CONARTE: a sui generis cultural policy model in Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Abstract

This article offers the first findings of a broader research about the functioning and configuration of the cultural policy in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Specifically, it analyzes the case of the Council for Culture and the Arts (Conarte), the only local cultural council that incorporates a shared management between government and civil society. The study responds to a scientific concern to decentralize and regionalize research on cultural policies in Mexico. First, an analysis of Conarte's historical background is made in order to proceed to the study of its creation and first six years of operation (1995-2001). The findings allow to characterize Nuevo Leon's cultural policy model as sui generis, as it presents features typical of the participatory institutions, but also of centralized and arm's lenght models. The methodology employed includes: archival analysis, in-depth interviews and a review of hemerographic sources.

Keywords

• política cultural
• administración cultural
• instituciones participativas
• modelo cultural
• participación cultural
• descentralización