A Review of Literature on Arts Showcasing Practice

University of the West of Scotland A Review of Literature on Arts Showcasing Practice November, 2018 Prepared by: Prof Gayle McPherson, Prof David McGillivray & Dr Sophie Mamattah

Contents Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................. I 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Methodology................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Cultural Diplomacy & Cultural Relations....................................................................................... 2 2.0 World Fairs and Expos: Showcasing National Cultures ..................................................................... 3 2.1 Pavilions, Biennales, Festivals (and the creation of a Visual Brand) ................................................. 4 3.0 Sporting Events & Cultural Programming (Olympic Games): Opportunities and Challenges........... 6 4.0 International Festivals and Capital (s) of Culture ............................................................................ 12 4.2 ‘Years of’ (Focus Years) ................................................................................................................... 14 4.3 UK Focus .......................................................................................................................................... 18 5.0 Tourism, Arts and Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................... 19 5.1 Literary Tourism .............................................................................................................................. 22 6.0 Postage Stamps ............................................................................................................................... 24 7.0 Some Concluding Remarks – Towards a Definition of ‘Showcasing’ .............................................. 26 8.0 References ...................................................................................................................................... 30

Executive Summary This review of literature on the practice of arts showcasing draws upon academic and grey literature that analyses approaches to showcasing in the arts. The review provides examples of platforms utilised for showcasing which comprise both ‘state-led’ and ‘grassroots’ approaches to the phenomenon. While the review was commissioned to prioritise cultural relations in showcasing, it is notable that cultural diplomacy often impinges upon the platforms utilised for showcasing. Arts showcasing has moved beyond the traditional biennale type festival of art to include a much wider possibilities to parade art and culture. This has occurred as a result of the inevitable involvement of high-level state actors and stakeholders in such things as larger scale events (such as the Cultural Olympiads which run concurrently with Olympic Games). Furthermore, it is noted that definitions of cultural relations are fluid and subject to change. For example, the context within which the British Council currently operates differs from the environment within which their counterparts at the Goethe Institute function. Where German stakeholders are content to accept that good cultural relations foster harmonious relationships, in the UK at present the emphasis on soft power and relatedly, the prioritisation of mutually beneficial relations in terms of improvement in trade, inward-investment and tourism, is more pronounced. The soft power diplomatic opportunities that cultural relations afford in the UK is prioritised through such offices as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and thus, the dialogue with the British Council becomes entwined with this agenda. The wider connotations of cultural relations serve the British Council well in embracing the benefits of arts showcasing in the widest possible sense.

While ‘showcasing’ is neither terminologically or theoretically well established in the academic canon, literature for review was sourced using keyword searches based on relevant words and combinations of words. In this way, the main areas covered in the review document were uncovered and explored. Art is showcased at biennial events, pavilions and festivals. Arguably, these opportunities are predominantly available to countries with the economic means to send artists to participate. The recent success of the Angolan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale shows that smaller, less economically influential states can also flourish in such settings. Sporting events also provide a platform for the display of national cultural and artistic output. Here, state support, in terms of funding and coordination, is crucial in order to enable participants to capitalise on the opportunity presented. The competing interests of sponsors, the state and the comparative weakness of IOC1 regulations can serve to limit access to the ‘world stage’ and, on occasion, reduce financial resources 1

International Olympic Committee

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available to those who are not participating in the showcasing event. However, there are examples of the successful leveraging of the opportunity afforded by an event such as a Cultural Olympiad to recast the common perception of the host country (i.e. Mexico, 1968). Interventions such as the European Capital of Culture and ‘Years of’ events also provide showcasing opportunities to be exploited by artists both to showcase their work and the broader context within which it is exhibited (for example, the variety of differently themed Years of events staged in Scotland offer a combined showcase of Scotland as a whole not only a focus on arts related output).

Tourism and the tourist gaze interacts with, and sometimes disregards, state and local interests and priorities. Tourist interest has also shaped cultural heritage priorities in post-communist countries. In such processes, the touristic gaze serves as the catalyst for the co-production of places of interest, which can also be conceived of as opportunities to showcase creative output. It is also argued that museums, galleries and, indeed, the built environment provide additional opportunities for the display of art and cultural artefacts in a manner, which can be interpreted as cross-cutting cultural relations and cultural diplomacy interests.

Postage stamps are analysed as a platform for the display and dissemination of artistic and cultural output. Stamps provide an opportunity to make small statements about cultural identity and national belonging as well as to ‘advertise’ a country’s cultural offer in a way which may garner ‘returns’ on a number of levels. For example, coffee fulfils a significant cultural function in South America and, sales of coffee are also economically important.

In conclusion, the interaction between cultural relations and cultural diplomacy seen within the modes of showcasing discussed is further explored and, a tentative definition of showcasing is proposed for further discussion.

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A review of literature on arts showcasing practice 1.0 Introduction The University of the West of Scotland is pleased to be commissioned to conduct a review of literature pertaining to arts showcasing and, examining the linkage between arts showcasing practice and cultural relations outcomes. In this document, the UWS team review available academic and grey literature on showcasing topics and foreground approaches to showcasing that are utilised in both non-UK contexts and UK contexts. We have drawn on some examples of good practice in the UK if they offer transferability to other countries or indeed are also been adopted in other countries.

Preliminary literature searches quickly revealed that the terms showcasing and arts showcasing are not well established in the academic canon. Thus, searches for these terms alone did not return significant data for analysis. Accordingly, in addition to the material provided by the British Council, the literature reviewed here has been derived from searches using associated terms, which have more resonance including film festivals, biennale, ‘Year of’ and cultural programmes. Subsequently, relevant sources have been scrutinised for further useful material.

1.1 Methodology The literature reviewed here derives from both academic and grey sources. The former was uncovered using key word searches and through searches of the reference lists appended to the resources thus uncovered. Initially key word combinations such as ‘showcasing’ and ‘arts,’ ‘art’, ‘culture,’ ‘arts and culture’ were used but these returned few meaningful results. Subsequent searches combined the term ‘cultural relations’ with ‘arts,’ ‘art’, ‘culture,’ ‘arts and culture’ which uncovered a range of sources of direct relevance to the brief. In order to follow up more specifically on some of the areas of potential interest discovered in this way a number of other keyword combinations were attempted. These included: ‘literature and tourism,’ ‘biennales (or biennial) and cultural relations,’ ‘art and tourism’ and ‘literature (or tourism) and cultural relations’. No limitation in terms of timeframe was applied to the search parameters, though the reviewed literature has tended to be relatively contemporary. Additionally, the British Council provided some grey literature for consideration.

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Broadly, the literature that has been reviewed reveals a number of contrasting, and perhaps somewhat surprising/mundane, ways in which arts (and culture) can be showcased and contribute to a country’s cultural relations, and nation branding efforts. It is useful at first to set out some guidelines; outlining some definitions of cultural relations and cultural diplomacy thus providing a framework for discussion of the analyses that follow. The literature reviewed here reflects on areas which provide platforms for the display of arts and cultural artefacts in a manner which can be understood as an attempt to present a particular view of the originating state (or its citizens) through an arts/cultural lens for the consideration of an audience which may comprise both domestic and international viewers.

1.2 Cultural Diplomacy & Cultural Relations While treated as discrete areas of interest in academic literature, the distinctions between cultural diplomacy and cultural relations are often less clearly drawn in practice (see Wyszomirski et al, 2003). Both cultural diplomacy and cultural relations put culture, art, and other aspects of culture at the forefront of international exchanges of ideas and information though, cultural diplomacy is closely aligned to the national interest and the advocacy of those interests. Cultural relations, on the other hand, are predicated on longer term engagements which emphasise mutuality, trust and multilateral people-to-people relations conducted at arm’s length from the state and its overt interests. The authors of the Joint Report examining cultural relations in societies in transition usefully draws attention to the different purposes to which cultural relations are put noting that, ‘for the Goethe-Institut, harmonious relations are the fruits of ‘good cultural relations’ and obviously bring mutual benefit both to participants and to Germany. For the British Council, operating closer to debates in London about ‘soft power’, mutually-beneficial relations are also discussed but in the contexts of improving trade, inward investment, and levels of tourism and international students’ (Hertie School of Governance & The Open University, 2018:15). This observation both confirms the definitional and practical subjectivity at the core of cultural relations and serves to broaden the range of activities and artefacts that might be included in a consideration of showcasing platforms.

For the purposes of this review, a view of cultural relations, which mirrors context within which the British Council currently operates is taken.

Whether 'relations' or 'diplomacy' is utilised as the preferred term, it is important to acknowledge that, historically arts and cultural forms have been used to 'showcase', 'exhibit' or display national assets and excellence, but the degree of national (government or equivalent) influence varies. In order to understand the role of showcasing in the contemporary context it is important to reflect,

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historically, on their predecessors, including World Fairs, Expos, mega sport events, before attention turns to the biennale, art exhibitions, and ‘Year of’ celebrations. Whatever their focus, arts and culture when showcased as part of ‘events’:

‘[p]rovide context and colour; a means to broaden and diversify audiences; and engage with the host communities. They offer the opportunity to place the UK [in this case] on an international stage, providing a global platform for our world-class cultural and creative talents. They contribute to civic society, national identity, local pride and, importantly, they add a sense of celebration and fun to the event.’ (Kings Cultural Institute, 2013:3)

2.0 World Fairs and Expos: Showcasing National Cultures In the late nineteenth century across Europe, the state intervened in the creation of new holidays, festivities and national symbols, designed to engage the public imagination and secure ‘popular resonance’ (Hobsbawn, 1983b: 264) for its activities. Official public ceremonies (e.g. Bastille Day) and events were important in legitimating state power, often celebrating the idea of the nation.

