Last month I wrote about an interesting report from the Brookings Institution on how the US can expand cultural diplomacy with the Muslim world – and why that would be beneficial to all involved. Now, New York University’s Center for Dialogues has released a report, “Bridging the Divide between the United States and the Muslim World through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations.” Among many other things, the report urges the Obama Administration and Congress to revise visa restrictions and elements of the USA Patriot Act that inhibit organizations from bringing Muslim artists to the United States. A press release from NYU about the report has this quote:
Mustapha Tlili
Congress is currently considering the extension of selected provisions of the Patriot Act due to expire at the end of the year. But the issue of visa restrictions is only one part of a very interesting, thoughtful report. Also included is a suggestion that a semi-autonomous unit separate from the State Department be created to handle arts and cultural matters (I assume as an attempt to insulate arts and culture from the pressures of US foreign policy and not as a reflection on the work being carried out by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs). The report also suggests that the US “develop a new terminology for arts and culture in political contexts…[t]erms such as ‘soft power’ and ‘cultural diplomacy’ treat art instrumentally, rather than providing a way to communicate on the basis of parity.”
As important as the policy recommendations are, they should not overshadow other interesting and sometimes powerful parts of the report that look into the role of the artist (in general and in the Muslim world), the relationship(s) between artists and institutions and “the roles that artists and patrons – public and private, religious and secular, domestic and international – play in generating cultural capital.”
The full report is available here.