Music in International Development: the Experience of Concerts Norway (2000–2018)
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Music in International Development: The Experience of Concerts Norway (2000–2018) Solveig Korum Doctoral Dissertations at the University of Agder 323 Solveig Korum Music in International Development: The Experience of Concerts Norway (2000–2018) Dissertation for the degree of PhD in Popular Music Performance University of Agder Faculty of Fine Arts 2020 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Doctoral dissertations at the University of Agder: 323 ISSN: 1504-9727 ISBN: 978-82-8427-028-9 ã Solveig Korum 2020 Print: 07 Media, Kristiansand Abstract This article-based doctoral thesis contributes to the multifaceted debate concerning the role of music in “development.” By development, I refer to the international aid sector and the deliberate actions of states and/or development agencies to promote equity between various localities and between social groups or classes in the Global South, previously referred to as developing or third world countries. Development studies is an academic field of its own, but it is interdisciplinary in nature, due to heterogenous understandings of what it means and what it takes to create such equity. Applying an academic lens that bridges development studies with musicological thought as well as peace studies and postcolonial theory, my work addresses questions about “arts development” versus general views on development assistance in a bid to unpack a particular asymmetry between mainstream development models and the need to strengthen—and therefore empower—the arts sector in the interests of its sustainability. There are, in fact, perpetual tensions between “two opposing professional paradigms: the largely intuitive, practice-led world of the arts and the increasingly evidence-based, bureaucratically driven approaches of international development” (Dunphy 2013: 3). This study examines how these tensions were negotiated by Concerts Norway (Rikskonsertene), a governmental music organization and key cultural partner of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, between 2000 and 2018. In this period, Norway branded itself as a pioneer and principal international funder of cultural expression as a tool for development, based on a distinct twin-track policy seeking to value the social utility of art as well as the art itself. My thesis offers an academic exploration of the ways in which three musical development projects were initiated and conducted by Concerts Norway together with local partners in Palestine, India, and Sri Lanka. The origins and development goals of these three projects differed, in the sense that they were each based on distinct geographical contexts and needs. Yet, many of the key program features were the same. This study shows how Concerts Norway and its local partners contributed to strengthening cultural infrastructure in these countries, especially in the concert, festival, and educational fields. Their collaborations furthermore facilitated the transfer of artistic and technical skills, as well as the documentation and preservation of intangible heritage. They were also deemed to be successes by external development I evaluators. Yet, a close look at the operational mechanisms of these projects reveals that their framing as “development” initiatives narrowed the scope of their potential agency. The current development system, despite its good intentions, is imbued with outdated binary conceptions and inherited colonial hierarchies, in addition to a result-based management approach that does not work particularly well for the arts. I therefore argue here that the mainstreaming of these musical activities as development limited rather than enhanced their potential furtherance of equity. A central theoretical contribution of this research is a “post-development framework for music and social change”—that is, a proposal suggesting how a rethinking and restructuring of such projects might contribute to a more humane and fairer global (art) world. The framework pays particular attention to local assessments and processes of change. It urges stakeholders and artists to continuously—and reflexively—analyze their own positions, identities, attitudes, and power relations within the project’s structure, as well as its musical repertoire, teaching methods, and performance arenas. It also opens up for a wider assessment of development “results” than what is currently undertaken. Key words: international aid, cultural development, music intervention, music and reconciliation, values, legitimacy, postcolonialism II Statement of originality This work is original and has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Solveig