Where culture connects, understanding grows and diplomacy finds ground

Arab News

28-05-2025

https://arab.news/5f65p
Ships at sea, planes in the sky, data streams everywhere — today's world runs on exchange and motion. And while diplomacy has long been at the heart of such connections, it has a quiet, steadfast ally in culture. In creativity. In music and the arts. The power of this ally cannot be underestimated.
Where diplomacy proceeds with structure and codification, art and music move freely. Diplomatic talks are about agendas, treaties and converging or conflicting interests, while conversations between cultures allow us to share intent, perspective and emotion, entering where borders stand tall and speaking to hearts without the need for visas. In a world often defined by division, culture is a bridge, international cultural institutions are its architects and collaboration is its strongest foundation.
Some might view international cultural partnerships as symbolic gestures; acts of soft power staged in gallery halls, designed to entertain and amuse. But to frame them only as such is to miss their deeper truth, their deeper strength. These partnerships, often born quietly between curators, directors and foundations, complement structured diplomacy in ways that politics may not always achieve alone. They carry nuance and spirit, offering more than representation. They offer heart. Through their patient work, diplomats enable connection. But stories, music and art activate it: as we laugh, cry or are uplifted by each other's art, not only can we meet, but we also want to meet.
As one of the region's cultural pioneers, the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation has consistently led efforts to forge meaningful global partnerships. There is an art to shaping such collaborations. In order for artists and audiences to find growth in those partnerships, we not only seek out organizations that share our dedication to excellence but that are different enough from us too. This is so that our encounter and shared efforts produce new spaces and uncharted waters where artists, their art and audiences will find new conversations and new horizons.
In a world often defined by division, culture is a bridge
Huda Al Khamis-Kanoo
This is exactly what the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation is executing with the Seoul Museum of Art through a three-year partnership, which began in 2024, to bring together the UAE and South Korea through their artists and institutions. They create more than co-curated exhibitions. They create shared spaces where cultural narratives overlap and blend yet also challenge and enrich one another. They act as platforms of mutual respect that transcend policy and protocol, in which culture is not a decorative aside, nor is it a space that allows vague and anecdotal connection. Quite the opposite.
Art's role in building dialogue and trust is very practical and effective, because it brings alive the stories and feelings of other cultures. And because we think in stories as people, art — and the stories and emotions it conveys — brings our understanding of others to a deeper level and activates empathy. This is a very potent way to connect humans both as individuals and as part of a collective.
This historic partnership will bring contemporary Korean art to Abu Dhabi this summer and, later in the year, carry the voices of three generations of Emirati artists to Seoul in a conversation across two cultures. Opportunities to explore art from each other's countries, indeed, but our partnership represents far more than this. Each meticulously co-curated exhibition draws from each country's institutional collections to explore the distinct histories and cultural paradigms of their respective regions.
In presenting shared experiences alongside distinct perspectives, the exhibitions enable artistic dialogue and mutual understanding, as we have seen, but also cross-institutional, cross-cultural knowledge exchange. The very making of these exhibitions, the co-curation, the mutual exploration of each other's craft and artistic references, even the logistics involved in making them happen are extremely potent enablers. At each international institutional collaboration we have, the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation comes out richer with new perspectives and new approaches to its support to artists.
In other words, the point of international cultural partnerships is not just the end result. It is the process. Every international collaboration we have informs, challenges, reboots and refines our way of looking at art, culture and the artists and audiences that are at the center of what we do.
And then, of course, we have the wider constellation of artistic diplomacy in which such collaborations operate as a living ecosystem. There, ideas, stories and histories travel across time zones to meet in resonance, allowing culture to show its strength. This collaboration is a chorus of heritage, of questions and provocations and, in many ways, an engine of quiet support for transnational connection and diplomatic relations.
The outcomes of such exhibitions illuminate the interplay between local and global identities, while addressing the challenges of representing the complexities and fluid realities of a globalized world. Themes that echo across continents and generations. And yet, each piece bears the unmistakable mark of its origin: a desert wind, a coastal hum, the language of a city's streets.
Through their patient work, diplomats enable connection. But stories, music and art activate it
Huda Al Khamis-Kanoo
This is the beauty of international institutional collaborations. They are not homogenizing forces, but harmonizing. They allow art to remain loyal to its roots while branching across cultures, finding new relevance and resonance. They ask the world to look again, and to listen differently. And it is this force, vibrating gently under diplomatic efforts, that creates the transformational impact.
I believe our beloved capital, Abu Dhabi, plays a key role, not just in cultural consumption but in leadership and connection. And in our creation of international institutional partnerships, we build platforms where our artists and musicians can share their talent on the world stage, while welcoming others to do the same here.
These partnerships, these personifications of cultural diplomacy, are long-term investments in understanding — in the shared future of creativity and connection. They are the melody beneath the vocals provided by traditional diplomacy, supporting voices as they soar. Such collaborations strengthen not only our international ties, but also our cultural economy. They attract new audiences, spark new industries and nurture the next generation of creators. More importantly, they demonstrate that the Middle East can be both a custodian of tradition and a catalyst for global artistic innovation.
At a time when the world seems to be in constant negotiation, perhaps it is worth remembering that creativity, too, builds coalitions. International institutional collaborations offer something that formal conduits cannot always achieve on their own: emotional resonance, cultural humility and an enduring sense of shared humanity.
Through art and music, we deepen diplomatic ties, not by strategy alone but by storytelling. We bring cities closer not just through policy but through poetry. We are proud to play a role in this evolving tapestry, helping to position the UAE as a shining example of how a country can lead not just economically or politically but also culturally. A country where creativity is a standard borne proudly and where the future of diplomacy includes the voices of its artists and musicians. In every brushstroke, every word, every note and every shared exhibition, we are quietly but powerfully creating the blueprints of a more connected world.
• Huda Al Khamis-Kanoo is the Founder of Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation and Abu Dhabi Festival.