The New Face of Arts Leadership in the West - westaf - The Western ...

So, whenever we look at festivals, my answer is
that, I think, absolutely, people could go to more
than one festival. Why not? And we should be
going to more than one festival. Brenda, what is
your background, if you don’t mind me asking?
Brenda Allen: In what way?
Shane Moreman: When Annette Evans Smith
talked about quantifying her background,
how would you quantify your background?
Brenda Allen: Black.
Shane Moreman: Black. Do you have
anything other than African?
Brenda Allen: I have heard that there
is some Native American but no sense
of what that is. Why do you ask?
Shane Moreman: The reason I am asking is
because when I started my research in Florida,
one of the things I found very intriguing was the
Black population surrounding me. I would tell
them, “I am half Mexican and half White,” and
they would say, “Really, I have a grandfather
who is White.” And I had looked at them as all
Black. Or “I have a grandmother who is Native
American.” Even within that Black identity,
there is an acceptance of a mixture, but our
society has focused on singular identity, and
individuals continue to make claims that they
are just one thing. When we hang onto being
just one thing, we deny all the other qualities
we have about us, and we deny a history.
Even if we don’t know for certain what it is, we
deny a history that could provide possibilities.
When I observe performances of culture, I see
them as being oversimplified and that is what
they are going to be and they are just a start
for that identity: Just a start for understanding
Japanese culture, just a start for understanding
Palestinian culture and the people within that
audience. That is where the true complexity lies.
I want to end with Maori culture. What is
interesting about Maori culture is that cultural
identity has actually become a tourist attraction.
It has become performance for people
to come to New Zealand and see Maori being
performed. And you will see Maori who look
nothing like the Maori who are performing for
the tourists who have come. But, there is still
something about that performance that speaks
to who they are, and it speaks to the individuals
who are watching that performance, which is
hugely important. So can we have a multiethnic
performance stage? Maybe. I am not sure
that this is really what we are looking for right
now. But what is important also, as I have said
before, is I am not just interested in looking at the
leaders, I am interested in looking at who is led.
I am not just looking at the center of attention.
I am interested in looking at the audience as
well and looking within that audience at who
has actually shown up for that performance.
That says a lot about that cultural event as well.
Tatiana Reinoza: I can react to what both
of what you were saying because I feel as if I
am a displaced identity in the sense that I was
born in El Salvador. I came to this country when
I was six years old and I learned English and I
called myself a Salvadoran-American, but I am
a homeless person. I feel that I don’t belong
in either part. I have actually become incredibly
comfortable with that condition—of that
displacement—because it has allowed me to
be critical of both cultures. So that was my comment
on displacement. Also, in Sacramento, we
have a festival called the Cultural Encounters
Festival, and it allows us to bring in performers
from many different cultural groups. It is a oneday,
three-stage festival, and we have spoken
word, music, poetry, and theatre. That might be
a way for you to address some of the interracial
challenges you were talking about in Seattle.
Mayumi Tsutakawa: I am familiar with Festál,
and one of the things I wanted to bring
up is that not only do they have separate
festivals, but the representatives of each
festival meet together every month. They are
a highly cooperative, crossracial group of
people. You have the Italian people talking
with the Hmong and Cambodians, etc. Every
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