Global Citizenship in Art

How do you recognise global citizenship in art? 

The other day, I was on the Facebook page of one of Sydney's biggest annual arts festivals. The Festival has increasingly been presenting more and more international acts as part of its Festival program, however it seems that the strongest complaints have been from those who do not believe the Festival is valuing Australian artists to their full capacity.

Where do you draw the line with this (hehe)?

More and more so there is an emphasis in the arts industry, especially with music, for consumers to value local, rather than international talent. Of course its unfair to disregard local talent in favour of international acts. To me global citizenship requires a recognition of both the local and global context that one lives and operates in. At the same time, showing disregard to the international perspective presented from overseas talent, no matter whether its from America or Africa, ultimately cocoons Australia from the global world. How many of us actually listen only to Aussie music? And from a global citizenship perspective, is that necessarily a bad thing?

Objectively, you can't deny that the American art scene has a disproportionate amount of globally-infiltrating output compared to any where else in the world. A sustainable career in America is considered an epitome of success. And this is of course because America is a dominant global power, with the ability and resource capacities to enter into the homes of many people around the world, where smaller countries cannot do so. 

 Affirmative action already occurs in many countries, including Australia, to support local talent, but more importantly to facilitate a global career. The balance will always exist in supporting either the local or the global industry.