Through hosting World Fairs, Expositions and, latterly mega sport events such as the Olympic Games (see below), the state showcased its progress, prosperity and political influence (Roche, 2001).

Roche argues that these events had their origins in nineteenth century ‘invented traditions’ (Hobsbawn, 1983a), held in order to promote international public culture, cultural citizenship and supranational values. Historically, dominant institutions of the state and power elites determined the desired version of nationalism and public culture created and showcased by their events, such as World Fairs and Expositions. In the nineteenth century, these events were exhibitions displaying industrial, scientific and cultural items and represented opportunities for promotion of the merits of advanced, elite actors from ‘developed’ imperial powerhouses, as opposed to providing opportunities for people-to-people contact which underpins contemporary cultural relations practice. Britain’s Great Exhibition in 1851 (often known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition) attracted six million visitors and reflected an acceptance that exhibitions could allow Britain to showcase its industrial, scientific and cultural strengths to an international audience (Gold & Gold, 2005).

Subsequent World Fairs (the American term), Expositions (European term) and Exhibitions (British term) build on the success of the Crystal Palace Exhibition and included new features such as exhibits from more countries, discrete ‘themed’ pavilions, a more significant artistic component and entertainment zones (Roche, 2001). US World Fairs were predominantly privately operated whereas their European variants were largely government-sponsored. To that extent, the European events

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were more closely aligned with the national interest in their design, showcasing the desired version of industrial, scientific and cultural advances of the time. Whereas Fairs and Expositions were originally a unique means of acquiring (selective) knowledge about the world, with the rapid introduction of more advanced communication and travel technologies – including cinema, air travel, radio and television – reduced their importance. Expositions still exist, though they have become more ‘theme’ or issue-based events, focusing on sustainability, technology, and urban change. The Shanghai Expo in 2010 focused on the theme ‘Better City and Better Life’, attracting 71 million visitors and other recent events have chosen ‘Oceans and Coastline’ (South Korea, 2012), ‘Food and Resource Consumption’ (Milan, 2015) and the ‘Future of Energy’ as their topics.

The World Fairs, Expositions and Exhibitions like other ‘showcasing’ opportunities represent a platform for nations and regions to celebrate and promote industrial, scientific and cultural assets.

They align opportunities for trade with the promotion of cultural and creative strengths – they educate and entertain. Like the Olympic Games and the linked Cultural Olympiad, they provide opportunities for cultural relations and cultural diplomacy activities in the form of dialogue, development of mutual understanding and the creation of new networks and partnerships.

However, they also represent significant investments in the generation of ‘attention’.

2.1 Pavilions, Biennales, Festivals (and the creation of a Visual Brand) The art exhibitions included in World Fairs, Expositions and Exhibitions comprise an important feature of their offering. Participation in well-known arts events – such as the Venice Biennale, Documenta or Glasgow International – is perhaps the most obvious manner in which nations showcase visual art. Biennale events in particular project more about a nation and its place in the world than that which is apparent from the art that is on display. As Zaugg and Nishimura observe, a country pavilion ‘is typically a collaboration among a variety of stakeholders and/or private sponsors, cultural and diplomatic ministries, national galleries, curators and contemporary artists’ (Zaugg & Nishimura, 2015:134). In her discussion of the politics of representation and the Canadian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Moreno provides a history of the event’s development noting that, ‘the first five Biennales presented Italian and international artists together at [a single] central pavilion without divisions or separations until Belgium built its own separate pavilion in 1907’ (Moreno, 2010:8). Subsequently, the Hungarians, Germans and British constructed their own exhibition spaces in 1909, followed by – among others – Russia in 1914 and the USA in 1930; expensive assertions of curatorial sovereignty that ‘was – and in many senses still is – only available to those countries with

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the means to bear the burdens of building and maintaining a facility in a foreign country’ (Moreno, 2010:9). In contrast, the involvement of ‘less powerful nations in the Biennale [has been] rather minimal and sporadic’ rates of participation by such nations has only begun to increase in the latter part of the twentieth century (Moreno, 2010:9). The geopolitical realities reflected in events such as the Venice Biennale is further acknowledged elsewhere. For example, Rojas-Sotelo, observes that the reason for the establishment of the Havana Biennial is not only to be found ‘in having connected the Cuban cultural establishment with the larger art world. It did not only situate the Biennale in the global picture, but it went beyond. It opened debates about the cultural production of the South in the larger discussions of the Global’ (Rojas-Sotelo, 2011:165). Further, the author provides diagrammatic representations of the worldwide contact that the Havana Biennial has generated observing that ‘more than two hundred institutions and almost a thousand people around the world have interacted with the members of the Havana Biennale team during the research, exploration, and realisation of the Biennale’ (Rojas-Sotelo, 2011:168). Tang (2007) discusses the creation of Singapore Biennale, an event founded as a result of the government’s recognition of the ‘economic value of the arts, as ‘cultural capital’ [which can be] systematically exploited in ‘creative clusters’ towards the long-term objective of helping transform the country into a ‘creative economy’’ (Tang, 2007:366). The very act/process of successfully staging a large-scale arts event does much to add to a place’s reputation (Tang, 2007:366). The inaugural Bangkok Art Biennale has attracted a number of global superstars of the art world to exhibit, however, many of the participating Thai artists have used the stage provided by the event ‘to showcase work that defies Thailand’s taboos, be they social stigmas or the political restrictions imposed by the military government that took over in a coup in 2014’ (Ellis-Petersen, 2018). It is unlikely that the interests and views of the state and exhibitors at the biennale are comparable yet, thus far, the event has avoided censorship and the politically redolent works of Thai contributors remains on display (Ellis-Petersen, 2018). The staging of such an event, and the inclusion of ‘taboo topics’ demonstrates the ways in which ‘official’ occasions can be employed as a platform to express ‘unofficial’ views. So doing is an opportunity to glimpse a ‘real,’ unmediated or unvarnished view of a place and its people. In this way, both cultural diplomacy and cultural relations interests can be foregrounded and – to some extent – met.

Both the staging of, and participation in, such events can be read as a cultural-political statement2 as much as an artistic one, nevertheless the differing approaches taken by countries to the staging of their event/exhibit is illustrative of their broader cultural diplomacy strategy/ambitions. Zaugg and 2

Tang, (2007:373) records that in ‘November 2006, Matija Milovic Biloslava, a Slovenian exchange student at LASALLE-SIA College of Arts, created a work entitled, I am going to send you to a better place, referring to the executioner’s traditional send-off. Newspapers were not allowed to publish images of the piece, an Australian newspaper that tried to do so was allegedly threatened with a legal suit.’

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Nishimura (2015) analyse the contrasting approaches taken by Angola and Kenya to their 2013 National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale. Angola – as ‘one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa with an independent pavilion’ (Zaugg & Nishimura, 2015:140) – attracted a huge amount of positive attention and went on to win the coveted Golden Lion for best national pavilion. On the other hand, Kenya’s Italian curated display offered exhibition space to a preponderance of Chinese artists, creating a spectacle which met with criticism and confusion both at home and abroad (Zaugg & Nishimura, 2015: 139-142).

3.0 Sporting Events & Cultural Programming (Olympic Games): Opportunities and Challenges Major sporting events are inseparable from their predecessors – World Fairs and Expositions – as they represent invented traditions (Hobsbawn, 1983a) that enabled 'developed' nations to demonstrate their cultural (political and economic) strengths. In some respects, the first ‘mega sport event’, the Olympic Games, replaced the World Fair as the platform upon which nations could present themselves to the world. The Modern Olympics were, for their founder, Pierre de Courbetin, as much a cultural as a sporting festival. Numerous authors discuss the variety of approaches taken to the cultural programme which accompanies the Olympic sporting festival (i.e. Inglis, 2008; Garcia, 2003, 2004, 2008; Lander & Crowe, 2010; Low & Hall, 2012; Moragas, 2008; Panagiotopulou, 2016 Pappalepore, 2016). The cultural and arts focussed elements of Olympic events have received variable levels of attention and investment but have remained as a consistent presence on the Olympic schedule since the turn of the 20th century. After initial failure to include arts alongside sports in the Olympic cycle prompted de Coubertin to intervene, enthusiasm for the artistic competition which paralleled the sporting rivalry in the form of the ‘Pentathlon of Muses’ was, to begin with, muted (Garcia, 2008:368). While progress has been made, the integration of the two compulsory Olympiads – one sporting the other arts-focussed – has remained challenging for those charged with delivering contemporary Olympic events. One reason for this may lie in the differing perceptions of art and sport prevalent in ancient Greek and modern society, whereby drastically different social and philosophical approaches to art and sport meant that the two were far more closely aligned in Antiquity than is currently the case (Inglis, 2008). Moreover, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) current interpretation ‘of de Coubertin’s original endeavours to unite ‘arts’ and ‘sports,’ […] now […] [comprises forging a linkage] between a more generally conceived ‘culture’ and sports’ (Inglis, 2008:468).

