Where does soft power such as the arts sit within the India-Australia relationship and how is this evolving?
At CAIR, we have a strategic plan that has four key pillars to it. Some of those pillars are more hard drivers of an economic and bilateral relationship – business and trade, policy dialogue.
Our pillars that are around soft power are the ones around diaspora engagement and arts and cultural engagement. Those are really about how we understand each other; when we better understand who we are, the depth of our diversity and our complexity, all those other harder parts of the relationship with regards to economics, trade, thought leadership, policy, defence cooperation, health cooperation, all of those come easier because there’s a level of trust and understanding there already.
Quite often arts and culture is the beginning point in a relationship, and it’s the thing that needs to endure because it’s the thing that actually helps us connect on a level that’s not so transactional. It’s about sharing who we are with each other. Amrit Gill
What’s something people don’t know about arts management roles?
I think a lot of people go into the arts because it seems like it might be an exciting and sexy career option and, in many ways, it is, because you work in the space of ideas – that’s what attracts me. I’m not a maker myself so being able to support artists and creative organisations to realise that has always been a driver for me.
But it is a lot of admin, and it’s a slog. In social and public spaces, [art and artists are] seen a little bit as window dressing…they’re not thought of as essential elements to our lives, but you notice [them] when they’re gone. Because of that, when you’re in a role like mine, it’s a constant positioning of why it’s important, constantly going back to why – what’s the impact? What’s the purpose?
That’s not necessarily the approach everyone will take, but it’s an approach I’ve always taken because I’ve always felt that art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There is obviously that innate need to create that artists have, but for it to have impact in the world it needs to connect with people. So, for me that’s the most interesting part about arts management… But it is tough. It doesn’t pay as well as it should. It’s hard to crack. Amrit Gill
When you curate, what do you look for?
For me, curating or programming is essentially project management. But the ideas side of it is thinking about what sort of story you want to tell or what journey you want to take.
In the programming and curatorial work that I’ve done previously, it usually starts with being interested in a particular story or a particular idea, and then how that might flesh out with artists responding to that. Or if you’re working with just a single artist, it’s about having a specific interest in their work, whether it’s about being drawn to the aesthetic they produce or the kinds of ideas or concepts that they’re exploring through their work.
Sometimes it’s [programmed] because it’s important to tell socially or sometimes it’s because it’s amusing, or whimsical, or has a sense of wonder about it. Or sometimes it’s because it’s just beautiful. There’s lots of different approaches that people take; for me, I’m very interested in how people who interact with the work can find a way through [it] even if it’s not to their taste. You don’t necessarily have to like everything that’s put in front of you, but if you [can] find a way to have a response to it, then that is what I look for.
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What’s something you’re currently listening to/reading/playing/watching?
I just finished a book called ‘The Singularity’, it’s by a Swedish-Kurdish writer Balsam Karam. I read mostly non-Anglo writers because I want to hear what they have to say, and I saw this in my local bookshop; it’s a translated work. It starts with an assumption of something terrible having happened, but you don’t really know what. What you’re doing is you’re reading the story of displaced people in a very privileged context, and it’s quite confronting, but it’s also so beautifully written.
The other thing, and I picked this up when I was in India recently, is I started watching this reality show. It’s called Splitsvilla, on MTV India – it’s absolute trash and completely deficient in any kind of intellectual nutrition, but I’m enjoying it. Amrit Gill
What’s a word that you like in a South Asian language, and what does it mean?
One of my favourite words is ‘shabash’. My grandparents would say it in a very loving way, with a head pat.
And finally: Soan Papdi or Papdi Chaat?
Papdi Chaat. It’s so crunchy and yummy.
