Ninth Friends of Aspen Meeting: The culture economy: the art of learning

The ninth Friends of Aspen meeting was held in Milan’s evocative Teatro Studio of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano. Participants debated present relations between the world of culture and that of business and finance. The meeting also offered a chance to introduce the group’s new members and to illustrate present and future activities. In particular, an announcement was made of the group’s upcoming yearly conference – the twelfth – to be held at Teatro Reggio in Parma at the end of November. The meeting was an occasion to reflect on how cultural contents are organized, broadcast and distributed today and on the sector’s recent milestones in Italy. Participants also discussed the economic implications, forms of investment and collaboration, with the manifold possibilities and opportunities offered Italian production in this context. Italy could well become a pioneer in this context. The debate focused in particular on the world of theatrical, musical and audiovisual entertainment, with two prominent guest speakers: Francesco Micheli and Stéphane Lissner, the Superintendent of La Scala.