Ars longa, vita brevis – Art is long, life is short.

From the 4^th till the 14^th of June 2018 Ruzy Rusike was invited by The Ministry of Culture (General Secretariat, Department of Legal and International Affair) to the conference titled “Courants du Monde” 2018, “Building public engagement”.

The conference was aimed at professionals located anywhere in the world, who are involved in cultural projects in their home country. Thus it was an honor that Rusike was invited to engage with other like-minded people from Cuba, Kenya, Brazil, Serbia, Argentina, India, Nigeria, Croatia, and Singapore all of whom were present at the conference.

As cultural democratization is now one of the key priorities of the Ministry of Culture, Rusike along with the other candidates met with key stakeholders based in Paris and Nantes to discuss the different approached with regards to public engagement. Particularly when it comes to artists and cultural education thus the conference showcased how the Ministry of Culture works in partnership with the Ministry of National Education as well as the other government ministries and local authorities, which are developing a whole range of actions aimed at young people. Therefore because cultural institutions, museums, libraries and arts venues are also developing methodologies and projects to ensure their offer reflects changes in usage patterns that enable young people as well as a whole range of different audiences that are the furthest removed from cultural life. The group of candidates engaged with them on a variety of levels. Through round tables, tours and workshops the conference explored and considered how public engagement is achieved in practice across Paris and across France.

The conference according to Rusike was simply priceless as she was able to engage with people whom she would not usually have access to as well as boned with people whom she would not usually even contact in a group like setting. One experience Rusike points out was how she went and experience the Musée du Louvre with some of the candidates from Cuba + Kenya + India and had some deep conversation with regards to the works = we are not then so different.

Rusike would like to thank Thibault Gerbail, Cécile Corne, Chloé Samaniego from the Ministry of Culture and Anne-Sophie Segondat, Marie Fricout and Marion Claudel from IFAS and most importantly all of the candidates for making her experience unforgettable

Ars longa, vita brevis – Art is long, life is short.