Putting the City on the World Art Map: Star Curators and Nation Branding
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Putting the City on the World Art Map: Star Curators and Nation Branding Jérémie Molho 1 Accepted: 25 September 2020/ # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract
Over the last two decades, we have seen a worldwide expansion of the concept and practice of cultural diplomacy, along with the emergence of a multipolar world. This raises the question of the way in which the notion is mobilized and understood beyond Europe and North America. This paper is based on comparative research carried out in Qatar and Singapore. Both countries have developed ambitious cultural diplomacy strategies, based on the establishment of world-class cultural and educational institutions, and on their integration into regional and global cultural networks. But many have highlighted contradictions between these ambitious strategies and the restrictions and pressures that both countries place on their civil societies. This paper discusses how curators, who have become key global gatekeepers, negotiate their role in their country’s global cultural strategy and position themselves with regard to the official national narrative. With their multiple belonging, they shape narratives that make regional and local scenes and can put cities on the world art map. This symbolic power puts them in a strategic position to shape the nation-branding discourse. Keywords Cultural diplomacy . Civil society . Curators . Nation branding . Cultural hubs . Global cities . Qatar . Singapore
Introduction Over the last two decades, we have seen a worldwide expansion of the concept and practice of cultural diplomacy, along with the emergence of a multipolar world. This raises the question of the way in which cultural diplomacy is mobilized and understood outside of Europe and North America. In particular, the field has been invested by a wide variety of so-called “emerging countries”. Driven by a mounting ambition to make a space for themselves on the world stage, * Jérémie Molho [email protected]
1
National University of Singapore & European University Institute, Asia Research Institute & Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Singapore, Singapore
Molho
countries like China, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and many others have begun to invest heavily in cultural relations, take an active role in multilateral cultural organizations like UNESCO, and launch bilateral cultural cooperation initiatives. But many have highlighted the contradictions between these ambitious strategies and the restrictions and pressures these countries put on their civil societies. This paper focuses on and compares the cases of Qatar and Singapore. It relies on fieldwork conducted since 2015, and interviews with a wide variety of cultural actors involved in developing international projects and networks. Both Doha and Singapore have developed ambitious cultural diplomacy strategies, based on the establishment of world-class cultural and educational institutions, and on their integration into regional and global cultural networks. The paper relates mainly to one of the two main overarching objective
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