Culture Diplomacy

When it comes to culture diplomacy, subtlety is the best policy. Reciprocity, sensitivity and collaboration are key.

‘Culture diplomacy’ is understood as engaging the ‘soft power’ of  culture and the arts to build good relations between nation states. While the key actors are usually state institutions, non-government actors like us also contribute through our international practice.

In truth, arts workers working internationally have been practising grounds-up culture diplomacy well before it became a buzzword in government policy-making.

We advocate for artists and curators, the natural cultural diplomats, to be involved in the design of culture diplomacy initiatives.  They are more adept than anyone else at developing programmes with depth, finesse and the appropriate tone.

We were therefore delighted when invited by Singapore’s culture ministry  to  propose ideas for a programme marking Singapore’s 50th independence anniversary and 50 years of Singapore-Malaysia diplomatic ties in Kuala Lumpur.

Over six months in 2015, we delivered Ttitian Budaya : Bridging Cultures,  encompassing performances, film, visual arts, craft and makers’ culture in Kuala Lumpur in partnership with local arts organisations and creatives. It was a very positive experience for all involved

When the critical Malaysian media clamored for more, we knew we must have done something right!

See our Consulting Pages for more details, including projects commissioned by embassies.