From left, Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation; Angela Migally, the executive director of Abu Dhabi’s Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation; and Werner Binnenstein-Bachstein, the director of the community arts lab at Porticus Foundation, at a panel discussion during the Culture Summit on Monday. Delores Johnson / The National
From left, Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation; Angela Migally, the executive director of Abu Dhabi’s Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation; and Werner Binnenstein-Bachstein, the dirShow more

Culture Summit 2017: Panellists discuss the UAE Government’s role in funding cultural initiatives and promoting art



Art should be viewed as a basic need for all sectors of society – it can build empathy, boost economies and even promote justice and fairness.

This was the message from one of the discussions at the inaugural Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi this week. During a panel entitled The Different Cultures of Funding Culture: A Look at Private Philanthropy, State Support and What Lies Between the Two, the speakers talked about funding – often a pertinent question, particularly when considering non-profit and institutional-level art.

While the differences between private patronage and governmental funding were touched upon, the three speakers all agreed that, in the end, the most important thing was to make art accessible to people of all social and economic levels, while also working on a political level to help a nation mature and develop.

“Artists have always been a part of the narrative of progress of any society,” said Darren Walker, the president of Ford Foundation in the United States. “Without artists it is hard to imagine how America can be America.”

Angela Migally, the executive director of Abu Dhabi’s Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, spoke about the funding of cultural initiatives in the Emirates.

“The UAE is a young country and, as with any developing country, the government is usually the primary driver for cultural advancement,” she said.

“Here, there really is a sincere interest from the government to support art and cultural heritage, and they are widely accepted as a public good.

“Something we try to do is explain how they can affect every-thing else – including innovation, diplomacy and the economy.”

Werner Binnenstein-Bachstein, the director of the community arts lab at Porticus Foundation, added to both points by saying art should be defined as a primary focus and basic need for everyone.

“That means, as private philanthropists, we are all responsible for making sure this is accessible to everyone,” he said.

While all agreed art and culture can have a great effect on all aspects of life, they also conceded there was a long way to go to fully realise this potential.

Binnenstein-Bachstein pointed out the lack of arts education around the world, saying it remains an issue in most countries.

“There is enough money out there, but it is a question of distribution,” he said.

“It’s about where we set priorities and what we do – but we need to do much more.”

Walker picked up the conversation, and made a few points that had the audience clapping in agreement – the only speaker to elicit such an obvious reaction.

“The question is not whether children are receiving arts education – some children are, but they are from elite societies – the question is do poor children, from lower-class communities, deserve access to the arts?” he said.

“We should be clear about what the challenge is. If we see poor and marginalised people as deficits then we won’t invest in them. If we see them as assets ... we will see that it is essential that we invest in them.”

Migally talked about the UAE and why she believes there is not only a sincere focus on the arts and education, but also several private patrons actively looking to invest in the arts. She added that the role of foundations in the country is to connect these patrons with artists.

She mentioned the Salama foundation as being an example of a way to direct funding to places where it is most needed and would deliver the greatest benefit.

Regarding problems with private philanthropy, Walker said: “One of the dangers in the US is that during a time of growing inequality, having the private sector and donors determine priority for culture is problematic. Culture is a national identity, and if left to the elite to determine what the national identity is then there will be people who are visible, who are usually advantaged, and people who are invisible, who are usually disadvantaged, in that narrative. The challenge is to be more responsible.”

Binnenstein-Bachstein closed the session on a positive note, saying he hoped conferences such as this could help to close such gaps by bringing together people from different backgrounds and having them think outside of their comfort zone.

It was a hopeful message to conclude a discussion that strayed far from the differences in funding sources and concentrated more on the ways to use philanthropy and public resources to advance social change through the arts.

aseaman@thenational.ae

It's up to you to go green

Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.

“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”

When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.

He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.

“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.

One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.  

The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.

Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.

But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”

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