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It was not until the Berlin games of 1936 during which ‘a cultural festival of unprecedented size and nature […] [ran alongside] an ambitious publicity campaign’ that the Games as a potential platform for arts and cultural events was fully embraced (Garcia, 2008:369). Indeed, the Berlin games heralded ‘the first modern Olympic torch relay […] [and featured] large sculptures, new musical compositions and the production of the epic film masterpiece ‘Olympia’ by Leni Riefenstahl’ (Garcia, 2008:269). Though costly and hugely ambitious, the cultural elements of the 1936 Games offered ‘a chance to present to the world an idealised view of life in the emerging Reich’ (Inglis, 2008:467).

From this – admittedly tainted and overtly propagandistic – origin the arts and cultural aspects of the Olympics has continued to develop. The 1956 Melbourne Games – the first official Cultural Olympiad (Low & Hall, 2012:137) – comprised both a visual and literary arts component ‘provid[ing] a significant commentary on Australia’s contribution to the Arts’ (Garcia, – citing the Games’ Official Report – 2008:369). Garcia argues that while hosting the Olympics and, concomitantly, the accompanying cultural and arts focussed programme offers a matchless opportunity to showcase the host society, its culture, artistic activities and way of life; reaching a local consensus regarding what that culture comprises and presenting this in a manner which promotes local and national image positively yet does not offend any observers in the global audience presents a particular set of challenges (Garcia, 2008: 362-3). This is particularly the case for the opening and closing ceremonies which are viewed by a huge and diverse international audience. While Garcia argues that this leads to the presentation of ‘culturally neutered representations’ of the host culture (Garcia, 2008:366), Chen et al (2012) contend that the Beijing Games’ opening ceremony enabled the showcasing of the country’s speedy economic development and the improvement of her international standing. The opening ceremony, they suggest, ‘represents a concentration of features, qualities and messages that combine the local and global, the culturally specific and universal, spectacle and festival, in a complex production that aims to challenge, educate and entertain audiences’ (Chen et al, 2012: 188). These authors note that ‘from the Chinese perspective, the opening ceremony represented a significant moment to showcase to the world its past and present magnificence’ (Chen et al, 2012:191; also see Panagiotopoulou, 2016:135-6). Ultimately, Chen et al (2012:195) recognise the Games as a showcasing opportunity to foreground China’s technological, social and cultural accomplishment to a global audience; describing the Olympics as ‘a global communication event that offers the host nation a unique opportunity to promote a soft power agenda by allowing them to construct globally transmitted messages about their cultural identities’. Nevertheless, the format and context within which the Games take place lead to the understandable tendency to focus on components of culture which lend themselves to visual modes of transmission can lead to the exclusion of ‘literary, oral and other community traditions’ from the platform that the Games

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provide (Garcia, 2008:363). Furthermore, organisers have exhibited a tendency to select artists with an international profile to participate in the Cultural Olympiad. While this potentially increases the attractiveness of events and draws greater media attention, local artists can lose out (Pappalepore, 2016:442). The American response to Akram Khan’s appearance at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony suggests an editorial decision made on the bases of the outlined challenges. A world renowned British dancer and choreographer, Khan was asked to choreograph a piece ‘on the theme of mortality [which was performed] just after a tribute to the 52 victims of the terror attack in London on 7 July 2005’ (Telegraph Reporters, 2012).3 The performance of this work was cut from the American broadcast of the opening ceremony and replaced by an interview with the American swimmer Michael Phelps. Lawson (N.D.) observes that ‘somehow the tribute to the dead and the dance became fused and interpreted as a reference to the victims of the July 7, 2005 terrorist bombings in London. And this, in turn, appeared to be the reason NBC […]cut the dance segment and replaced it with [the] interview,’ a decision that was met with surprise and disappointment.

Khan pondered whether his work had been adjudged as inaccessible or insufficiently commercial for the Games’ American broadcasters (Telegraph Reporters, 2012; Lawson, N.D.).

A tendency towards art and cultural products that are ‘easy to consume’ resulted – according to Pappalepore (2016:451) – in the Torino 2006 Cultural Olympiad’s focus on ‘cultural products aimed at promoting local industries and traditions (e.g. chocolate making) rather than at providing a real cultural experience’. One way in which organisers have sought to increase the reach and localise elements of events in the Cultural Olympiad is through provision of an ‘associated event’ status. This enables the inclusion of events that are not part of the official programme – which were already planned regardless of the advent of the Olympic Games – and, do not receive financial support from the Games’ administration, the ‘benefits’ of association with – or participation in – the Cultural Olympiad are more difficult to identity in these circumstances.4 It is important to note that, in the current era, arts and cultural funding is increasingly tied to such global spectacles. Thus, though essentially sport events, these occasions provide a 'platform' for showcasing a country's other strengths through the temporary attraction of media attention, visitors, political dialogue (i.e. diplomatic visit) and, potentially, trade (Grix & Lee, 2013).

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Miah (2012:53-4) outlines the genesis of the piece and its meaning, some of which is based on disjunctions between the tempo audible to the viewing audience and that which the dancers involved in the performance were hearing. While providing a layer of interest to the spectacle, this variation was unknowable to those watching.

4 Lander & Crowe (2010) also note that – in Vancouver – even events officially associated with the Games but located in peripheral areas lacked Cultural Olympiad branding, resulting in a loss of visibility.

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The arts festivals which have accompanied the Olympic Games have become progressively more ambitious with time. While the Mexico City Games of 1968 and the Munich Games of 1972 significantly developed the artistic agenda (Garcia, 2008: 370; also see Zolov, 2004 re: Mexico City), the Barcelona Games – staged in 1992 – established ‘a model of the Cultural Olympiad [comprising] a programme for cultural celebrations that lasted the four years separating the previous Olympic Summer Games in Seoul 1988 from the Games to be hosted in the city in 1992.’ This format has subsequently been retained – with ebbs and flows in intensity – by all Games cycles which have succeeded Barcelona (Garcia; 2008:370). Committing to a four-year cycles of cultural programming is not unproblematic. The elongated timeframe now associated with the Games cultural programme can lead to ‘lack of clarity about the messages being given out to the public’ (Inglis, 2008:470).

It is interesting to note, too, that elsewhere Garcia (2004) argues that the artistic elements of major events are often poorly leveraged vis-à-vis long-term sustainable arts programming noting that ‘arts programming has yet to achieve a position that allows it to be perceived as a relevant contributor to the success of major events and their potential regeneration legacy’ (Garcia, 2004:104). Examining the legacies of three major events in three cities,5 Garcia observes that while hosting major events with an arts focus does provide opportunities to secure long term legacy both symbolically and physically, drawing disenfranchised communities into art activity or creating a platform for the representation of local cultures is rarely successfully achieved (Garcia, 2004:108). Low and Hall (2012:147) argue that the arts organisations which were best able to benefit from their association with the Vancouver Games (2010) focussed their attentions on the local rather than the global audience (while noting that benefits at a global level may be realised in time). Inglis (2008:468) also notes, it is often the case that, Games’ organising committees have frequently ‘been unclear as what it is that they are supposed to be doing on the cultural side [of the Games]’ (also see Kennell & MacLeod, 2009:84; Low & Hall, 2010:137) meaning that the cultural mandate has regularly been taken less seriously than should be the case. A further complication arises where the process for organising a Cultural Olympiad is – in contrast to that, which is undertaken to organise the athletic completion – ‘reinvented for every Games, constantly revisiting negotiations to attain an association with the core Olympic brand’ (Lander & Crowe, 2010:36).6 For example, in the run up to the 2012

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Glasgow (European City of Culture in 1990), Sydney (Olympic Arts Festival in 2000) and Barcelona (Universal Forum of Cultures, 2004) 6 These authors note that where the Cultural Olympiad organising committee for Vancouver 2010 negotiated permission to use the Olympic rings for the cultural programme but, this privilege ‘has not been automatically transferred to London, 2012’ (Lander & Crowe, 2010:36). Inglis (2008:471) recounts the impact that administrative arrangements had on reinforcing the media’s apathy towards cultural events in Sydney as the ‘press and publicity department for the cultural programme was completely separate from the analogous department for the sportive events, and was housed in a different part of town’ thus, should a journalist wish

