Post-9/11 International Artist Exchanges Between the United States and the Middle East

Abstract

Since 9/11, the U.S. government has gradually increased its budget for cultural exchange to improve its estranged relationship with Middle Eastern ¹ countries. However, U.S. private foundations have been reluctant to sponsor international artist exchanges with the region. This article describes the funding trends of both public and private sources; explains the consequences and coping strategies of U.S. arts presenters through a case study of the Kennedy Center's 2009 Arabesque Festival; and examines the effects of the new laws and regulations created after the terrorist attacks that seem to be influencing the activities of private funders.

Keywords:

• artist exchanges
• cultural diplomacy
• funding trends
• legal environment
• Middle East

Notes

1. The Middle East, or the greater Middle Eastern region, is frequently labeled with distinctive titles. For example, the State Department identifies the region as the “Near East,” and “North Africa and the Middle East” is broadly utilized by the grant-related organization, the Foundation Center. Additionally, the term “Arab” refers to someone who uses the Arabic language and whose cultural background is Arabic. Thus, to promote consistency and to prevent unnecessary confusion, “the Middle East” will be utilized in this article.

2. Every four years, the Foundation Center publishes a report on international giving, based on the operations of approximately eight U.S. foundations. It should be noted that, according to the Foundation Center, promoting international understanding includes both international art exchanges and international student exchanges.

3. The ECE programs consist of Academic Programs, Professional and Cultural Exchanges, Program and Performances, and Exchanges Support. Among these five sub-programs under the ECE, Professional and Cultural Exchanges carries out cultural components and seems most qualified to be considered as artist exchanges. Therefore, to be consistent with the purpose of this research, the public funding analysis contains the Cultural Exchanges budget history along with the overall ECE budget trends.

4. The six major program areas consist of International Development & Relief; Education; International Affairs; Public Affairs/Social Benefit; Health; and Arts & Culture.

5. The lists of the eight regions are Western Europe; Asia & the Pacific; Latin America; Sub-Saharan Africa; Eastern Europe, Russia, & Independent States; North Africa & the Middle East (called the Middle East in this article); Canada; and Caribbean.

6. Its geographical location falls under the greater Middle East. The League of Arab States is comprised of twenty-two member nations, including Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

7. Type O (persons with extraordinary ability), P (athletes, artists & entertainers), and Q (international cultural exchange) visas are under the petition-based visa categories, which cost $190 for the application process. Petition-based nonimmigrant visa applicants are also required to file an I-129 petition for a non-immigrant worker, and this filing fee is worth $325. These costs are updated figures for this article. To estimate how much the Kennedy Center probably spent on visas for Arab artists, we can refer to Stephanie Evans's 2008 research about the process of U.S. visas for international cultural exchanges; it indicates that a premium processing service fee was $1,000 and an I-129 petition filing fee was $320 in 2008.

8. “Executive Order 13224” prohibits transactions with individuals and organizations deemed by the Executive Branch to be associated with terrorism, and allows the government to freeze all assets controlled by or in possession of these entities or those that support them (The Foundation Center 2008).

9. “The USA PATRIOT Act” imposes fines and terms of imprisonment for those who provide material support or resources knowing or intending that they are to be used in terrorist acts or by certain foreign terrorist organizations (The Foundation Center 2008).

10. Voluntary Treasury Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities, issued by the Treasury to aid nonprofits and grantmakers in complying with the Executive Order and the PATRIOT Act, contain suggested best practices for avoiding terrorist financing (The Foundation Center 2008).

11. In total, sixty-plus grantmakers completed the 2002 questionnaire and, for the 2006 survey, over seventy private and public foundations responded.

12. With regard to this, one may argue that in the U.S., a large number of immigrant populations represent and showcase diverse cultures. However, it should be acknowledged that such cultural representations made by U.S. residents are often compromised in two ways: Americanization and unprofessionalism, which are highly likely to be inauthentic and thus fail to represent the counterpart's genuine voice.