One-Way Kaiser

In his article “How Helpful Is Cultural Diplomacy?” in the Huffington Post on September 21, 2009, Michael Kaiser (President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) argues against sending more American artists overseas. Instead, he suggests, “…the State Department could support a program that allows other American arts organizations to teach abroad.” He goes on to say, “…Americans have a great deal to teach abroad. We can teach how we build sponsorship by corporations and especially individuals. We can teach how we use marketing to expand the reach of our arts organizations. We can teach the importance of long-term program planning for building new sources of support.”

Michael Kaiser is a strong advocate for the arts in this country, as his many writings and other efforts consistently attest. However, I think his one-way proposition about spreading American arts administration practices (“We teach; you learn.”) ignores half of the equation and actually damages the cause of U.S. cultural diplomacy rather than advancing it.

The State Department clearly lays out the mission for its Cultural Programs Division on its web site:

“The Cultural Programs Division supports a variety of cultural exchange programs that further our nation's foreign policy, foster America's artistic excellence and promote mutual understanding and respect for other cultures and traditions.”

Mutual understanding and respect come from a two-way dialog, not a one-way lesson. Yes, we have much to offer other countries with our expertise in arts marketing, management and fund-raising…but we also have at least as much to learn from other nations about widespread access to the arts, interest in and support for diverse cultures and artistic forms, and the positive aspects of government arts subsidies for society at large. We can talk convincingly about our knowledge and skills, but unless we also listen we haven’t engaged in diplomacy at all…we’re just lecturing other people on how they should think and act.

Instead, I propose a real international exchange of arts administration ideas, practical techniques, and lessons from specific programs and case studies. An International Exchange Program for Arts Administration could have some real benefits for all parties: presenting our effective strategies, learning about how and why foreign peers develop their tools for arts administration, finding areas of mutual interest and cooperation, and building a resource where future culture workers can examine the results of our labor and make their own contributions. In other words, a real forum for promoting “mutual understanding and respect” that fully supports the cultural diplomacy goals of the State Department’s Cultural Programs Division.