Cultural Mediation: Creativity, Performance, Display. Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe in a Global Context", University of Heidelberg, 08.10.2014–10.10.2014. Reviewed by Marlène Harles Published on H-Soz-u-Kult (June, 2015) From 8 to 10 October 2014, the Cluster of Ex‐ And what are the risks of and stakes in media‐ cellence "Asia and Europe in a Global Context" tion? held its 6th Annual Conference “Cultural Media‐ In line with the Cluster’s objective to establish tion: Creativity, Performance, Display” at Heidel‐ the concept of transculturality as a basic ap‐ berg University. The conference was organized by proach in the humanities and social sciences, the the Cluster’s Research Area B “Public Spheres”, opening keynote lecture by ERIKA FISCHER- and revolved around the topic of "Cultural Media‐ LICHTE (Berlin) aimed at a better understanding tion". Two keynote lectures and twelve panels, of cultural dynamics in the feld of theatre studies comprising 45 senior and junior researchers, ex‐ through the introduction of the term ‘interweav‐ plored the various ways in which cultural practice ing performance cultures’. Fischer-Lichte thereby is transculturally communicated, negotiated, and distanced herself from ‘intercultural theatre’, a contested. While established concepts such as term coined in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of ‘contact’, ‘relation’, and ‘influence’ risk a deper‐ reinterpreting the concept of ‘culture’ in the con‐ sonalized approach to cultural mediation, the con‐ text of postcolonialism. ‘Intercultural theatre’, she ference endeavored to apply a frame of reference critically argued, refers exclusively to the transfer that would do justice to both the position of indi‐ between West and Non-West, often resonating vidual mediators and the material and political with an underlying distinction between the mod‐ conditions from which they operate. Case-studies ern and the traditional. By exemplifying and criti‐ from a variety of disciplines, such as history, art cizing the rigidity of thinking in binaries such as history, literary studies, and social sciences, drew West and Non-West, self and other, performer and attention to the morphology of cultural mediation audience, tradition and modernity, Erika Fischer- in different times and places. In her introductory Lichte set the stage for the specific case studies talk, CHRISTIANE BROSIUS (Heidelberg) raised presented by the speakers throughout the confer‐ questions that became central focus points ence. throughout the conference. How did/do individu‐ A pivotal question that rose from the abun‐ als, collectives or institutions constitute, appropri‐ dant variety of cultural mediators examined dur‐ ate, alter, and circulate cultural goods and pro‐ ing the conference (artists, performers, passen‐ cesses? How do cultural agents, as mediators or gers, preachers, etc.), concerned the advantages brokers, create in-between-spaces that are charac‐ and disadvantages of the two related terms, ‘me‐ terized by tension, difference and negotiation? diator’ and ‘broker.’ How do we create workable distinctions between different types of cultural H-Net Reviews mediators, and what distinguishes the term from Concepts“ addressed the need to challenge uni-di‐ other related concepts, such as broker or go-be‐ rectional approaches towards mediation. The tween? How do we analyze the interplay between spread of Evangelical and Charismatic forms of textual, oral, and visual forms of mediation? What Christianity throughout Asia has not only been are the peculiarities and specific contextual char‐ underrepresented in the study of global Christian‐ acteristics of these mediators and the media they ities, but was mainly approached as a Western employ? What are their common traits, and how phenomenon migrating to the East. A focus on do their practices connect to wider spheres of cul‐ border-crossing images and individuals allowed tural exchange? the speakers of the panel „Transcultural Sartorial Drawing on examples of Christian writings, Mediations: Performing Identity, Nation, and Buddhist temple histories in medieval Japan, and Modernity through Fashion“ to explore the dy‐ translations in early modern India and Japan, the namics of fashion in 21st-century China and In‐ panel “Translating Concepts in a Religious Con‐ dia. By showing fashion in its moving configura‐ text” focused on the different aspects of transla‐ tions of gender, economics, politics, and identity, tion as a process of cultural mediation. ANTJE the panelists revealed how fashion editors, de‐ FLÜCHTER (Bielefeld/Heidelberg) stressed that signers, and fashion photographers are not just the term ‘translation’ is often used carelessly, and mediators in their own right, but also provide the frequently reduced