Mary Sherman
Published: 2017-08-29
Total Pages: 308
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In the mid-1900s America spent a great deal of time and money to send artists, filmmakers, musicians, scientists and other creative individuals abroad. They became familiar with other cultures and societies and served as ambassadors for their own. Largely supported by the State Department, they arguably helped end the Cold War by winning the proverbial hearts and minds of those around the world. That has now changed. Although American artists vastly outnumbered other nationalities in global art exhibits and biennales in the 50s through 70s, today their presence abroad has dropped precipitously, even though history repeatedly shows that the arts provide avenues for dialog when other means have failed. Yet, only a handful of US organizations continue to support international exchange and most of these have regional restrictions. The nonprofit organization TransCultural Exchange is different in this respect. TransCultural Exchange originated in 1989 as an independent, grassroots organization to create and produce international exchange exhibitions. Over time, increased interest in the organization's services necessitated incorporation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the creation of international online resources for artists and, in 2007, the production of International Conferences on Opportunities in the Arts. All these support the organization's mission to foster a greater understanding of world cultures through high quality, innovative, global art projects, artist exchanges and related educational programming - most notably the organization's Conferences. All these activities also serve as catalysts. They have provided artists with access to their international peers, new markets and resources for their work and the knowledge and tools to be competitive in today's global reality. These activities also have produced new revenues streams for local communities, helped create avenues for cross-cultural understanding and provided opportunities for American artists to continue to be a positive force abroad. This publication is a culmination of ten years of surveying and evaluating TransCultural Exchange's programs. The results provide a persuasive argument that supporting international exchange among artists produces a range of generative, sustaining and positive economic, cultural and social impacts.