Art as a Political Phenomenon

           

I have always seen and considered Art as a powerful tool of Foreign Policy, but I have never reflected on the connection between art and  politics .
During these days in Albania I realized that through  the Arts  Albania and Kosovo are now more united than ever. I'd say that in this specific case Art has been more effective than politics.


But how are Art and politics connected?


When I first asked myself this question, I immediately thought of two complete opposite things such as black and white or angel and devil. I stopped thinking about it, till I got to the point where I found myself (so tired of listening to politicians) unintentionally  painting something  reflecting my emotions and feelings about the  political situation in Albania. At this point I thought of the first thing that they  could have had in common; I thought of...POWER...Both are able to touch our hearts and minds!!!


It came into my mind Nietzsche's book, The Birth of Tragedy, constructed about the duality between the "Apollonian" and the "Dionysian", where  Apollo(Politics) stands for intellect, reason and control, and Dionysus(Arts) stands for the opposites of these; for intuition, sensuality, feeling and abandon.
I'd  personally  compare the relationship between Art and Politics  to that of  a married couple, where the husband is the head, therefore the decision-maker and  the wife is the neck which directs those decisions.


 Why should politicians use art to seduce  and succeed?


Politicians see artists as a real threat, as many of them through visual and performing arts may result politically provocative, by making statements or highlighting certain issues. They know that art can make an effective political statement or that is the best promoter of social justice and  subsequently  impresses the public opinion more than politics.


Apparently our politicians seem to have  forgotten that arts are central to our dignity. How can we attract others without our sports, music, architecture etc.?!


ART IS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN POLITICS AT CAPTURING THE PUBLIC IMAGINATION ...SO POLITICIANS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE ARTS  TO LEARN HOW TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION, INTEREST AND INTEGRATION...AND  SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE ARTS AS A TOOL THAT COULD  ENRICH THIS COUNTRY!!!

Special Cultural Ambassadors

Today, I would like to dedicate few lines to some really special ambassadors operating and promoting  the Albanian culture  in UK.

Although, Shpresa Proggramme is an organization  that advances the education and training of the Albanian speaking people in UK, I have always considered Shpresa as the Albanian Embassy and its staff as special cultural ambassadors.

Shpresa does not only help the Albanian community to integrate and orientate, but through several and continuous activities  (such as Albanian traditional dance, poetry and different campaigns) excels in promoting and strengthening the Albanian language, culture and value in UK.

I personally discovered Shpresa last year while I was living  in London, and as a student who has been detached from the Albanian cultural heritage  for more than 15 years,  being back in my country and immediately integrating, wouldn't  have been possible without Shpresa Programme's help.

I would like to thank and congratulate my special ambassadors: Luljeta , Flutra, Evis and Ermir for the great job they have done and  I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Shpresa a very happy birthday as yesterday was it's 9th birthday. May all your dreams and aims come true Shpresa!

For further information about Shpresa visit the website: www.shpresaprogramme.com

Why Cultural Diplomacy?!

Encouraged by the challenge, inspired by the daily discoveries of learning new languages and cultures, intrigued by different life-styles and different cultures within the same country and curious about the function of embassies, I suddenly found myself deeply in love with cultural diplomacy. More than ever before, culture has a vital role to play in international relations. Following politics and trade culture is considered as the third pillar of international relations.
 While I was thinking of cultural diplomacy it came into my mind my university teacher, Mr Bennis who gave me  an outstanding example  of 1972, where neither U.S nor China wanted to blink first in public, and where, the actual break-through which led to the Nixon/Mao meeting  took the form of a table tennis tournament. 
Therefore,  Cultural Diplomacy are sports, music, exchange programmes and exhibitions . It is not only the exchanging of ideas, beliefs, values, informations and other aspects of culture, it is also vital for national security through the usage of cultural exchange.
I personally see culture as a fundamental tool for a successful commerce by looking at our economy, which, is knowledge-based.

Culture strongly affects people through attraction , so while today I was thinking on "how to make my country more attractive?", I thought of Cultural Diplomacy, a mean that can be used even from small countries and not only by superpowers, as a  tool of promotion and attraction, regardless  of the country's  size and GDP. 
Culture and values will be the policy that I will use to introduce and promote Albania to the rest of the world.