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’ Executive Director John Ferguson
December 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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.
Clay Ross, Conjurer of the Sounds of an Appalachian Carnaval, in London
November 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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
Tafter Journal: “Is Cultural Diversity Good or Bad for the Arts and Creative Economies?”
November 2, 2012 By 1 Comment
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.
Lessons from the Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Leaders
October 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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.
Why Do We Need High Art? Listening to Camille Paglia
October 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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.
Meet Anu Tähemaa, Project Manager at the Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn, Estonia
October 22, 2012 By 2 Comments
I missed the chance to meet Anu Tähemaa when she visited Los Angeles in September as part of a State Department/International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) exchange that gathered twenty-two international visual, performing, and literary arts professionals to explore using the arts as a platform for social change and inter-cultural understanding.
An Interview with Marcus Eley, Clarinetist and Musical Ambassador
October 8, 2012 By 1 Comment
Sound advice from clarinetist and musical ambassador Marcus Eley: “Remember whatever you do or say will be perceived as a view from America. Always smile. Finally, concentrate on the one element that transcends language – music.”
Arts Diplomacy vs. Stateside Arts-Based Civic Engagement: Aren’t They the Same?
October 3, 2012 By 2 Comments
Local arts professionals and cultural diplomats could learn a lot from each other just by sharing evaluation metrics and their successes and failures in engaging certain publics.
Real-Time Diplomacy and Collaborative Creation
October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A cultural diplomacy model based on collaborative creation seeks to expose and share collective values. It involves creating a space for the host culture to share its own values. It’s at least as much about listening and learning as it is about showing and teaching.
