At the most recent IFACCA board meeting in London, hosted by Arts Council England CEO, Alan Davey (and also Chair of IFACCA), we had a session on diversity in the arts which is still reverberating with me. I must admit that I was ready for yet another discussion on the importance of diversity without much in the way of substantial discussion, experience, or new research. But I should have known that an IFACCA discussion would not proceed that way!
The power of the discussion was in the range of perspectives from my fellow board members around the table; from China, Tunisia, India, Canada, England, Chile, Fiji, and of course, Australia. The discussion on diversity ranged from gender, class, race, cultural, and age, to name but a few perspectives – there were many different priorities. And put together, all these discussions point to the power of diversity, not only in making excellent art, but in building stronger citizens, communities, and nations, and of course, ultimately, a better world.
But this discussion on diversity in the arts also highlighted the power of the arts and culture in reflecting our societies, describing who we are, where we’ve come from and where we are going, learning about each other, considering other ways of doing things. So for Australia, where we are focusing on having deeper engagement with our neighbors throughout the Asia-Pacific region, the arts and culture provide a platform to build an appreciation of each other’s history and culture.
The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) seeks to affirm and protect cultural diversity understood as ‘the manifold ways in which cultures of groups and societies find expression.’ In focusing on cultural products as expressions of particular cultural groups, the Convention distinguishes between ordinary tradeable commodities and cultural goods which have particular significance for cultural groups and their ways of life. The implications and potential of the Convention for the arts is still emerging as new practices and conceptions feed into policy and best practice models.
At the 5th World Summit on Arts and Culture held in Melbourne, Australia in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts in 2011, over 500 delegates from 70 countries requested that all IFACCA members and governments activate and implement the ‘spirit and principles’ of the 2005 Convention. The partnerships and collaborations from this amazing gathering are just beginning to bear fruit and I hope that the 6th World Summit in Santiago Chile will continue the discussion.
And in the end, we get new ideas in art making and new art from the diversity of cultural expression. As I leave the Australia Council at the end of December, I thank IFACCA for all of their work and congratulate them on fostering these kinds of discussions which give us, as key individuals in the arts funding agencies, valuable perspectives in art-making and cultural development.