Culture, Diplomacy, and Cultural Diplomacy

Definition of Culture 

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, it is defined in several ways, and I have chosen these two that were the most relevant to this article:  

1. the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group

2. the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations 

These definitions make sense to me, as I understand culture as a way of life of a group of people with meaningful rituals and identifiable mannerisms. It is something that I enjoy immersing myself in when I experience art from an ethnic minority or just about anyone who shares about the food made from a family recipe. Culture differs from one community to another, and sometimes it clashes when an exchange of cultures occurs. It may be inevitable and it can be difficult to find a common ground, but it is not impossible. 

Takeaways from Shahmen Suku’s Residency at NTU CCA 

One example is the artist-in-residence at Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Arts (NTU CCA), Shahmen Suku’s work that we visited during one of the ASEF LinkUp networking sessions. Shahmen was born in Singapore and had moved to Australia, where he worked as a performance artist. His work in residence explores the maternal side of his family’s failures, deaths, and the ceremonies in his family histories. 

The smell of the incense from Hindu rituals that wafted up our nostrils indicated that we had entered into a realm of another’s culture. Videos of him making family recipes as Radha, his alter ego in drag, was a jarring contrast of the traditional and modern cultures, embraced by a contemporary. 

3. Shahmen Suku and his alter ego, Radha La Bia © Aaron Walker 

Despite his modern approaches in exploring the Tamil traditions previously, a need for traditional cultural validation might be what fuels his work. The need to know “who I am” and “where I came from” are existential questions that perhaps when we get to the root of our family trees, we can find a hint to. I may be as bold to propose, that culture is the glue that kept the large family tree together, in the midst of the uncertainties and obstacles of life. As he unravels the different stories and findings from his lineage, may it bring him closer to home like never before. 

Understanding Diplomacy 

Another concept that I am rather unacquainted with but have subconscious interest in – diplomacy. I had always been intrigued by politics and histories of the different nations, kingdoms and empires that have ceased to exist and the reasons behind it through documentaries and books. The analysis of different types of political ideologies fuels my research into how politics influence art and art activism in different nations.  

Diplomacy has always been in the background of my interest, whether it be through the arranged marriages of old kingdom royalty, or the military alliances that join hands when an empire is under attack. These influenced my ancient ideas of diplomacy. For the 21st century notions of what diplomacy entails, political and economic factors through organisations like European Union (EU) and ASEAN guide my vague understanding of what diplomacy is – it is about having a representative such as a foreign minister or ambassador to talk things out with the other part(ies) before fighting it out.  

Definition of Diplomacy 

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines diplomacy as:  

1. the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations 
2. skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility  

Thankfully, I was not too far off from the definitions from my descriptions at the start of the article. However, when it comes to cultural diplomacy, things take a dip into the unknown.

Culture + Diplomacy 

When I put the terms ‘culture’ and ‘diplomacy’ together, it suddenly combusts into a largely unfamiliar territory because I did not hear about it often until I was in an arts college. In the priority list of a typical ambassador, culture may be considered only when big ticket items like foreign policies, trade and the assignments that are entrusted to them are accomplished. Perhaps, that is why we rarely hear emphasis on cultural items by embassies unless they have the capacity to do so.  

However, when we think about soft power, some things that come to mind are: Hallyu Wave, Hollywood, British Council, the Japan Foundation, etc. These things tend to directly influence the people of another country without the help of the embassy and take the form of the arts, language, and funding for cultural projects for the locals. Taking Hallyu for example, it is something that is in the medium of Korean, but with the help of translation tools and the sentiment of how music transcends language, it has become a formidable force around the world, reaching an unprecedented amount of audience.  

Singapore’s take on Cultural Diplomacy - Orchid Diplomacy 

When I think of cultural diplomacy, I often wonder how Singapore does it. One example of Singapore’s take on cultural diplomacy that I heard about recently on the CNA Correspondent podcast is Orchid Diplomacy. Apparently, there are many orchids that are native to Singapore at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. 

There is also a lab for hybrid breeding to cultivate a new species of orchids, and the whole process takes up to two to three years. When the new hybrid orchids are in season, they would be curated for the VIP official that is visiting Singapore based on their dossier, to be selected and named. One example was the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s orchid – Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher – named in 1985. 

4. Hybrid Orchid, Dendobrium Margaret Thatcher © Emrys Chew 

It was a fascinating discovery because I was quite unsure how much of Singapore’s cultural assets could be shared without being confused with Malaysia, especially when it comes to food. I remember having a hard time explaining to my friends from Spain, Ecuador, and China in a Malaysian restaurant in Hong Kong, that I eat these exact dishes in Singapore too, albeit of a different variation. And I went on to explain that Singapore and Malaysia had a shared history at some point, until 1965 when Singapore gained independence. Although they might have not understood what I meant that we shared the same food because of our history, we had an enjoyable meal, nonetheless. 

5. Esther's lunch set at the Malaysian Cuisine Restaurant in Hong Kong: Bak Kut Teh (pork bone herbal tea) with rice, dark soya sauce with Chilli Padi and garlic with Kopi C Ice (iced coffee with evaporated milk) © Esther Yeon

Personal Thoughts on Singapore’s Cultural Assets 

To me, cultural assets in Singapore related to cultural diplomacy has always been something related to the Merlion or the landscape of the Marina Bay area. It is also almost always followed by the display of the four races in Singapore - Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian symbols, like a typical National Day Parade, except that it is mostly in terms of food. A traditionally and culturally rich and modern nation state. This is what comes to mind when I think about when I think about Singapore’s cultural assets.  

Aside from the traditional symbols of traditional culture, accentuating the Singaporean identity in popular culture is also what makes Singapore attractive. Some examples include our local artists Annette Lee and Benjamin Kheng’s song, “Zhe Ge Na Ge (这个那个)” who puts melodies to the way we order economic mixed rice. The song might not make sense in proper English, but it is very coherent in colloquial Singaporean English, or as we know it, Singlish. Through songs, visual art, theatre and even dance, the Singaporean identity and culture are shared in a sophisticated manner, that sometimes can feel cringeworthy to a local, but it is in these mediums that we tell the world about our everyday lives that makes us Singaporeans.

I am sure that there are other cultural assets that Singapore would be proud to show, like how when we commemorated our bicentennial year in 2020, with an immersive experience with a storyline “From Singapore to Singaporean”.  

On Day 3 of ASEF LinkUp, the participants took part in an Experiential Theatre Workshop by Kok Heng Leun from Drama Box. One of the segments required participants to voluntarily take on a role that was not their area of expertise, represented by the lanyards offered. They were tasked to hold a pose in anywhere in the room with or without props, based on what they think of the title they hold are at in the present. Some identities on the lanyard include – the EU, Technology, Women, Migrants, Youths, Heritage and Government. They are only allowed to take the lanyards that are not related to their fields, for a less predictable response to the commands.