The Cultura+Impresa 2020-2021 awards ceremony will take place on Monday 5 July 2021, with the event set to be streamed live (click here to register). It will be a chance to share best practices around the strategic relationship between culture and business and the opportunities for synergy between the private and public sectors. We’ll hear from the key people behind the winning projects, with the event set to have a special focus on digital innovation in arts and culture, as well as the important issue of corporate cultural responsibility. MUMAC is one of those organisations receiving an award through its support for the MuseoCity Association as part of the Pausa Caffè [Coffee Break] project.

The MuseoCity Pausa Caffè project began back in March 2020, at the height of the pandemic, as a way of giving the museums of Milan a voice through a series of podcasts. This coincided with the first national lockdown in Italy, which saw the Milano MuseoCity cancelled just one week before it was due to start. The aim of the project was to offer a moment of rest, regeneration and hope through something as simple as a coffee break. MUMAC got behind the idea as soon as it was proposed by MuseoCity, understanding the importance of sending out a strong message of support for culture and bring the #laculturanonsiferma [#culturecannotbestopped] and #distantimauniti [#distantbutunited – by art, by beauty and by culture] hashtags to life. The initiative gave the participating museums a platform, harnessing the powerful significance of the simple coffee break – another much-loved ritual that had suddenly been taken away. The podcast series was the main focus on the project, with episodes being released twice weekly. There were also special music playlists (which are still available on Spotify), created with the intention of getting listeners engaged and providing them with some company. Thanks to the contribution of presenters Laura Defendi, Jacopo Balestrini and Davide Sanavio, the project was able to deliver 21 interviews between April and June 2020, providing a peek behind the scenes of the city’s museums and offering plenty of food for thought.

Thanks to the support of MUMAC, the podcast series was then turned into an on-demand radio service which is still available on Spotify, Apple and Google Podcast. Even now, a year down the line, the series is still proving popular and has amassed over 40,000 plays.

“It was a hugely difficult time, where a sense of danger seemed to hang over us all, but it was during that period that we saw a strengthening of the bonds between companies and cultural institutions,” said MuseoCity Association President Maria Grazia Mazzocchi. “They began to work together on joint projects, where brands were enhanced by the cultural heritage of the institutions, creating partnerships that were an instant hit with the public. The podcast created by MUMAC and MuseoCity is a great example of that – particularly when you look at the high number of listens.”

“This award is recognition for an achievement that we’re really proud of,” said MUMAC Manager Barbara Foglia. “We’ve brought a really deep sense of meaning to a sponsorship activity, reiterating the role of MUMAC and the Cimbali Group as cultural champions. At such an historic time, it was essential that cultural institutions were able to continue to do what they do best. We’re proud to have made a tangible contribution and to have given a platform to the museums involved. The project opened up the doors of the museums, allowing them to be enjoyed anytime and anywhere – just like a coffee break.”
The awards ceremony will be streamed live between 10:00 and 12:30 on 5 July 2021. Click here to register.

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