DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL OFFERINGS
The notion of stable and coherent national cultures has become increasingly obsolete given growing within-country ethnic diversity and processes of cultural, social, and economic globalisation. This has been the backdrop of tensions between hegemonic cultural offerings and heightened recognition of the cultures of various marginalised communities. Along these lines, cultural policies in different countries have emphasised a transition to multiculturalism (e.g., France), transculturalism (e.g., Germany), acultural melting pot (e.g., the UK), or cultural regionalism (e.g., Spain).
The diversity of cultural offerings includes a wide array of artistic and creative content from different cultures across the world. It celebrates the rich tapestry of human experience, highlighting the unique traditions, languages, beliefs, and customs that shape society. From literature and music to dance and the visual arts, cultural offerings depict and capture the essence of a particular community's identity and heritage. By embracing and promoting diverse cultural expressions, a country can foster mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation for the different citizens and residents that contribute to its cultural and societal makeup. Diverse cultural offerings promote an inclusive and heterogeneous world where all experiences are represented, acknowledged, and valued. Diversity in cultural offerings also encourages and enables the continued contribution of various cultural values to the empowerment of different communities.
Over the past two decades, policymakers have turned their focus to the cultural sector and the people who populate it, in an effort to diversify it. There are several rationales for diversifying the cultural sector: Having a diverse cultural sector can enrich the creative process and propel innovation and originality in cultural offerings. Moreover, measures that diversify the cultural sector can balance out historical discrimination against marginalised groups, such as certain ethnic minorities or the disabled, who have rarely been included in the arts. Ultimately, diversifying the cultural sector will trickle all the way down to the audience: diverse staff can create more diverse content that will have the potential to attract more diverse audiences. (TKG, NY, SW)