Korum, 10 December 2020 III Acknowledgments I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of the people around me who have contributed to shaping this thesis. In particular, I wish to thank my main supervisor, Prof. Tor Dybo, who throughout the four years of this doctoral study has given me the support I needed to overcome the practical and psychological hurdles of doctoral research. I also wish to thank my two other supervisors, Prof. Stan Hawkins and Dr. Gillian Howell, who guided me with their great wisdom, academic rigor, and generous spirits. Thanks also to Prof. Jan Sverre Knudsen, who provided useful feedback during my 90%-seminar in June 2020. I am grateful to the Norwegian Research Council (NRC), which funded half of my salary through the OFFPHD program, while Kulturtanken—Arts for Young Audiences Norway funded the other half. NRC also granted me additional financial support for my field trips to Palestine and Sri Lanka. The University of Agder and the Varieties of Peace Network provided additional travel support, without which this multisite, international research project would have been far more challenging and debt inducing. My appreciation and thanks also go to the many people in Norway, the UK, Palestine, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal who gave of their time to participate in interviews and/or allowed me to observe and take part in events that they organized. This includes (but is not limited to) Thore Hem, Ann Ollestad, Anne-Lise Langøy, Helene Aastad, Signe Gilen, Hilde Haraldstad, Torbjørn Gaustadsæter, Einar Solbu, Tom Gravlie, Kjell Thoreby, Anne Moberg, Monica Larson, Carsten Jøssund, Hallgeir Frydenlund, Andreas Sønning, Øyvind Fuglerud, Vasuky Jayapalan, Malraji Wanniarachi, Lakshman Joseph de Saram, Dinusha Wickremesekera, Manoj Sanjeewa, Kaushalya Navaratne, Aloka Weerasekara, Saumya Perera, Shalini Wickramasuriya, Jan Ramesh de Saram, Sumudi Suraweera, Hasini Haputhanthri, Dilip Kumara, Harsha Navaratne, Sarala Fernando, Soundarie David Rodrigo, Sharmini Wettimuny, Nirosion Perera, Dr. S. Jeyasankar, Tanya Hettiarachi, Rashmi Malik, Manu Arya, Anirban Chakraborty, Ashish and Ujjla Manchanda, Sohail Arora, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Ambi Subramaniam, Bindu Subramaniam, Said Murad, Bashar Murad, George and Nahida Ghattas, Huda Al Iman, Moslih Kanaaneh, Rami Moshasha, May Odeh, Loab Hammoud, Rima Tadros, Wissam Murad, John Handal, Shafeek Alsadi, Munther Alraae, and Hatem Hatef. IV A special thanks goes to Dr. Arunthathty Sri Ranganathan, who, in addition to sharing her knowledge and experience from Sri Lankan music life, opened her home to me on several occasions. I also thank my “brothers and sisters” from the field, notably Rashani Doranegoda, IZZeldin Naqshband, Ila Arun, Emmanuelle de Decker, Sharmin Sultana Sumi, and Chirkutt Band from Bangladesh. Your love, humor, and insight have been essential throughout this process. A special thanks to Malinda Seneviratne and Vijay Sheth. I also want to thank my friends and colleagues at the University of Agder and the Oslo University Center for Development and the Environment (SUM), who generously included me in their PhD research school. You have shown me that high-level social research is not about pointed elbows or competition. Thank you for your friendship and solidarity and for your critical sense and enthusiasm. Thanks also to my colleagues in Kulturtanken—Arts for Young Audiences Norway, especially Egil Rundberget, who was my main administrative support throughout this doctoral research, and Ståle Stenslie. Thanks also to our cantina chef, Bjørn Roppen, and his assistants Kisima Sillah and Aldo Maldonado, who provided daily nutritious food, inspiring music, and uplifting conversations. Thanks also to Anne Hegland, our always smiling lady at the front desk: you made a difference. Thanks to Markku Karma. My appreciation goes out to Nils Nadeau for proofreading my text. I wish to give a special thanks my Norwegian and French parents, Øystein and Johanne Korum and Paul and Clotilde Chêne, for all that you have done for me over the years, for instilling in me an open and adventurous approach to life and learning, and for giving me both roots and wings. I also want to thank my siblings in both countries, especially my sister Anne Claire Chêne, with whom I have shared this PhD journey at a distance. Last but not least, I want to thank the Sri Lankan and Norwegian kundalini yoga communities, Odin Lysaker, Jakob Lothe, Elin Toft, Svein Olaf Torbjørnsen, Else Marit Løberg, Kjell Arne Norum, Liv Solfrid Storebø, Alfred Hansen, and my very closest circle of loved ones: Thomas Strønen, Ingvild Brodal, Hanne Nøvik, Demian Vitanza, my husband, Andreas Ljones, and