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London Games, ‘there was no requirement for the UK Government to guarantee any of the outcomes of the Cultural Programme to the IOC’ furthermore, this means that ‘the crucial external assessment of the 2012 programme can be adjusted post-games to reflect the actual Cultural Olympiad that is finally delivered […] rather than the aspirations and plans’ outlined in the initial bidding process (Kennell & MacLeod, 2009:86) and, which significantly informed the IOC’s decision to award the Games to London.7 It is also significant that, although it is mandatory for Games’ organising committees to provide a budget for the cultural offer at the bidding stage, adherence to the stated level of funding is not compulsory. The Sydney organising committee met their original budgetary commitment to year 1 of the Sydney Cultural Olympiad cycle however, the budgets for years-2-4 were significantly reduced. Thus, while the opening ceremony of the 2000 Games was allocated A$65 mil the 4 year Cultural Olympiad was delivered on a budget of A$21mil, down from the original sum of A$50 mil (Inglis, 2008:470). Bucking the prevailing trend, organisers of the Athens Games increased the budget allocated to the Cultural Olympiad, raising it from $120 million (for the 4 year cycle) to €143 million from government sources only. In the organisers’ view, this was justified by the Greeks’ belief that the Games would be attractive to ‘culture enthusiasts’ who also loved sport (Panagiotopoulou, 2016:139). In Barcelona, 1992, although the organisational bureaucracy for the Cultural Olympiad was initially closely allied with the organising committee for the sporting games, this association did not endure. The separation, however, was an unequal one. Barcelona’s sporting organising committee (COOB) negotiated sponsorship deals and subsequently, the Cultural Olympiad’s organisers were bound by exclusivity agreements settled by the COOB. While these arrangements impacted upon the Cultural Olympiad, the COOB did not share sponsorship income (Moragas, 2008:10-11). Such occurrences would appear to be relatively common. Low and Hall (2012:147) recall the paradoxical situation whereby ‘the Scotiabank Dance Centre, Canada’s only purpose-built centre for dance, was excluded from the 2010 [Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver] due to the fact that the official finance sponsor of the Games was Royal Bank of Canada,’ thus no Canadian dance was staged at the venue during the Cultural Olympiad and, in the period January-March of the Olympic year the Centre ‘was not mentioned in a single press article.’ Rather than showcasing the Centre – and thus, Canadian dance – the effect of the Olympics’ was the Centre’s short-term disappearance from the cultural scene.

While the sporting games of the 2000 Olympics received wide acclaim ‘a significant section of the arts community in Sydney and throughout Australia showed disbelief and subsequently to cover a cultural event, doing so would necessitate engaging with an entirely different bureaucracy from that with which they were already familiar (Inglis, 2008:471).

7 Pappalepore (2016:441) reflects that – paradoxically – ‘the greatest cost of the 2012 Olympic Games to the British people has probably been the loss of arts and sporting projects that were set aside to fund the Games’.

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disappointment about the Olympic arts programme’ (Garcia, 2004:108). Criticism was focused on the perceived failure to deliver the main tenets of the programme that had been laid out in the Sydney Olympic bid. At the bidding stage, the local committee had emphasised the opportunity that staging the Games and attendant arts festival would provide to catalyse the ‘debate on the treatment of Aboriginal and migrant communities’ in Australia (Garcia, 2004:108). In the event, however, the arts festival was seen as presenting a safe, sanitised and uncontroversial programme (Garcia, 2004:108). In line with established norms, Sydney planned a 4-year programme of events and activities to take place annually in the lead up to – and over the duration of – the Olympic competition. Over the year preceding the Games, Australia was to be presented to the world ‘by funding local groups to tour each of the “five continents” […] [and] 2000 was to present an arts programme “to match the grandeur of the sporting competitions” and put an emphasis on internationally recognised artists and flagship Australian companies and individuals’ (Garcia, 2004:109 – citing Sydney Olympic Organising Committee Fact Sheet). While the intention to showcase Australian art in this way contributed to the success of the Australian Olympic bid, subsequent funding cuts which affected implementation and a ‘marginal position within the Sydney Organising Committee for the Games […] brought increasing challenges to the achievement of objectives’ (Garcia, 2004:109). The arts programme suffered from poor visibility (to both domestic and international audiences). Additionally, it was claimed that the Aboriginal work that was exhibited was subject to an aesthetic deriving from a majority white lens which served to commodify and exoticise the cultural experience on display rather than to present an authentic cultural experience (Garcia, 2004:110).8 The unique demands of an Olympic programme also creates situation whereby focus inevitably falls on ‘flagship’ events. As Low and Hall (2012:134) observe, these projects ‘often coincide with a reduction in public subsidy for smaller community-based arts operations’. The accompanying focus on critical mass for economic viability further impacts the participation and visibility of extant – but smaller – artistic output in an Olympic host city.

While Garcia’s work foregrounds some of the challenges and pitfalls which can beset showcasing attempts within an Olympic Games context, Zolov (2004) offers an analysis of the Mexico City 1968 Games which highlights the ways in which the careful curation and presentation of arts and cultural artefacts can elide to form a platform for the (re)presentation of a country and its people by way of the Olympic Games. While the importance of including a cultural element in the Games is specified in the Olympic charter (Zolov, 2004 also see Garcia, 2008:368), Zolov notes that ‘Mexico was in fact the first host country to turn an emphasis on culture into an integral aspect of the Games 8

Despite these critiques, the Sydney Cultural Olympiad did succeed in creating ‘an expectation [among many] that no festival planned [in Australia] henceforth can exist without its indigenous contribution’ (Garcia, 2003:5).

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themselves’ (Zolov, 2004:169). The awarding of the 1968 Games to Mexico City was not an uncontroversial decision. Domestically questions were raised about the appropriateness of spending significant sums of money on staging the Olympics in a country with ‘pressing rural and urban development needs’ (Zolov, 2004:168). While the Games were impacted by ongoing political and social unrest, the authorities nevertheless succeeded in leveraging the event as a cultural showcase for a ‘new’ Mexico and, in so doing, shifting the international narrative surrounding the country away from the ‘mañana’ discourse and towards one of ‘a fundamental confidence in the nation’s material accomplishments and sense of cosmopolitan belonging’ (Zolov, 2004:2). The Cultural Olympiad helped to achieve this, utilising ‘bright, psychedelic colours [to] recast perceptions of the Olympic organisation in a more forgiving light’ (Zolov, 2004:181). The Op Art inspired Olympic logo symbolised this intent, ‘invok[ing] the nations indigenous cultural heritage while epitomising Mexico’s cosmopolitan aspirations’ (Zolov, 2004:172). Further, a number of elements considered as important for the success of the Cultural Olympiad are identified: 

The iconic use of the peace dove and other references to Mexico’s self-described role as a ‘peace maker in international affairs’



Elaboration and dissemination of an official logo that conveyed a cosmopolitan ‘forwardlooking’ sensibility via an op art aesthetic

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Highlighted presence of women in central aspects of Olympic promotion

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Elaborate staging of folkloric performances […] highlighting Mexico’s cultural ‘authenticity’ while underscoring […] unique commitment to racial and ethnic harmony

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Liberal use of bright colours in general, thus reinforcing a popular association with Mexico as a ‘festive and exotic’ land (Zolov, 2004:169-70)

These foci demonstrate a context specific – and ultimately very effective – amalgamation of national interest with the platform and presentational opportunity provided by the occasion on the Olympic Games. Thus, while many more recent Cultural Olympiads have struggled to strike a balance between these interests, the Mexican case offers an example of the successful negotiation of this conundrum, with the result that the global perception of the country as significantly recast.

4.0 International Festivals and Capital (s) of Culture

Another sphere of activity that can be included within the domain of showcasing is the European (and now UK) Capital of Culture initiative. Begun in 1985, this competition was introduced to highlight the richness and diversity of culture in Europe; celebrate the cultural features that

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Europeans share; increase European citizens’ sense of belonging to a common cultural area and, foster the contribution of culture to the development of cities (Creative Europe, 2018 [online]).

Though initially the title ‘European Capital of Culture’ was an open competition for cities across Europe, in recent years designated countries have been identified and the competition has been between candidate cities within those nations. There are significant differences in content, scale and purpose between the European Capital of Culture and – for example – the UK City of Culture. The UK City of Culture has greater flexibility, which allows smaller cities and large towns to be considered, where their small size and accompanying lack of infrastructure and profile leaves them unable to mount a credible bid for European Capital of Culture. Thus, the European designation/competition tends to attract larger cities with the economic and infrastructural frameworks which enable the showcase of events associated with the title already largely in place. Alongside the growth of the European Capital of Culture, the EU Creative Europe Fund was established and ran from 2007-2013, offering a platform for artists and cultural programmers to work together but with results impacting on policy and industry (see https://bit.ly/1z9D2UY for more details). The results of this programme have continued to benefit artists and industry with partnerships continuing and the host website still a live resource for artists and policy makers to us. The success of programmes such as the European Capital of Culture is often identified in the achievements of Liverpool 08’s model and the research based approach to the cultural programme that was adopted. This research programme ran alongside the cultural programme and provided an evidence base for investment and focus for future cultural offerings in the City. For example, the Year attracted ‘9.7m visitors to the city, an increase of 34%, and generated £753.8m for the economy, with 85% of its residents saying it was a better place to live than previously’ (Carter, 2010). Although Garcia (2004), cautions that these events are often poorly leveraged noting that ‘arts programming has yet to achieve a position that allows it to be perceived as a relevant contributor to the success of major events and their potential regeneration legacy’ (Garcia, 2004:104) expectations of local residents, politicians and policy makers around such investments and outcomes must tempered accordingly.

