Research, Ideas, and Support for the Arts in a Global Society
We here at Arts Diplomacy Network sometimes feel like we’re standing at a border with one foot in the world of public diplomats—who rarely consider arts and culture truly relevant to their work—and the other in the land of arts practitioners and managers, who care deeply about civic engagement but don’t often have a firm grasp on how their work figures into efforts to improve international relations. But the two professions share some fundamental concerns.
Arts Diplomacy Network is pleased to present our second Writing Fellow, Mary Einbinder, a graduate student at New York University. She’ll be writing about uses of music as cultural diplomacy. Welcome, Mary!
We’re excited to introduce Brandon Turner, our first writing fellow on Arts Diplomacy Network. Brandon writes about the cultural issues and policies surrounding international arts exchanges and world music in the United States. Welcome, Brandon!
Following our mission to develop a vibrant community for international arts engagement, Arts Diplomacy Network is seeking new writing fellows to join our team. Our writing fellows are emerging leaders in the fields of cultural diplomacy, international relations, and civic arts engagement who are seeking exposure and arts writing mentorship in a structured environment…
Kathryn Moreadith has joined Arts Diplomacy Network as Managing Director. She brings to the organization a wealth of experience in music and international relations.
American Voices was selected by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy as a “Top Ten Best Practices Organization.” AV Founder and Executive Director John Ferguson recently answered my questions regarding the nonprofit’s arts-based cultural diplomacy work abroad.
Just a quick note: musician Clay Ross shared a great video with me from his trip to London in October, so I thought I’d pass it along. Posted by US Embassy London, it shows him playing African-American music to a group of rapt schoolchildren in celebration of the UK’s Black History Month. Photo/Chico Farias
There is much about art that’s lost when it’s defined by its social benefit or economic impact for the purposes of public funding. But some of the new avenues of research opened by arts managers’ responses to the current financial crisis can also be used to assess cultural diplomacy’s outcomes. Evaluating social benefits and economic impact of cultural diplomacy efforts would better communicate the value of these programs to stakeholders at home and abroad.
The Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders (going on now through November 1) has brought together fifty dynamic young cultural leaders from around the world in Salzburg, Austria for an intensive leadership development program. This new annual series helps young cultural practitioners improve their leadership skills and is intended to enhance international understanding and cultural exchange and to strengthen the cultural sector worldwide through a vital global network of young cultural leaders.
Most people shy away from making value judgments because if you say something is good or bad, you’re expected to follow up with your reasoning, and many people simply don’t feel qualified to do so. Paglia argues for a return to art education as basic training in how to look at images and objects with an eye toward aesthetic value.
