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Oz Fest India: Why Masterchef Australia —Garnished with Comedians, Film, Contemporary Performance, and Music—Was the Best Recipe for Australian Public Diplomacy in India
Author(s) -
BenTovim Kate
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/polp.12225
Subject(s) - diplomacy , public diplomacy , government (linguistics) , the arts , conversation , performing arts , media studies , sociology , recipe , political science , visual arts , management , history , law , art , politics , ancient history , economics , linguistics , philosophy , communication
Following a tumultuous period in the Australia‐India bilateral relationship, the Australian Government undertook the largest cultural diplomacy initiative ever staged in India. Bold and ambitious, Oz Fest aimed to introduce contemporary Australia to contemporary India. Key to its success was the focus on contemporary culture and careful program curation that presented highest quality work with an eye to Indian tastes. Rather than rely on more traditional government‐to‐government partnerships, Oz Fest sought dynamic nongovernment players in the creative industry landscape to build partnerships that spoke directly to the target audience. Relationship building and artistic collaboration was prioritized to ensure the cultural conversation continued long after the big event was over. Then there was Australia?s public diplomacy secret weapon— Masterchef Australia . By sharing reflections from the perspective of the arts practitioner engaged to co‐curate and produce Oz Fest, this practitioner essay offers insights into creating effective cultural diplomacy for the twenty‐first century.