International Arts Festivals take many forms, and offer a world-wide opportunity for showcasing of culture through many forms and in many languages. Film Festivals present a unique opportunity to stage a festival associated with a place, year on year. Established in 1932, Venice is the oldest film festival in the world, Cannes was founded in 1946 and Berlin, in 1951. This trio is also known as The Big Three. Each festival is depicted by a colour having become synonymous with the work of director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The Berlin Film Festival is widely known for not shying away from political films and creating a platform for debate and discussion. Many others have followed suit; today the Toronto Film Festival (est. 1972), the Sundance Film Festival (est. 1978) and Edinburgh International

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Film Festival (est. 1947) are all well known for the cultural diversity of their programming. While some film festivals receive an element of state funding most are membership based, non-profit obtain financial support from members of the public, writers and filmmakers making for a slightly unusual business model. Nevertheless, film festivals have long since come to be firmly established on the agendas of cultural ambassadors. They are often seen as a good opportunity for cultural diplomacy using key influencers such as filmmakers, actors and writers.

The Edinburgh International Arts Festival offers a great example of international arts showcasing.

Established in 1947, it was the brainchild of Rudolph Bing (General Manager of the Glyndebourne Opera Festival) and Audrey Mildmay, co-founder of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, (though often overlooked in favour of her husband John Christie, the other co-founder), and then presented to Harvey Wood, Head of the British Council in Scotland at the time and Sir John Falconer, the then Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The idea was approved and the Festival has run annually for 3 weeks in August – with the accompanying Festival Fringe running alongside it – ever since. The International Festival is aimed at promoting the high arts, with world-class performers from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world showcasing the best of performing arts to home and international audiences.

One objective of the festival is to ‘offer an international showcase for Scotland’s rich culture’. This is mirrored by the Edinburgh International Film Festival which is staged in June. Other festivals have attached their programming to the Edinburgh International Festival, for example the Book Festival, this expanded offer encourages some of the city’s summer visitors to extend their stay. Edinburgh’s International Festival presents a good example of artists, civic leaders, industry, policy makers and members of the public and friends of the festival coming together to produce and consume the best international performing arts has to offer, while also ensuring partnerships, relationships and friendships are created and maintained across boundaries and borders. Such interactions lend themselves to the expansion of cultural relations and cultural diplomacy for those in positions to influence.

4.2 ‘Years of’ (Focus Years) Years of Focus9 are a conscious policy approach to funded themed years and events. In some cases, cultural programmes for major sporting occasions (i.e. the London 2012 Olympics and 2014 Commonwealth Games) are utilised as springboards for ‘Years of’ events on the premise that by extending an invitation to the cultural sector to respond creatively to a set theme, greater value

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Sometimes referred to as ‘Winning Years.’

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(economic, cultural, political and social) can be accrued on an international stage. This is achieved by engaging a wider audience than would be accessed on the basis of a “one-off” event taking place over a shorter timescale. In the cultural sector, there is some disquiet over this practice as it is feared that financial support earmarked for the creative sector is, in fact, being reallocated to the events sector. In turn, this has meant that outputs are then evaluated in terms of the fulfilment of objectives associated with the larger, lead event and not in terms of artistic or creative output for its own sake. Nevertheless, there is growing recognition that cultural forms (i.e.. the arts, sport, music, dance) contribute to city and national economies and, as a result, should be the subject of investment as a means to achieve a range of associated externalities, including positive economic impact. This focus on externalities firmly shifts the role of arts away from measures of intrinsic value and towards instrumental significance (Holden, 2004).

Since the first Homecoming Scotland celebrations in 2009, the Scottish Government, through its strategic partners (i.e. VisitScotland, EventScotland and Creative Scotland), has embraced a ‘Years of’ approach. Since 2009, there have been Years of Food and Drink (2010), Active Scotland (2011), Creative Scotland (2012) and Natural Scotland (2013), culminating in the second Homecoming celebrations in 2014 – a year when Scotland also hosted two major sports events (Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup). In 2015, there was a second year of Food and Drink and – in 2016 – a Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design as a way of showcasing areas that are seen as part of the arts but often under-represented in the arts; Andy Scott’s ‘Kelpies’ – a super largescale sculpture of horses heads – brings outdoor sculpture within reach of the everyday citizen. In, Scotland these themes continue to change; 2017 was the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, 2018 was the Year of Young People. The themed years will continue in Scotland though they will now occur a two year rotation allowing strategic agencies and businesses to make more of the planning cycle (Scottish Government, 2018). It is notable that the Scottish Government’s approach is linked to external relations, business and tourism development rather than the development of cultural relations or soft power per se. This tendency is also reflected in in their placement in government departments. While soft power, influence and cultural relations gains may well be outcomes of the activities undertaken, this is not currently explicitly recognised in the objectives associated with these events. It is, however, notable that the financial support for ‘Years of’ undertakings has been drawn from the international relations budget. Therefore, it is plausible to conclude that there is, nevertheless, an implicit acknowledgment of the soft power potential of such activity and, that promoting a soft power agenda through showcasing is part of remit for the Minister for Culture.

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The limited available evidence concerning ‘Years of’ suggests that they attract additional investment because of they bring together diverse policy interests. Spending on Major Events and Themed Years in Scotland doubled between 2013/14 and 2015/16 and, £690,000 was redirected from the International Relations budget for 2014-15 due to the increase in festivals and diaspora activity associated with Homecoming 2014 and the major sporting events taking place that year, a further £1.1m was added to the Major Events and Themed Years’ budget for 2015-16 to help with international engagement associated with the Scottish Open Golf tournament. The 2017-18 budget provided an additional sum of £17.7 million for major events, taking the total proposed budget to £30.3 million. This included additional funding of £7.9 million for the 2018 European Championships; £2.4 million for the 2019 Solheim Cup and £2.4 Million for the UEFA Euro 2020 Championships, all of these events have a cultural and entertainment festival as an element of their overall composition.

In this way, it seems that the promotion of an artistic programme is now synonymous with sporting events, perhaps as a means of justifying public expenditure to host-city citizens. Janet Archer, then CEO of Creative Scotland explained that the focus for Creative Scotland was to be the 2018 European Championships, recently co-hosted10 in Glasgow using the facilities for the Commonwealth Games, and themed years. Archer explained how Creative Scotland would seek to support work that would engage young people in 2018: “We are looking at how we can build on the fantastic work that happened in 2014 with the Commonwealth Games and in 2012 with the Olympics. There are long-standing relationships to grow”.

Archer continued, remarking that: “2018 is also the Year of Young People, so we are considering how that theme can weave through everything and how we might lift Scotland into celebrating the international context in which the Championships are taking place and connect young people from Scotland with young people from other parts of the world through that process. Those are some of the things that we are doing in that space” (Scottish Government, 2017).

Here, the showcasing opportunities for creativity and culture are firmly aligned to the sporting events and themed years in Scotland. Additionally, five curatorial themes were identified in a framework document providing a focus for public communication and for the engagement of the cultural sector. These were:

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Berlin hosted the field athletics, Glasgow hosted all other events.

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

World Stage, headline events; - Commonwealth Collections, creative commissions in film, visual arts, performing art, creative industries, music, literature, comedy and photography;



Commonwealth Collections, creative commissions in film, visual arts, performing art, creative industries, music, literature, comedy and photograph

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Host, establishing and sustaining relationships between artists, organisations, communities and Olympic nations through notion of hosting and welcoming;

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Practise/Practice, projects exploring common territories and values between art and sport and health; and,

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Out of Place, projects that use buildings, cities, towns, villages and landscape in unexpected or innovative ways (Creative Scotland, 2012)

These also comprised the initial curatorial themes for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme. These themes offered opportunities for artists to move beyond the sporting context of the events and showcase the partnership between nations and artists. The McLaren project was an international collaboration between Scotland and Canada (for which the Canadian Film Institute provided a greater proportion of the financing than their counterparts in Scotland).

This project sought to digitise animations showcasing the work of Norman McLaren and, concurrently, to strengthen ties between the two nations. This undertaking is a good example of art being showcased as cultural diplomacy/ cultural relations; bringing together key agencies, actors and industry partners leading to a growth in the development of digital animation and partnerships in the film sector between the countries while also increasing the popularity of such cultural forms among young people in both countries.

