Arts & International Affairs Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2020 | Page 42

EMPOWERMENT AND DIGITIZATION IN ARTS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
enough lessons from the experiences of colleagues in academia and practice outside the
western hemisphere. Putting Paulo Freire’s seminal work “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”
on students’ literature lists seems like a good beginning, but it is not yet enough. We have
seen the election of Donald Trump and a highly xenophobic Brexit campaign that unfortunately
proved successful in the end�interestingly, this came as a surprise to many arts
managers in the UK (Henze 2017, 35). We have seen Marine le Pen almost become the
president of France and the rise of many other right-wing populists all around Europe.
That populism threatens a free artistic scene and cultural rights is a fact. In Europe, it
leads to self-censorship of cultural programmes and institutions. The attacks on artistic
freedom have not been properly sanctioned by politicians and governments, which do
not want to confront an electoral body that is shifting to the right (Dragićević Šešić and
Nikolić 2019, 33f). Despite the official UNESCO avowal to support the plurality of expression
and alternative forms of art (UNESCO Convention 2005), what we experience
today speaks a different language (Dragićević Šešić and Nikolić 2019, 34).
Where are the role models in our discipline that take responsibility and raise their voices
against all forms of oppression? I am not saying that they are not there. I know that equity
and social justice education is something that colleagues, particularly in the US, advocate
for. However, it is�again�not yet enough. Even huge networks like the European
Network on Cultural Management and Policy (ENCATC) or the American Association
of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) are relatively hesitant when it comes to taking
a clear stand on political issues, although several of their members are involved in or
teach cultural policy.
Protection of Cultural Heritage
During the EU Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018, it became even more apparent that in
many parts of the world the danger in which cultural heritage finds itself in is tremendous.
As Shohat and Stam (1994, 183) wrote more than twenty-five years ago: “Arts and
culture are symbolic battlegrounds.” It is not only about passion and emotions, but also
about power and the prerogative of interpretation. Arts and culture are never neutral
(Henze 2017, 24). This can be demonstrated by the manner in which the Islamic State
treats cultural heritage.
The destructions are meant to send a message to the Christian, western world, negating
tradition and history in a senseless and brutal way (Henze 2017, 24). This applies for
the destruction of Nineveh, Iraq, or the Buddha statutes of Bamiyan, Afghanistan back
in 2001, which was one of the first examples of global communication being used to enhance
the impact of the destruction of cultural heritage (Smith 2015, 38).
the 1970ies. Theatre is understood as a means for social and political change particularly by strong
audience involvement and community engagement.
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