to mere metaphor. She thus opportunities and parameters for others to ex‐ emphasized the need for an analysis of the specif‐ plore, negotiate, and perform – to mediate – status ic conditions of translation. Religious translators, or national identity. for instance, frst required an understanding of In the second Keynote Lecture, NIKOLAS the local concepts and beliefs; they needed to JASPERT (Heidelberg) identified specific charac‐ draw on extant textual traditions and other prac‐ teristics of mediation by differentiating between tices of religious experts, to fnd the points of con‐ manifest and latent brokerage. The Medieval nection to the central aspects of the religious dog‐ Mediterranean, as the meeting point between mas and concepts they wished to convey. The dis‐ Asia, Europe, and Africa, offers a vast array of ex‐ tinctive conditions of mediation and the lack of amples for these processes. Cultural brokers, me‐ systematic research on these topics were common diators or ‘uomini virtuosi’, whether intentionally features in the panels, which brought unexpected or unintentionally, have always been key fgures and often neglected mediators and processes of in matters of trade, diplomacy and war. Elaborat‐ mediation to the fore. In the panel „Detecting Per‐ ing on Medieval lordship as a process inherently formance Brokers: Theatrical Agents, Managers, based on reaching a consensus, Jaspert further ar‐ and Impressarios in Global Theatre Histories gued that brokerage is often a very pragmatic un‐ (1850-1920)“, for instance, the speakers empha‐ dertaking that can leave its authors in a vulnera‐ sized that theater cannot function as an art form ble position. nor as a business without the patronage of profes‐ In conjunction with nuances between mani‐ sional cultural mediators. Yet their practices, con‐ fest and latent brokers and messy endeavors for nections, and circuits have been under-re‐ consensus, the media and places in which cultural searched. These brokers did not leave many mate‐ brokers operate revealed their often unexpected, rial traces, as their work took place primarily unintentional, and ambiguous disposition. Fisch‐ backstage. A lack of interest in or even recogni‐ er-Lichte, located performance within a liminal tion of the performative arts as a business might space; it comes into being only during its course be another reason for this neglect. The panel „Me‐ and thus is unable to transmit meanings inscribed diating Asian Christianities: Agents, Practices, 2 H-Net Reviews in the text. This repositioning reduces claims of cultural realities. The Panel „Heidelberg Research authenticity and enables the theatre performance Architecture (HRA): Digital Resources and Scien‐ – as in-between space – to test and experience in‐ tific Annotations“ introduced the means, tools, terwoven cultural diversity. In the panel „Social and objectives of The Hachiman Digital Hand‐ Orders in Transit: Passenger Communities during scrolls Project (HDH) to enhance the digital pre‐ Long-Distance Ship Passages, c. 1770-1945“, ships sentation of movable text-image formats. The were taken as exemplary historical in-between main objective of the project is to mediate histori‐ spaces, where passengers would fnd themselves cal artifacts for contemporary viewers and facili‐ in a liminal phase of partial social suspension, tate access to historical, literary, and visual knowl‐ faced with unprecedented challenges, such as the edge. The HDH Project, serving as an example of mixing of classes and sexes, unthinkable on land. the possibilities of such new digital methods for Several panels stressed the importance of dis‐ both analyzing and presenting vulnerable, deli‐ tinguishing between particular forms of media‐ cate objects, involves the digitization of six sets of tion. The panel „The Display of Words and Narra‐ handscrolls. tives in Museum Space: a Transcultural Reading“ The conference also addressed the political took author museums and contemporary art gal‐ circumstances that might limit the roles media‐ leries as felds where the visual narratives and tors want or are asked to play. Violence and fric‐ gallery texts function as underestimated yet cru‐ tion, as Nikolas Jaspert argued, is an often-neglect‐ cial media. Writers of such museum texts are un‐ ed part of mediation. More often than not, it is a known, latent brokers who hoist the artist or the pragmatic undertaking, contrasted with notions novelist on stage as manifest mediator, of harmony and tolerance generally associated (re)creating ‘the artist’ and ‘the author’ in the with mediating practices. What if artists, curators process. In the panel „Auditive Mediation of Cul‐ and art critics act as cultural mediators in mo‐ tures: Sermon, Prayers, and Recitation“, attention ments of political tension,