Each ‘Year of’ is designed to give industry (chiefly tourism) an opportunity to showcase Scotland’s unique and authentic assets to the wider world. New partnerships (and collaborations) between agencies that may have been unlikely to work together without political and financial incentives are forged in the process. Proponents of the ‘Years of’ argue that this strategy is prudent, especially in a period of economic turbulence where resources are limited and working together is likely to be more fruitful than competing for the same, shrinking financial resources. The ‘Years of’ also provide opportunities for sectoral interests outside the chosen theme to participate and, to secure funded commissions. For example, Creative Scotland was a partner in the Year of Natural Scotland and, as such, supported 14 projects offering opportunities to engage with natural surroundings in innovative and exciting ways to the total value of £500,000. Such cross-sectoral partnerships, it was argued, afford new credibility for artists who have worked on large-scale projects and now accrue greater acclaim and wider recognition as a result of being commissioned to participate in a major event or

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Year of Focus. In turn, this involvement increases the artists’ marketability, nationally and/or internationally and showcases the cultural policy approach of the Scottish government. Echoing the funding issues arising in association with participation in Cultural Olympiads (discussed above), some artists bemoaned the fact that they were required to focus their work according to a particular ‘Years of’ theme or risk receiving no funding at all. Moreover, the short life-cycle of the ‘Years of’ events meant that they found it difficult to make an effective transition towards showing their work on an international stage (Morrison & Hay, 2010).

4.3 UK Focus Related to these ‘Years of,’ themed Years are the increasingly common bilateral ‘Years of’ celebrations between two countries. Over the last five years, the UK has worked with Russia on a UK-Russia Year of Culture 2014 and a UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature 2016. 2014 was designated the UK-Russia Year of Culture and sought to ‘provide a high-profile platform for developing new relationships and strengthening existing ones’ (British Council, 2014). The British Council was responsible for designing, developing and delivering the UK programme in Russia which included all art forms, the creative industries, education, science and language. The programme’s objectives were six-fold, including political (increased access to influencers and decision makers), English language (develop a network of language schools), education (encourage young Russians to study in the UK), arts (more audiences to engage with British arts and culture through digital channels), partners and sponsors (demonstrable return on investment for partners) and the ‘springboard’ effect (create further opportunities and a self-sustaining network for UK cultural, educational and scientific institutions). The objectives in this case were clearly identified and linked to return on investment and return on influence with clear outcome targets for increasing the UK’s reputation and trade opportunities abroad. Although the themed year was ongoing during a turbulent political period, the British Council was committed to maintaining ‘open dialogue between people and institutions’ (British Council, 2014) and the UK-Russia Year of Culture 2014 delivered the largest UK cultural programme in Russia, with 343 events held in 13 cities through which the UK programme reached 12.35 million people, approximately 8.7% of the total population of Russia via a combination of live events, online and social media platforms (World Population Review, 2015).

The UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature in 2016 provided the British Council with an opportunity to build on investments in, and benefits derived from, the UK-Russia Year of Culture 2014. The Year of Language and Literature utilised the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death as a focal point of the year but also aimed to celebrate and encourage a broader appreciation of UK and

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Russian literary and linguistic traditions as well as collaboration between institutions and business.

The Year of Language and Literature built on two of the UK’s principal soft power assets, language and literature to increase people-to-people and institution-institution contacts (McPherson et al, 2017).

The UK/Russia Year of Culture set out to develop a new relationship between the two countries using art and culture as a vehicle to showcase future collaborations and opportunities. By the end of the 2014 it was estimated that the programme had reached nearly 1 million people through face-toface encounters, performances, exhibitions and festivals and a further 11.4 million through social media, publication and broadcast (British Council, 2015). Though artists alongside other groups and organisations considered that the event had been a significant success, the question of whether or not soft power change was also generated is less easy to address. Notably, many events were cancelled as a direct result of the strained political relationship between the UK and Russia. These ongoing tensions also meant that forging follow-up relationships after 2014 was challenging. It was, however, anticipated that the bilateral Russia UK Year of Language and Literature would present the next opportunity for the two countries to further their partnerships, developing the evident grassroots positivity and goodwill, which had persisted in spite of political difficulties. The UK continued to target the cultural diplomacy opportunities for increasing trade, investment and educational opportunities for Britain that were generated in association with the arts. The work in the development of English Language in Russia allowed for in-depth engagement with educational partners; books and e-learning materials were branded as part of the Year of Culture in a range of cities outside the main top two (British Council, 2015).

5.0 Tourism, Arts and Cultural Heritage Tourism – and tourism with an arts and cultural heritage perspective in particular – can prove a significant draw for a country, attractive to visitors curious to see for themselves the cultural highlights about which they have previously read. Such tourism can be generated on the basis of cultural heritage (i.e. built heritage) and arts heritage (i.e. visits to sites known through literature).

Interestingly, the foci of such attention do not always coincide with the image that the domestic population (and state) wish to project about themselves and, the ideas and values that are central to their self-image. Light (2007, 2000) discusses the contrasting priorities of tourists to post-communist countries and the local populations in the countries they visit (also see Cosma et al, 2007). While, on the one hand, recognising that tourism provides ‘one way in which a country can present itself to its visitors […] through the promotion and interpretation of its national heritage’ which affords a

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platform for the narration of the “national’ story presented so as to affirm and reinforce national identity and self-image […] [making] the presentation of national heritage […] an ideological process’ (Light, 2000:158), it is also clear that this process does not inevitably yield positive results. Light’s analyses of tourism in post-communist Central and East Europe reveal an interesting paradox which has occurred, whereby the artefacts and constructions that are attractive to the Western gaze do not coincide with those which the domestic audience wish to promote as signifiers of their contemporary, post-Communist identity (Light, 2000). Where travellers to Central and East Europe may have a particular interest in the relics of the communist past, locals are concerned to question and reject the ‘legitimacy of communist interpretations of national pasts’ (Light, 2000:158). Yet, it is also notable that ‘to discourage or deny tourist interest in the legacy of communism is both to miss out on a valuable source of foreign revenue, and to miss the opportunity to present an important part of the ‘national story” (Light, 2000:159). There is, however, a genuine risk of undermining postcommunist efforts at national reconstruction associated with attempts to retain such emblems as tourist sites (Light, 2000:159). Light analyses three approaches to the problematic he identifies – citing examples in Germany, Romania and Hungary. It is notable that while the artefacts in question (i.e. communist statuary in Hungary, the Berlin wall in Germany) are retained/conserved, they are also moved and/or marginalised. For example, in Berlin, ‘fragments of the Wall have been retained, both as memorials [satisfying local demands herein] and to satisfy tourist interest. Foremost among these is the ‘East Side Gallery’, a 1.3km stretch of the Wall, located about 4km from the centre of the city. In September 1990 this was designated as an open-air art gallery to which 118 artists contributed 106 paintings (Light, 2000:163). While the gallery is a popular tourist attraction it is not well maintained; the weather and souvenir hunters having wrought significant damage (Light, 2000:164).

Notably, Light is discussing the perception and influence of art in a very specific, post-communist context. One in which tourists’ preconceptions and interests have played a not insignificant role in shaping the 'curatorial' choices made with regard to which elements of heritage are preserved and displayed. This is not the only way in which nations and their citizens can display their cultural artefacts and heritage. In his analysis of the significance of the 1957-59 touring exhibition of Masterpieces of Korean Art for South Korean national identity and cultural diplomacy, Jang (2016) relates the framework within which the exhibition was curated, noting its role in addressing ‘one of the most urgent issues for [the] fledgling country [of South Korea which] was to discover the nation’s cultural identity and internalise it domestically and give publicity to it on the international stage’ (Jang, 2016:456). As the exhibition was to tour the United States, American experts were involved in the selection of works to be displayed, notably ‘they preferred artefacts which could show

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differences from other Asian cultures, namely Chinese culture, and therefore demonstrate the independence of Korean culture’ [to American audiences] (Jang, 2016:461).11 Although the Korean role in curating the exhibition was subject to American oversight, the show served to ‘secure a cultural identity for Korea on the world stage […] by explaining to US citizens that Korean culture has a particular characteristic and independence from Chinese or Japanese culture’ (Jang, 2016:466).

The future director of the National Museum of Korea observed at the time that ‘the outcome of the project couldn’t be achieved by even 200 diplomats’ noting its importance both internationally and domestically (Jang, 2018:466, quoting Choi Sunu speaking in 1957) where it served to define and consolidate a South Korean sense of cultural identity (Jang, 2018).

Muyard (2009) outlines the contemporaneous evolution of Taiwanese national identity and, of new and distinctive directions in Taiwanese ceramic art which, he argues, ‘emerged as a beacon of Taiwan’s contemporary national culture through the creation of the Yingge Ceramic Museum in Taipei County’ (Muyard, 2009:391). Taiwanese culture is not alone in its exploration and contemporary foregrounding of a strong link between national identity, history, culture and ceramic art (i.e. Liu & Cao, 2014; Kinchin, 2015; Gasparian, 2016; Popper, 1983). Kinchin (2015) charts the renewed interest towards the career of Hungarian ceramicist Margit Kovács, noting the consistent popularity of ceramic art in Hungary and its attendant exploitation by the state; for example, Admiral ‘Horthy12 invested heavily in cultural diplomacy throughout the 1930s. Ceramics, and the crafts in general, both traditional and modern, proved an effective weapon in the government’s propaganda arsenal, attracting critical acclaim in a string of domestic, international and touring exhibitions […] [Furthermore,] [a]s part of a policy to maintain an imaginative hold on the nation’s heritage and identity, Admiral Horthy’s regime exploited the sense of a living bond between pottery, the soil from which is was made’ (Kinchin, 2015:169).

