collectiveproblem-solving<\/nobr> and\u00a0the\u00a0necessity for\u00a0cooperative discussion that we really begin to\u00a0understand the\u00a0perspectives, the\u00a0points of\u00a0view of\u00a0the\u00a0\u2018other\u2019.<\/p>\nThis will be the\u00a0test \u2013 to\u00a0achieve dialogue and\u00a0hopefully understanding in\u00a0the\u00a0tangle of\u00a0\u2018otherness\u2019 that will be in\u00a0play\u00a0\u2014 artists and\u00a0academics, East and\u00a0West, Republic of\u00a0China\/Taiwan and\u00a0People\u2019s Republic of\u00a0China\/China, theatre and\u00a0dance, Europe and\u00a0USA, women and\u00a0men \u2013 in\u00a0Rustom Bharucha\u2019s words we are all \u2018somebody\u2019s other\u2019. And\u00a0this performance process is also a\u00a0performative action in\u00a0the\u00a0sense discussed by\u00a0the\u00a0philosopher john Austin\u2013 the\u00a0symbolic significance of\u00a0the\u00a0collaboration between the\u00a0BDA and\u00a0TNUA is active in\u00a0the\u00a0\u2018real\u2019 world, as\u00a0well as\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0reality of\u00a0the\u00a0world of\u00a0performance, as\u00a0is the\u00a0presence of\u00a0the\u00a0UK partners.<\/p>\n
One example of\u00a0this is the\u00a0fact that the\u00a0BDA documentation refers to\u00a0TNUA as\u00a0TUA, omitting \u2018National\u2019 from the\u00a0title as\u00a0it implies the\u00a0independence of\u00a0Taiwan and\u00a0denies the\u00a0unity of\u00a0China. This reflects the\u00a0complexities of\u00a0the\u00a0arts when viewed within wider contexts, and\u00a0perhaps recognises their value in\u00a0cultural diplomacy, negotiating through and\u00a0beyond the\u00a0difficulties of\u00a0language. In\u00a0fact, as\u00a0noted above, the\u00a0formal designations for\u00a0our partners\u2019 nations are Republic of\u00a0China (for\u00a0what is often known as\u00a0Taiwan) and\u00a0the\u00a0People\u2019s Republic of\u00a0China (often simply referred to\u00a0as\u00a0China). Seen through the\u00a0formal construct, there appears to\u00a0be agreement that there is only one China; the\u00a0disagreement concerns whose claim to\u00a0be the\u00a0government of\u00a0China has most legitimacy. The\u00a0arguments surrounding this issue are many and\u00a0it is not an\u00a0issue that will be resolved through ArtsCross \u2013 rather, if necessary, we may employ what Colin Knox and\u00a0Paul Carmichael, amongst others, referred to\u00a0(in\u00a0relation to\u00a0the\u00a0Northern Ireland agreement) as\u00a0\u2018creative ambiguity\u2019.<\/p>\n
Creative ambiguity is a\u00a0stance that recognises and\u00a0accommodates individual interpretations, even to\u00a0the\u00a0point of\u00a0accepting the\u00a0co-existenceof<\/nobr>\u00a0conflicting points of\u00a0view. My\u00a0sense is that creative ambiguity as\u00a0an\u00a0aesthetic principle is a\u00a0feature of\u00a0much artistic practice in\u00a0the\u00a0UK today, and\u00a0artists often actively seek to\u00a0create work that offers an\u00a0interplay of\u00a0interpretations. This observation does not attempt to\u00a0minimise the\u00a0potentially difficult \u2018real life\u2019 issues that surround the\u00a0project \u2013 instead it recognises the\u00a0potential sophistication of\u00a0sensibility in\u00a0the\u00a0arts which, coupled with the\u00a0openness and\u00a0generosity shown by\u00a0everyone up to\u00a0this point, should continue to\u00a0enrich the\u00a0project.<\/p>\nIn\u00a0the\u00a0working environment, it is most likely that associations, alignments and\u00a0friendships will arise based on\u00a0cultural values that stem from artistic and\u00a0academic interests, minimising, if not eliminating, the\u00a0significance of\u00a0political terminologies of\u00a0location. For\u00a0example, the\u00a0cultural values linking independent artists, or\u00a0linking those in\u00a0maintained arts organisations, just might supersede other considerations of\u00a0culture, nationality and\/or\u00a0discipline.<\/p>\n
