Artes Mundi: Arts of the World; the human condition; art from all humanity. This is what's talked about in this exhibition. Strikingly though, it's the meeting of cultures brought about by this global coming together of artists that's having a big impact on visitors to the show.
One of the most interesting things I've found as a Live Guide has been hearing the reactions of foreign visitors to the Artes Mundi exhibition. Particularly fascinating to me has been the response of UK immigrants who have come from the same countries as this year's Artes Mundi artists. Many have come to the show with no prior knowledge of what they will see and so are surprised to discover artists from their homelands showing here in Wales.
Last week I gave a tour to a group of multicultural students learning English. One of them was a young girl from Russia who became visibly emotional when she encountered Olga Chernysheva's Cactus Seller lightboxes. She was homesick, missing Moscow, and talked about visiting the Natural History Museum shown in the lightboxes as a child.
Today I gave a tour to two students, one from Colombia and the other from Mongolia, who were on a day trip to Cardiff. The artwork in Artes Mundi held particular resonance for them both. The Peruvian Fernando Bryce's Die Welt struck a chord with the Colombian because it was the first time she'd seen South American artwork recognised in the UK. From Kyrgyzstan, Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev's film A New Silk Road was meaningful to the Mongolian because the practice of selling scrap metal to China was something regularly done in her country to fuel its economy.
Both students were particularly touched by Chen Chieh-jen's film Empire's Borders. This film speaks about the difficulty Taiwanese people have when applying for a visa to travel to the USA. The girls had had similar experiences themselves when trying to get visas to study in the UK. They talked about the frustration felt by people from poorer nations who find it almost impossible to obtain visas to travel to wealthier countries such as the USA and UK, and their anger that dishonest illegal immigrants had given all immigrants a bad name.
Artes Mundi has provided a wealth of rich experiences for so many people.The girls responded positively to the show and left with smiles on their faces: recognition of their homelands and issues close to their hearts made them feel welcome here in Wales and keen to return in the future.
As the exhibition draws to a close it's legacies such as these that we must try to remember. Artes Mundi 4 has achieved true globalisation through the joining of cultures which has enabled visitors from all over the world to feel at home here in Wales. In turn I hope there will be a global response, with countries from all over the world opening their arms and extending invitations to Wales. The human being is a curious animal, always searching for new things. I think Artes Mundi is so important for it feeds our curiosity. It shows us that globalisation should not be about trying to make us all the same: the differences between people are vital and make the world into the exciting place that it is. Globalisation should be about celebrating differences and through this drawing all people together. Artes Mundi has opened our minds so we can recognise we all belong to one people, one humanity.
Comments