Nowadays, the Museum established to celebrate the work of Margit Kovács remains a popular tourist attraction (Kinchin, 2015:162). The exhibition of ceramics, both nationally and internationally, has formed a significant element of a ‘showcasing’ approach taken in a number of countries with established art/craft ceramic profiles. The exhibition of ceramics – both nationally and internationally – has formed a significant elements of a ‘showcasing’ approach taken in a number of countries with established art/craft ceramic profiles. For example, Popper (1983) examines the development of Dutch ceramic art and the evolution of its international profile. Gasparian (2016) examines the ways in which glazed architectural ceramics can – and have – placed and utilised in

11 12

Thus, some of the nuances of the evolution of a distinctly Korean discourse were overlooked.

Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary between World Wars I and II.

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public spaces to foreground and display artistically (and culturally) significant crafts and artefacts to an audience of passers-by.13

5.1 Literary Tourism A further example of tourist and local interest/beliefs converging though art is discussed with reference to Romania. Again, the disjunction between visitors’ focus and that of the local population is clear. Light (2007) discusses the genesis of Dracula tourism, a phenomenon which, while based in a misconceived construction of Romania/Transylvania and an inaccurate/fictionalised account of a well-regarded local historical figure, has done much to place Romania (Transylvania) ‘on the map’ as a visitor destination. The genesis of Dracula tourism began when Romania was still a communist country, while little was known of Dracula there, Western interest in the fictional nobleman’s origins was expanding; prompting a New York based travel company to approach the head of the Romanian tourist office in the same city with the idea of creating an in-country tour (Light, 2007:755). The suggestion resulted in ‘the production of an 18-day package entitled Spotlight on Dracula: An Adventure in Transylvania’ (Light, 2007:755). Creation of the tour gave rise to a situation whereby the Romanian leadership had to decide whether to exploit the economic potential associated with the popularity of notions of Dracula, vampires and the supernatural even though such ideas were ‘fundamentally at odds with the country’s political identity as a socialist state’ (Light, 2007:755). At this time, Romania was attempting to build its profile as a potential travel destination on the basis of its socialist achievements the Dracula discourse was not only antithetical to this objective, it further embedded ‘long-established ways of seeing Romania that were an inseparable part of the Western Dracula myth. [Thus] [t]he country found itself represented in ways that were not welcome both over which it had little influence’ (Light, 2007:756). There was little to be gained in terms of ‘reciprocal cultural benefit or understanding’ however, the economic realities facing Romania in the mid-1970s and early 1980s meant that the opportunity to earn foreign currency that Dracula tourism presented could not easily be spurned (Light, 2007:756). Interestingly, in spite of the local unease regarding the domestic view of Dracula and associated tourism, the Romanian authorities gradually progressed towards a ‘combination of historic and fictional tours […] to those who expressed an interest in the Dracula myth’ (Cosma et al, 2007:42). Thus, for example, although Poienari Fortress is ‘identified’ as the model for Dracula’s Transylvanian castle, for reasons of infrastructure and accessibility the Romanian authorities favoured Bran Castle, which has come to be identified with the book and its protagonist (Cosma et al, 2007:42; Reijnders, 2011:232).

13

The author looks at case study examples in Hungary, Netherlands and USA.

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Much contemporary literary tourism converges around sites that ‘are no longer accidents of history, sites of a writers birth of death, they are also social constructions, created, amplified, and promoted to attract visitors’ (Herbert, 2001:313). Furthermore, this act of creation or co-production also results from tourists’ collusion in the act of imbuing a given site with significance, whereby a site does not have to be ‘genuine’ in a conventional sense to fulfil a role. Rather, a place can fulfil a certain expectation or association among visitors, thus it is sufficient to follow the footsteps and/or gaze of either one’s literary heroes or the author who wrote them into existence (Hebert, 2001:314).

Arguably, it is this process of co-production that is particularly significant in terms of cultural relations; in this type of tourism, places are framed by an interaction between the author and the tourist/reader, which then leads to the creation of a site of significance. This process is not necessarily susceptible to the influence of the state, either domestically or nationally, but clearly has the potential to function as an interactive space of cultural significance in which an artistic offer (in this case, literary origin) can be showcased.

Gordin and Matetskaya (2012:63-64) discuss the deliberate integration of literary sites into Saint Petersburg’s cultural offer demonstrating how interest in a renowned writer/ cultural figure can be positively claimed and the gaze of the visiting tourist directed to specifically curated sites. They note that ‘nowadays, tourists can familiarise themselves with the distinguished cultural and literary history of the city though specialised literary tourists’ programmes. [Fifteen] literary museums devoted to the life and work of famous Russian writers and poets are included in special tourist routes. Among these are the Anna Akhmatova Museum […]. The St Petersburg Nabokov Museum, the Dostoevsky Museum, the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) and some others. One of the new options available to tourists is city tours conducted by a famous literary character’.

Hoppen et al (2014:38) describe an avenue though which literary tourism and digital technology can merge in ‘the virtual world of the internet and mobile phone applications.’ An example of such elision would be ‘’Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh,” a free app commissioned by the author’s publishers that serves as a virtual guided tour of the stories and […] characters’ (Hoppen et al, 2014:38).

While the benefits of such tourism for cultural relations as ‘good cultural relations’ are clear, the gains for cultural relations termed as ‘mutually beneficial relations with a closer alignment to aspects of cultural diplomacy’ are perhaps less easy to clearly discern. However, the contribution to levels of tourism is clearly one way in which such exchanges are significant both in terms of ‘showcasing’ a country’s artistic/creative offer and deriving benefit for cultural relations. Arguably, the process of co-production evident in the selection and construction of sites of literary tourism only strengthens their contribution to cultural relations. The fact that both literary and cultural heritage tourism is

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sometimes predicated on a process of allowing visitors to direct their gaze towards sites and heritage that neither the state nor domestic population would wish to emphasise14 should not result in underestimation of the evident contribution to showcasing.

6.0 Postage Stamps Though small and ubiquitous, postage stamps are widely recognised and analysed as purveyors of messages beyond those which are contained within the envelopes and packages to which they adhere (i.e. Brunn, 2000; Child, 2005; Deans, 2005; Dobson, 2005; Frewer, 2002; Raento & Brunn, 2005; Raento, 2006). The core function of a stamp is as proof of payment for a postal service. This is a straightforward transaction, which can easily be undertaken without the addition of pictures, designs or moments of decorative interest. Thus, as Frewer (2002:2) observes ‘when [any] such symbols, pictures and/or additional words are present in the design, it is because the issuing authority […] has some motivation other than simply to issue a receipt.’ Child augments the notion that the semiotic potential of stamps is of recognised significance, noting the approximately 600 ‘stamp-emitting ‘entities’ or ‘authorities’’ that exist worldwide and the approximately 250,000 stamps of different designs that they have collectively produced over a 150-year period that has elapsed since the introduction of the penny black. Furthermore, ‘the pace of new designs appears to be increasing’ (Child, 2005:110). Although stamps are perhaps most likely to be viewed regularly by a domestic audience ‘when outsiders observe a county’s stamps, they can learn something about how the state wishes to be seen and remembered (or imagined) by others (Brunn, 2000:317). In this way, stamps might even be considered ‘more efficient than straightforward propaganda’ (Raento & Brunn, 2005:160). On the other hand it is interesting to note that while overt political intervention in arts and arts diplomacy is often viewed as a ‘violation of the ‘arm’s-length’ policy’ which reduces the likelihood of cultural diplomacy ‘produc[ing] positive nation branding’ (Zaugg & Nishimura, 2015:138), the postage stamp arguably presents government with an opportunity to send cultural and other messages and, yet to avoid some of the accusations of unwelcome manipulation of the discourse they represent. As Frewer (2002:6) observes stamps – unlike other items – in the realm of visual communication ‘are unusual in being a government monopoly’. However, in selecting stamps ‘citizens themselves […] send messages about ‘us’, ‘our values and preferences’ and ‘our nation’ to their neighbours and contacts abroad’ (Raento & Brunn, 2005:160), an action which serves to blur the distinction between the cultural diplomacy/cultural relations function of stamps.

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Thus undermining the some of the reciprocal elements of cultural relations.

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Dobson (2002:26) usefully outlines the wide-ranging cultural functions that commemorative postage stamps fulfil. These include: 

Stressing important state and national events



Contributing to international friendship and understanding between nations



Introducing and promoting natural, cultural and commercial themes



Remembering national figures who have contributes to […] scientific and cultural development



Participating in nation and international campaigns



Commemorating historical events of national importance

Moreover, while functional, stamps also appeal to collectors who invest in new issues thus generating revenue for the state (i.e. Brunn, 2000: 320; Raento & Brunn, 2005:145) in addition to furthering the circulation of stamps and the penetration of their message (see Frewer, 2002:3).

