The art of the Asia relationship
It wasn’t that long ago that New Zealanders used to openly celebrate our lack of culture. My entry to the workforce took place in the Rogernomics era of the 1980s, when the economic doctrine was that if something couldn’t be measured, it wasn’t worth pursuing.
I worry that in 2018 we know the cost of things but not the value.
As New Zealand starts to enter its peak arts and culture season, with festivals aplenty around the country, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on how New Zealand’s arts and culture engagement with Asia enriches our understanding of the region.
The Asia New Zealand Foundation has been running an arts and culture programme for more than two decades. We support visual and performing artists to spend time in Asia and help with the inclusion of Asian culture within New Zealand events.
Our interest is in how we can use the arts to help New Zealanders – including those in business – to understand Asia better. I’ve said many times that international relationships need ballast – and that our own relationships with Asia can’t rely on demand for our dairy products.
But there’s another aspect to it too: the involvement of our arts sector in Asia helps lift our own standing in the region.
Last year the NZ Story Group (an agency set up by New Zealand’s outward-facing government ministries) surveyed Japanese consumers about their perceptions of New Zealand.
The survey found that New Zealand was known for its ‘‘agricultural expertise, superior produce, sustainability, unspoilt nature and pure water’’.
Unfortunately, however, the Japanese did not associate New Zealand with ‘‘being sophisticated, technological, exact, or advanced’’.
How do we go about looking sophisticated?
I’d argue that the arts have a great deal to offer. When we think about ‘‘sophisticated’’ countries, they tend to be ones with vibrant arts scenes.
You might say that Japan’s understanding of New Zealand is a tad one-dimensional. But equally, New Zealand’s perception of the arts in Asia is probably somewhat removed from reality.
If you were asked to think about art in Asia, ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), and ancient Chinese pottery might well spring to mind. But Asia is increasingly central to the international contemporary arts scene.
Young New Zealand artists look towards Asia to increase their profile – and benefit from its proximity to New Zealand.
When we talk about ‘‘going international’’, this increasingly includes cities like Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing. Events like the Gwangju Biennale and the Yokohama Triennale are important fixtures on the international arts calendar.
Asian investors are climbing up the lists of the world’s top art collectors. Japanese collector Yusaku Maezawa paid more than US$110 million for a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat last year, while Chinese billionaires Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei have just opened their third museum (in Chongqing, following two in Shanghai).
Filipino real estate mogul Robbie Antonio has not only amassed an enormous collection but has also unveiled plans to sell prefabricated art museums to others.
More investors are looking towards burgeoning arts scenes in Asia to grow their collections. And North Asian countries are increasingly looking to Southeast Asia for collaboration.
For instance, the Japanese government’s Japan Foundation has opened something called the Asia Center. This provides grants and fellowships for visual and performing artists – but only those from Southeast Asia. There’s a sense Asia has now become powerful enough in its own right to look inside itself rather than looking out.
Here in New Zealand, young Kiwi Asian artists contribute to the vibrancy of our arts scenes by producing works that tell stories about own or their families’ experiences, or the cultures and histories of their ancestors.
Take, for instance, Tea by British-born, New Zealand-raised Sri Lankan playwright Ahi Karunaharan, which features a set designed by Auckland visual artist Tiffany Singh.
Such initiatives increase the visibility of Asia within New Zealand and give audiences a more nuanced understanding of Asian cultures.
‘‘Asia-aware creatives’’, as the New Zealand Film Commission calls them, also help create works that an international audience can relate to – in essence, making New Zealand more marketable overseas.
Since we started working in the arts space, we’ve seen some evolution in the way Asia is perceived.
Asian artists, performers and writers are included in mainstream event programmes as a matter of course – rather than being seen as an unusual or exotic addition.
One artist told us last week that the foundation’s investment in the arts and culture space had changed what people make, what people see and how New Zealand sees its place in the world.
That has real value to New Zealand in its understanding of and interactions with Asia.