Interview with Carlo Coen

'Promoting culture without profit simply doesn't exist'

Carlo Coen, director of Toronto's Istituto Italiano di Cultura, is leaving us. In August, he will depart from Toronto, although he still doesn't know his destination. Whether he will return to a Foreign Ministry position in Italy or go to another location outside that country is still to be decided.
"We spend nine years abroad, and then return. We can be posted to several places, for instance, spending three years in each of three different cities, or less than that, but not more," he explained.
Coen, born in 1951, has a 25-year career under his belt, six of which were spent in Toronto. One of his favourite pastimes is playing soccer as a defender, but a few days ago he got one kick too many and complained of a sore ankle.
Soccer aside, the interview he granted us touched upon several issues, such as funding, activities carried out in the past and those programmed for 2005, relations with other institutes, universities and museums, as well as his management style at the Italian Cultural Institute.
Mr. Coen, shall we begin with some criticism that people address to the Institute?
"They're right, all of them. In every criticism there is always some measure of truth. Institutions are regulated by the law, and one cannot go beyond that. Directors are the only people who can be blamed for anything, if they did not do a good job."
One of the criticisms maintains that the Institute could do more in organizing highly visible events, while it prefers taking advantage of other institutions' work, such as with the Modigliani exhibition.
"Taking advantage of what gets done is meritorious. Being a part of city events and collaborating is positive. As far as the Modigliani exhibition is concerned, when we learned of the intention to organize it we wrote to the Art Gallery of Ontario and proposed to sponsor it with a monetary contribution of about €6,000 (just under $10,000), and this is how the three lectures on the artist were born. The visitors appreciated them quite a lot. No exhibition on Modigliani has been organized in North America for about 40 years, and this was an important event. On the other hand, borrowing the paintings wasn't easy. Private collectors ask as much as $25,000 US each. The Modigliani exhibition must have had a price tag of about $2 million. Moreover, organizing such an event isn't always possible. For instance, Toronto's two main museums have long programs, they can only plan for 2008 or 2010. There's also the problem of investment return. Nothing gets done unless there's a return. The concept of promoting culture without profit simply doesn't exist."
How much do you receive from the Italian government, and how do you spend it?
"Clearly, not much. For 2005 we got €232,000 (about $370,000). These funds serve to organize exhibitions (these are the most expensive), other events, and pay for running costs, including printing publications, posters, phone bills, power bills, maintenance, computers, furniture, mail, etc. So, our big budget is not that big after all. Italy gives very little to pay for the activities of the Institute, so we do our best with what we get. Wages are paid through a different account, and the property is owned so we pay no rent, but we still need to pay for any maintenance work."
How does the Istituto Italiano di Cultura collaborate with other institutions, be they Italian, Italian-Canadian or Canadian?
"Usually, they call us and ask for our assistance. We normally give small sums; we can't do more than that, as we need the funds for our own activities. However, we've done some excellent projects with both universities and Italian-Canadian institutions. Promotion of Italian cinema, jazz, and artistic and literary avant-garde was done this way. We also did a whole series of evenings (six) devoted to Italian-Canadian poetry. Contrary to commonly held conceptions, participation was high, no fewer than 120 people each evening. Many poets and critics paticipated, and we talked about bilingualism and the poetry of exile."
What about cinema?
"Before leaving, I hope to be able to publish the book I've been preparing on Italian-Canadian cinema, thus providing for Italian Canadians a service akin to what we did for poetry. We are lucky, as Toronto has the most important film festival after the one in Cannes. From here, one can reach the U.S. market, while in the States the gates are locked. And this is where the Italian Film Festival was born. Italy has a lot to say in this industry; in Europe we are third, following France and the United Kingdom."
How is the relationship with the Columbus Centre?
"The Centre is organized in several sectors. It does a lot of teaching of Italian through Centro Scuola, and receives funds from a different source. It collaborates with the Italian government. We operate along other lines, and we were never called upon to develop a joint project. However, it's good that different institutions develop activities in a number of sectors: the Centre mainly targets Italian-Canadians, while we cater to a wider audience. Between us both, we manage to offer a wider range of services."
How do you assess your own achievements?
"Well, it's like asking a salesman how good his merchandise is. Anyway, I would prefer to focus on the lesser known aspects of Italian culture -- the most modern, most recent, least obvious aspects. I would think it unnecessary to work on aspects that speak for themselves, i.e., an exhibition on Leonardo. Canadians already know him. I chose to work more on Toronto's multi-ethnic character."
What's in store for 2005?
"We are bringing to Toronto the 19 jazz musicians of Italia Instabile Orchesta, and I hope to bring the Premiata Forneria Marconi band as well."

Publication Date: 2005-01-30
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4874