There are numerous examples of both people’s and politicians’ exploitation of the semiotic power of stamps. Raento outlines the significant role that postage stamps played for nation building in Finland (2006:604) noting the pride derived from the Finn’s early adoption of the postage stamps which was seen as ‘evidence of innovative thinking and technological progressiveness’ in the country (Raento, 2006:605). Finns also signalled disavowal of Imperial Russia’s increasing encroachment on Finnish society by placing Russian stamps upside down or on the wrong place on the envelope’ (Raento & Brunn, 2005:145). Brunn charts the course taken by newly independent European and Central Asian states towards a novel visual identity through philatelic channels (2011:19; Brunn, 2000). His research reveals the cultural confidence projected in Soviet era postage stamp output ‘the 312 Soviet stamps issued from 1989-1991 can be grouped into 16 categories […] stamps illustrating the folk legends and musical instruments of each republic commemorated the diversity that was important in promoting an all-union Soviet nationalism’ (Brunn, 2011:23), the era of perestroika and glasnost brought forth stamps illustrating global environmental problems, including Lake Baikal, the Aral Sea, Volga River regions and a commemoration of the Chernobyl disaster (Brunn, 2011:26).

Notably, the numbers of new issues declined sharply in Russia’s first years as an independent state (ibid, 2011:22). Brunn argues that early post-Soviet issues of stamps narrate Russia’s negotiation of a novel identity as an independent state; stamps produced at this time celebrated this search ‘based on significant historical events, success in international sports, and an appreciation of nature’ (Brunn, 2011:30). Subsequently, more themes were developed, ‘Russian explorers, space accomplishments, the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, [ever popular] ducks […]a famous opera

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and children’s cartoons,’ religion was also a strong and recurring theme which appeared in approximately 17% of early post-Soviet stamps in Russia (Brunn, 2011:30).

Child (2010) surveys approaches to stamp design taken in Latin America, noting that in the region over ‘the last several decades stamps have developed their own strong identity, which increases their value as a source of information on the area’ (Child, 2010:109). Authoritarian governments in South America have sought to legitimate and embed themselves, foreground their political views and declaim new social epochs using stamps (Child, 2010:116). There are also several examples of the utilisation of stamps to convey messages pertaining to culture echoing the definition of cultural relations and its current function as a tool for growing trade and inward investment. For example, stamps relating to coffee production and consumption mirror the cultural and economic importance of the crop for Latin American identity and trade. Latin American countries have also been prolific in their production of stamps depicting tourism, advertising attractions both nationally and internationally in the hope of stimulating the industry and bolstering national pride in their natural endowment (Child, 2005:124). Tourism also features heavily in the thematic classifications that Raento & Brunn allocate to stamps in their analysis of Finnish postage stamps 1917-2000, the genre of tourism, leisure and recreation’ was portrayed in a quarter of the overall sample of 1457 stamps.

The analysis identified 16 classifications of which stamps featuring arts and culture and folklore, customs and rituals represented a combined 28% of total output (Raento & Brun, 2005;147).

Tourism featured much less prominently in the early post-Soviet issues of stamps issued by newly independent European and Central Asian states, this was at least in part due to the relative underdevelopment of the sector at the time (Brunn, 2000:322). It is interesting to note that – of the 19 countries surveyed in Brunn’s review of post-soviet stamp-iconography, in addition to flags, coats of arms, maps and famous sons, ‘traditional arts and costumes appeared on Central Asian stamps. The works of famous landscape and portrait artists were depicted on the stamps of seven countries’ (Brunn, 2000:321) and the majority of states chose to depict significant poets, writers, artists, song festivals, scientists and athletes too (Brunn, 2000:322). Jenkins (2012) records the ways in which South African rock art has been incorporated into regional stamp design, charting the journey of depictions from those which portrayed bushmen as primitive and/or childlike to those in which rock art has increasingly be utilised as a national symbol of South Africa (Jenkins, 2012:470 & 473-80).

7.0 Some Concluding Remarks – Towards a Definition of ‘Showcasing’ This review has examined scholarly and grey literature analysing arts and cultural events, which provide an opportunity for the ‘showcasing’ of creative output. The term ‘showcasing’ currently has

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little resonance in the academic cannon. Thus, a broader approach was taken in order to uncover literature of potential relevance. While not an exhaustive review of literature, the foregoing review and analysis provides insights into the ways in which art is foregrounded in cohesive and focussed ways to provide an opportunity for the art to come to the notice of a greater audience, (both nationally and internationally) this might be considered as a tentative definition of the phenomenon of showcasing. The review also revealed the commonalities of practice across the international firmament.15 It is immediately noticeable that there are two distinct types of showcasing; that in which the state has a more discernible hand (i.e. the Cultural Olympiad or Biennial Arts events and ‘Years Of ‘events) and that in which grassroots momentum is more apparent (i.e. the role of the tourist gaze in defining/co-producing sites of interest in literary tourism). Arguably, a third, intermediate, position is represented by the postage stamp; one in which the state has input into the designs reaching the sender but, the sender is free to make a selection according to his preference. These nuances are important to consider here as they point to the, arguably inevitable, missing elements of cultural diplomacy and cultural relations in connection with showcasing activities.

Our exploration of Cultural Olympiads, Biennales and ‘Years Of’ Events has demonstrated that these events are staged at a crossroads between cultural diplomacy and cultural relations. This is particularly the case in our current era of straitened financial resources; potentially, only state backing can guarantee the necessary monetary support to promote art on a scale, which provides the opportunity for projection on an international scale (i.e. to a potential international audience of a significant size). Such reach, however, means that economic, branding, sponsorship and other interests can encroach upon the spaces and places for creative and artistic endeavour in these settings. For example, the Cultural Olympiad in Turin (2006) promoted local industries and traditions rather than a cultural experience (see section: 3.0), incompatible sponsorship interests meant that Canada’s Scotiabank Dance Centre was erased from the cultural scene for the duration of the Vancouver Games (2010) (see section: 3.1), the Kenyan exhibit at the Venice Biennial comprised a curious melange of Chinese and Italian artists’ work; few Kenyan artists had been offered any opportunity to participate (see section: 2.1). The ‘Years Of’ or Bi-Country twinning for a Year e.g.

UK/Russia Year of Culture 2014 or the EU Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, allows for arts showcasing on both a large and a small scale with community groups and artists working together and is being used as a strategic approach by state governments widely (see section 4). Funded programmes are also a successful means showcasing and the Cultural Programme of Creative Europe that ran from 15

i.e. the Havana Biennial is – in part – the Cuban response to north/south division in world art networks, rather than engagement with an entirely different approach.

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2007-2013 presented good evidence of international cooperation and dialogue through working partnerships across Europe.

‘Years Of’ and events such as the Cultural Olympiad and Biennales can offer invaluable platforms to arts and artists to exhibit their work and, when successful, these endeavours accrue clear benefits at the interface of cultural relations and cultural diplomacy (i.e. Angola’s Golden Lion winning pavilion at the Venice Biennial or Mexico’s successful recasting of her image as an outcome of the 1968 Cultural Olympiad – see sections: 3.1.1 and 4.1) While the audiences attracted to sites of cultural heritage, museums, galleries and literary pilgrimage may be fewer in number (at least at any given moment) than the total global audience of an Olympic opening ceremony, they are nonetheless significant. Notably, the processes of identifying and engaging with sites of significance are more clearly led by the ordinary citizen (i.e. a local or tourist), whose own interest and/ or curiosity motivates them to seek out opportunities to discover more about a given artist or cultural site/phenomenon. Thus, tourists have played a significant role in shaping and navigating routes through these realms and, interestingly, preferences of the state (i.e. prioritisation of favoured sites and/or narratives) are relegated to a secondary position. The foregoing analysis of cultural heritage and literary tourism (sections 5.0 & 5.1) highlights the consumer’s role as co-producer or these sites and, thus, foregrounds showcasing functioning in a manner which is more redolent of cultural relations than cultural diplomacy. The use of culturally and artistically significant approaches in the built environment offers an opportunity to embed art and crafts in public space; to be enjoyed (or ignored) by passers-by according to their whim (again, the emphasis here is rather more on co-production rather than projection), with the result that gaze is less easily directed and impact less straightforwardly measured. Nevertheless, the significance of such platforms for the showcasing of art/culture should not by overlooked.

The smallest showcasing platform discussed above is that of the postage stamp. Although mundane and ubiquitous, the stamp is an opportunity to draw the eye/attention of its recipient to (among other things) the artistic and cultural offer of a sender’s nation. The crossover between cultural diplomatic and cultural relational is once more evident. For example, coffee is an important cultural marker for South Americans as well as an important export for their countries, the depiction of famous artist and/or representations of their work both serves to project a curated (positive) image and (potentially) to attract fans of their work as visitors and consumers.16

16

The Royal Mail has recently presented an issue of Harry Potter stamps: https://bit.ly/2T6XokP

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With the preceding in mind, it is possible to finesse the definition of showcasing thus far developed: art showcasing foregrounds art in cohesive and focused ways in order to provide an opportunity for art and culture to come to the notice of a greater audience (locally, nationally and internationally) in a manner which is consistent with the cultural relations and/or cultural diplomacy aims of the Country/Agency.

As is the case with other forms of cultural relations and cultural diplomacy activity, the outcomes and impacts of the activities undertaken as showcasing may be difficult to map and measure. This, however, does not mean that they should be underestimated.

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