Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 167

Art and the Global
J. P. Singh
J.P. Singh is Chair and Professor of Culture and Political Economy, and Director of the Institute for
International Cultural Relations at the University of Edinburgh. Singh has published widely. His
latest book is: Sweet Talk: Paternalism and Collective Action in North-South Trade Negotiations
(Stanford, 2017). His book Globalized Arts: The Entertainment Economy and Cultural Identity
(Columbia, 2011) won the American Political Science Association’s award for best book in
information technology and politics in 2012. His current book project is Development 2.0: How
Technologies Can Foster Inclusivity in the Developing World (Oxford, forthcoming). He has advised
international organizations such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.
He has also played a leadership role in several professional organizations. He is founding Editor of
the journal Arts and International Affairs. Previously he was Editor of Review of Policy Research,
the journal specializing in the politics and policy of science and technology.
Does art speak a universal language? The longing for a secular universality—
an ethical idea or a covenant shared across the world—has informed many of
humanity’s aspirations since the modern era. The Declaration of the Rights
of Man from France in ���� and the rise of global histories since the early
nineteenth century attest to these modern European ideals.
In the present, art continues to inform our humanity, the normative
condition of being ourselves. � Art has fostered intercultural exchanges and
dialogues across divided communities; literally, monumental art has brought
the world together in instances such as the World Heritage Program; and
art has evoked awe from our contemporaries as they beheld before them
prehistoric cave drawings. Every part of the world can feature a song, a story,
or a picture on the wall. In the interactive spaces of the Internet, signals
from hundreds of satellites, and images from millions of television screens,
the same songs and stories can be heard or seen the world over. Art, one
might say, has always spoken a universal language.
Universality, though, is bigger than common experiences: it unites us
as human beings toward a common endeavor or an aspiration. The ����
Universal Declaration of Human Rights—and the parallel evolving notions
of global citizenship—come to mind. The ubiquity of art in the world
�
Art here refers to fine and performing arts, creative industries such as film and music, and
cultural tourism that includes heritage industries.
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