And\u00a0we must not forget that, potentially the\u00a0most critical dynamic will stem from eastern and\u00a0western perspectives.\u00a0 In\u00a0writing the\u00a0announcement for\u00a0ArtsCross, which precedes this blog entry, Martin Welton the\u00a0co-directorof<\/nobr>\u00a0the\u00a0overseas academic team (i.e. those not from China\/PRC or\u00a0Taiwan\/ROC) suggested that the\u00a0arts of\u00a0East and\u00a0West may not be as\u00a0separate as\u00a0they sometimes seem. Certainly the\u00a0world is increasingly interdependent, and\u00a0growing exchanges in\u00a0the\u00a0fields of\u00a0business and\u00a0commerce are being matched by\u00a0exchanges in\u00a0the\u00a0arts. And\u00a0yet, arguably the\u00a0narratives of\u00a0East and\u00a0West do still diverge, or\u00a0perhaps more accurately there is a\u00a0narrative of\u00a0separation.<\/p>\nThis can perhaps be seen more strongly in\u00a0the\u00a0West, where the\u00a0dynamics of\u00a0past economic and\u00a0cultural dominance, and\u00a0associated interventions in\u00a0Asia and\u00a0elsewhere, have obscured the\u00a0ability to\u00a0know and\u00a0understand \u2018the\u00a0other\u2019. Amongst the\u00a0reasons for\u00a0this might be the\u00a0lack of\u00a0incentive for\u00a0the\u00a0dominant partner to\u00a0be sensitive; and\u00a0the\u00a0assumption of\u00a0the\u00a0globalised status of\u00a0the\u00a0cultural values of\u00a0the\u00a0dominant (and\u00a0in\u00a0many casesEnglish-speaking<\/nobr>) partner. However, an\u00a0additional factor, as\u00a0recent research by\u00a0Gurminder Bhambra has made clear, is rooted in\u00a0history, and\u00a0the\u00a0Western (re)construction of\u00a0history. This was a\u00a0project designed to\u00a0bolster Western achievements by\u00a0making them seemself-generated<\/nobr>, a\u00a0narrative of\u00a0the\u00a0renaissance and\u00a0enlightenment as\u00a0accomplishments created in\u00a0splendid isolation through which the\u00a0modern world came into being. The\u00a0exclusion of\u00a0Asia from this narrative was both a\u00a0convenient means to\u00a0enhance the\u00a0narrative and\u00a0an\u00a0assertion of\u00a0European hegemony\u00a0\u2014 and\u00a0so the\u00a0East-Westdivide<\/nobr> was written into history.<\/p>\nThe\u00a0analysis exposing the\u00a0fallacies in\u00a0this narrative is multifaceted, but one point is especially pertinent: the\u00a0cultural transformation commonly known as\u00a0the\u00a0European Renaissance would have been impossible without the\u00a0introduction of\u00a0the\u00a0printing press which originated in\u00a0China and\u00a0was introduced through busy trade routes into Europe. So, Martin Welton is right, both from a\u00a0longer temporal perspective and\u00a0because we must acknowledge work from the\u00a0more recent past including East meets west in\u00a0dance<\/em>, a\u00a0publication based on\u00a0an\u00a0initiative that brought together choreographers from east and\u00a0west in\u00a0the\u00a0early 1990s, and\u00a0the\u00a0work of\u00a0Yang Meiqi in\u00a0Guangdong which began in\u00a0the\u00a01980s.