts:

- Class attendance and participation (25%)

-Three written assessments (75%):

Students will have to make a flyer, send a newsletter and write a press release (25% each)

Recommended reading:

EAGLETON, Terry (2000) The Idea of Culture. London: Blackwell Manifestos.

SENNETT, Richard (2005) The Culture of the New Capitalism. New Haven:Yale University Press.

BARTHES, Roland (1957) Mythologies. Paris: Editions du Seuil.

WILLIAMS, Raymond (1976) Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, London: Fontana.

CLAIR, Jean (2006) Journal atrabilaire, Paris: Gallimard; (2007) Malaise dans les musées, Paris: Flammarion.

Additional reading:

MACEY, David (2001) Dictionary of Critical Theory. London: Penguin Reference. Blackwell. 070:659.3

LIPTON, Ellen (2010) Thinking with Types. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press.

The Economist (2010), Style Guide, London: The Economist.