ENAAK aims to raise awareness of civil society engagement in contemporary art.
The network is founded by Norske Kunstforeninger, Riksförbundet Sveriges Konstföreningar, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine and Finska Konstföreningen. Our members are hundreds of non-profit, member-based, art societies/Kunstvereine in Germany, Sweden, Norway and Finland. They provide opportunities to a great number of artists to exhibit their work and for the public to experience them, as well as to participate in numerous events that promote a better understanding of contemporary art. The network aims to strengthen the position of Kunstvereine/art societies on a European level. We strongly believe that together we can make a real impact.
ENAAK offers a platform for exchange and collaboration for the umbrella associations and for our members. It provides an opportunity to discuss the current situation and the future of non-profit, democratic run member-based art organisations. Through the network we can address challenges, exchange experiences, learn from each other and share best practice-projects.
Our goal is to improve the conditions for non-profit, civic-driven art societies/Kunstvereine. We aim to build a solid platform where we can address common challenges and issues. The future activities of ENAAK will strengthen the infrastructure of contemporary art in Europe and improve the conditions for the very important democratic system that are the base of the art societies/Kunstvereine.
The future activities of the network will strengthen the very important infrastructure of contemporary art in Europe and improve the conditions for non-profit, member-based, art societies and Kunstvereine.
THE MEMBERS OF ENNAK:
Riksförbundet Sveriges Konstföreningar (The Swedish Association of Art Societies) is the umbrella organization for non-profit art societies in Sweden. Its core function is to promote the interest of its members and support them through larger projects, art education programmes and offer administrative support. The association represent the interests of the art societies in various cultural umbrella organisations and political committees and act in their behalf regarding cultural policy matters on a national and a regional level. Founded in 1973, The Swedish Association of Art Societies today have 24 regional Districts and 610 affiliated Art Societies who organizes more than 140 000 individual members all over Sweden.
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine (ADKV) is the umbrella organisation of non-profit, member-based art associations, also known as Kunstvereine, and is dedicated to the presentation and promotion of contemporary art. The ADKV acts as a communicator between art, politics, the media and art associations. Particularly, its work deals with the cultural-political significance of the art association as an institutional form based on civic engagement that is over 200 years old. Active in a valuable cultural-political network, the ADKV pools the art associations and represents their interests in various political bodies, vis-à-vis funding agencies, on the internet and at international art fairs such as ART COLOGNE. Today, the ADKV has almost 300 art associations with more than 100,000 members. The ADKV not only offers a valuable network of partners as well as diverse educational, exchange and cooperation opportunities, but also ensures high-quality support resulting from over 40 years of experience as a representative art organisation.
Norske Kunstforeninger (The Norwegian Association of Art Societies) is an umbrella organisation for non-profit, member-based art societies/Kunstvereine in Norway. The organisation works as coordinating body between our members and the media, as well as politics and government to improve the financial situation for the art societies. We work with other organisations to create opportunities and establish new networks. Norske Kunstforeninger provides a wide range of initiatives and advocate for the advancement of art societies/Kunstvereine through a variety of projects, workshops, educational and cooperative opportunities. Norske Kunstforeninger was founded in 1978 and today 140 art societies with around 16 000 active individual members make up our member base.
The Finnish Art Society was founded in 1846 and is a non-profit member-based art society. Its purpose is to support Finnish visual art and promote knowledge and practice of visual art. In its activities, the society awards annual scholarships and prizes to visual artists and visual art critics. The society mainly supports young talented visual artists at the beginning of their careers. The society organizes solo and thematic exhibitions of Finnish art, and events in connection with them. In connection with the exhibitions, the society also publishes art literature with a focus on research. The Finnish Art Society has 1400 members.