Matara's Festival for the Arts out to prove arts can rebuild a city

AROUND the world, leading economies and cultural capitals are either longstanding powerhouses of arts and culture or are actively investing to become so.

- BY CHANCHALA SAMARAWEERA GUNEWARDENA

Whether in cities such as Paris, New Orleans, Dhaka, Kyoto, Mexico City, Bukhara, and London — or in countries like South Korea, India, Bhutan, South Africa, Egypt, and Peru — the pattern is clear: the arts are being recognised as an industry strategy, a tool of foreign policy, and a national development priority. The numbers speak for themselves. This summer, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny made headlines with a 30-day residency that attracted celebrity attendees including LeBron James, Penélope Cruz, and Kylian Mbappé - and injected nearly USD 200 million in tourism revenue, doubling summer arrivals to 600,000. Meanwhile, as noted by UN Trade and Development, the global juggernauts of K-Pop, K-Beauty and K-Dramas 'boast a 4% to 5% annual growth rate, employ over 600,000 people, and generate $12.4 billion in export revenue in 2021. In comparison, the Republic of Korea's consumer electronic equipment exports generated $4.7 billion.'

University College London (UCL) Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value Mariana Mazzucato, released a discussion paper on The Public Value of Arts and Culture. She notes that when governments embed art, green spaces, sports, cultural programmes, and social services into public infrastructure, they not only improve quality of life but also signal that "all people, especially the most marginalised, deserve dignity, beauty, and joy."

The World Bank echoed this in its 2020 publication The Hidden Wealth of Cities, observing that people who live near high-quality public spaces are more trusting, less isolated, and have greater faith in government. And in this age of AI, do we even need to underline how vital human creativity, originality, and connection have become?