<\/p>\nStill today, our partner artists and\u00a0academics from Taiwan and\u00a0China arguably know more about us than we know about them. Their artists and\u00a0academics seem bilingual and\u00a0bi-cultural<\/nobr>, often trained in\u00a0western and\u00a0eastern forms, and\u00a0comfortable with multiple modernities. We, as\u00a0overseas participants, whether artists or\u00a0academics, may recognise our unilingual limitations and\u00a0experience our \u2018otherness\u2019; in\u00a0this context we may become \u2018dis-oriented<\/nobr>\u2019 and\u00a0need to\u00a0re-drawour<\/nobr> mental maps to\u00a0take account of\u00a0present-dayAsia<\/nobr>. We will see what transpires in\u00a0the\u00a0time to\u00a0come, however the\u00a0task may be eased by\u00a0the\u00a0green hills surrounding the\u00a0TNUA campus, and\u00a0the\u00a0striking view of\u00a0the\u00a0eclectic and\u00a0vibrant city of\u00a0Taipei \u2013 as\u00a0well as\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0excitement of\u00a0the\u00a0dialogic space, the\u00a0quality of\u00a0the\u00a0art and\u00a0thinking, and\u00a0the\u00a0generosity and\u00a0openness of\u00a0the\u00a0exchange.<\/p>\nAs\u00a0a\u00a0conclusion, I\u00a0would like to\u00a0reformulate a\u00a0point I\u00a0made during Danscross. We see key challenges facing us today that are shared; they are also unconfined by\u00a0national boundaries. We focus on\u00a0the\u00a0working environment and\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0practices of\u00a0artists and\u00a0academics \u2013 encountering the\u00a0\u2018other\u2019 hoping to\u00a0better understand ourselves; examining the\u00a0particular, hoping to\u00a0see the\u00a0panoramic. Today the\u00a0artists are working and\u00a0the\u00a0exchange begins; I\u00a0am optimistic and\u00a0excited, but also, I\u00a0confess even at\u00a0this late hour that I\u00a0have also experienced uncertain\u2026waiting\u2026<\/p>\n
Austin, J L, 1962, How to\u00a0Do Things with Words<\/em> Clarendon Press<\/p>\nBhambra, G K, 2007, Rethinking Modernity, Postcolonialism and\u00a0the\u00a0Sociological Imagination<\/em> Palgrave Macmillan<\/p>\nBharucha R, 1995, \u2018Somebody’s Other: Disorientations in\u00a0the\u00a0Cultural Politics of\u00a0Our Times\u2019, Third Text<\/em> 26:3\u201310 Routledge<\/p>\nKnox\u00a0C, Carmichael\u00a0P, 2005, “Devolution — the\u00a0Northern Ireland way: an\u00a0exercise in\u00a0‘creative ambiguity'”\u00a0Environment and\u00a0Planning C: Government and\u00a0Policy<\/em>\u00a023(1) 63\u00a0\u2013\u00a083\u00a0Pion<\/p>\nLandry, C and\u00a0Wood P 2007, The\u00a0Intercultural City: Planning for\u00a0Diversity Advantage<\/em>\u00a0Earthscan<\/p>\nResCen Danscross: Dancing in\u00a0a\u00a0shaking world (http:\/\/www.rescen.net\/events\/danscross09\/DANSCROSS09.html<\/a>)<\/p>\nSolomon R, Solomon, J Eds 1995, East Meets West in\u00a0Dance: Voices in\u00a0the\u00a0Cross-Cultural<\/nobr> Dialogue<\/em> Harwood<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The\u00a0blog is live, the\u00a0artists have arrived and\u00a0dance writer Donald Hutera has been posting his observations of\u00a0the\u00a0first hours of\u00a0ArtsCross Taipei 2011. In\u00a0the\u00a0coming hours, days and\u00a0weeks the\u00a0academics will join the\u00a0artists at\u00a0the\u00a0Taipei National University of\u00a0the\u00a0Arts (TNUA) to\u00a0undertake the\u00a0observations, discussions and\u00a0writing that are an\u00a0intrinsic… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rescen.net\/blog2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}