In an interview with The Guardian earlier this month, Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House, called for a ‘foreign policy’ for the arts, with government taking an active role in promoting British arts overseas.
He is quoted as saying that, ‘If we were French we would have a coordinated policy to develop French arts to the rest of the world. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Foreign Office and the British Council need to get together and sort out an artistic policy that gets our artistic excellence around the world.’
His comments come at a time when UK arts appears to be experiencing something of a resurgence and the opportunities for developing markets beyond domestic borders have never been so abundant and potentially accessible. As chairman of Creative and Cultural Industries Limited, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) in Development for the Arts, Music, Crafts, Design, Museums and Cultural Heritage, it should come as no surprise to Mr Hall that a project team within DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) has already been assembled to take forward work on the development of an international strategy for DCMS and its sponsored bodies.
At present DCMS works with UK Trade and Investment, the British Council, Visiting Arts and Arts Council England, and also with representatives from the performing and visual arts to promote UK cultural exports. The Department maintains contact with the industry through bodies such as the Performing Arts International Development Group and the SSC chaired by Mr Hall. This makes his public announcement for a ‘foreign policy’ all the more interesting as an attempt to bring the matter into the public domain. Many would be aware that such a policy is in the pipeline but how far off and what it will look like when it emerges is unclear. If the arts community thinks it is a good idea, and most would agree that a more joined-up approach at policy level can only be a good thing, then it is imperative that it communicates its views about what such a policy might contain, before it is written.
John Kieffer, the British Council’s member on the DCMS’ Creative Exports Group, said that any foreign policy should ‘also be culturally aware and be about building long-term relationships rather than the quick fix.’ He points out that rather than simply throwing money at ventures from the UK end, greater impact is achieved when an overseas festival or promoter decides to incorporate UK work into their programme. Speaking about two upcoming festivals, one in Mexico and one in Russia, which will focus on the UK, and for which, in both cases, the artistic directors have chosen the work themselves, he said that, ‘Much of our job has been encouragement, the provision of high quality information, some modest subsidy, and crucially ‘on the ground’ knowledge of local audiences.’
Such a ‘relationship building’ approach requires a great deal of time and energy on the part of individual workers, and is reliant on there being the political will and enthusiasm to carry the process forward. Although he concedes that relationship development is more labour intensive than funding intensive, Mr Kieffer says, ‘There is also no doubt that the major subsidised arts organisations [in the UK] have far less funding to apply to international work than most of their Western European comparators. It’s far from a level playing field out there.’
Louise Blackwell, co-founder of London’s Fuel theatre, a producing organisation working in partnership with artists to develop and present new work, says that at the grass roots level the ‘uneven playing field’ is felt most keenly, and perhaps inevitably, by new and emerging artists. ‘I think it is particularly rare for work by emerging artists to be supported abroad and this is an area that should be developed because if, at an early stage in an artist’s career they have stimuli from international practitioners, their work could benefit hugely,’ she said. Many of the artists that Fuel works with are particularly keen to collaborate with international artists but find it difficult to do so.
Aside from the fiscal advantages that might arise from developing international contacts and unlocking the potential of markets overseas, there is also the crucial role that the arts plays in creating a culture of awareness, understanding and shared humanity. In his address to a European Commission conference on ‘dialogue between peoples and cultures’ attended by some of Europe’s most prominent artists, Jan Figel -Commissioner for education, training, culture and multilingualism- singled out the role of arts festivals as ‘an ideal setting for turning intercultural dialogue into practice.’ And he said, ‘They offer space for a true encounter between peoples from different cultures and…have a profound impact on the cities organising these arts festivals and on its inhabitants.’
Any joined up thinking at policy level needs to result in close ties being fostered between venues, festival organisers, artists, and policy-makers at home and abroad, whilst not forgetting the importance of making a strong connection with audiences who will be exposed to new international works.
The are plenty of signs which point to a positive future for international collaboration.
Government sponsored initiatives in many countries are making it easier to conduct arts research; contact details are more widely accessible; and finding useful information is now less like searching for the proverbial needle. Examples of international collaboration in action, from March alone, include the Danish Arts Council announcing its 2007 International Contemporary Arts festival as a ‘festival [that will] strengthen ties to the international art world and foster fruitful exchange’; the launch of the Scottish Arts Council funded MAP magazine, which aims to promote contemporary art originating in Scotland while putting developments in a national and international context; Arts Council England signing a cultural Memorandum of Understanding with National Arts Council Singapore; and the launch of a new online cultural guide to the arts, media and heritage of Việt Nam, funded by Rockefeller Foundation and developed in association with the British Council Việt Nam.
It is unclear how long we shall have to wait for our ‘foreign arts policy,’ exactly what it is likely to contain, or who will take the credit for it when it appears. But, if it is to be successful, the policy must incorporate the views of those it is intended to serve. As Louise Blackwell says, ‘In terms of who should co-ordinate a strategy I think it is crucial that however the policy is managed, artists that are making work and are directly involved in changing contemporary arts practice must be involved in creating the strategy.’
In the meantime a bit of extra funding for artists and arts organisations would go a long way to enabling them to develop and nurture their own international ties. In his interview with The Guardian Mr Hall said, ‘‘Why isn’t there strategic thinking in the arts? Because we haven’t got the time or money for it.’
Indeed, were government ever to channel sufficient funds into the arts then who knows, perhaps the need for a ‘foreign policy’ wouldn’t be quite so great after all?
