Powers of festivals

One of my next projects will be on what I call Powers of Festivals.  I am planning to develop a series of exhibitions to be launched in London during the 2012 Olympic year - looking at how festivals are utilised by minorities and native peoples around the world to survive, develop confidence and build their capacities. 

Arts and cultures are the foundations of festivals. Public celebratory events provide an opportunity for communities to use their own cultural traditions and artistic creativity to showcase their collective achievements, develop internal unity/pride and achieve a more confident engagement with outsiders.

Although there are potentially many hundreds or even thousands of minorities and native people that one can choose from, I have decided to cover about a dozen destinations around the world.  The first people that I will cover will be the Balinese in Indonesia's paradise island of Bali, followed by Australian Aboriginals, North American Natives and natives of Bolivia.  After that I will visit a number of places in Africa and Asia, although the exact places will be determined later.  If you have any suggestions about potential festivals that I can cover please let me know.  

Throughout history and especially during the last few hundred years many communities and nations around the world faced existential threats and some of them have even been on the verge of extinction through external genocidal efforts. The Natives of North and South America, Aboriginals of Australia and Maoris of New Zealand are the largest such groups who faced unprecedentent outside threats. All their lands were taken by strong organised states that systematically settled new people and pushed them out, often using extreme violence and committing genocides. The end result has been the shameful reduction of native populations and their confinement to small areas, causing extreme poverty and isolation.

However, in recent years some positives signs of recovery are beginning to be seen and the recent election of Juan Evo Morales Ayma as the president of Bolivia is an inspiration that such communities can look to a better future. He is the country's first indigenous head of state since the Spanish Conquest 470 years ago and hopefully this is the start of a new beginning and new future for all native peoples around the world. After I complete my coverage of Australian Aboriginal people in 2010 I will travel to Bolivia, probably early 2011.

On the other hand, some communities who have become minorities because of the incorporation of their traditional lands into bigger countries also faced and continue to face existential threats. For example, within Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, there live a number of tribal communities, who are very different from Bengali people. They are being marginalised by Bengalis who are moving into their traditional lands. They have colourful traditions and cultures and may be similar people around the world can learn something from the Balinese people in terms of how to utilise traditions / culture and through public display develop unity, strength and pride.

Living in multi cultural London allows one to experience a variety of cultures that co-exist and festivals that take place in the diverse city.  London festivals help build community unity and provide an opportunity for people to know and enjoy each others’ cultures and cuisines.  Public festivals also help deprived minorities to preserve and feel proud of their traditions/cultures and also achieve synthesis through mixing with others.  

In addition to understanding how natives and minorities use arts / cultures - expressed through public festivals - to preserve and develop their communities the Powers of Festival project will also help people learn from each other.

London is a multi-cultural city of great diversity and the variety of people and cultural experiences that one can enjoy here is truly astonishing. However, there are cultural treasures around the world that people in London have very little experience of and this website will help make and strengthen such links and add to London’s cultural diversity experiences and potentials.