The Aesthetics of Development: An Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter frames the book and defines the issues to be raised under the rubric of the new concept of the ‘Aesthetics of Development’. It explores the possible relationships between the arts and development and relates the theme of the book to emerging debates in the area of culture and development. In doing so, it introduces a range of ideas including those of art and sustainability, conflict resolution, the delivery of specific development ‘goods’, the emerging idea of the ‘creative economy’ now being promoted by UN agencies, such as UNESCO and the UNDP, and the relationship of art to theories of development, and especially those promoting more inclusive and integral notions of development from those commonly encountered. These questions give rise to even broader ones concerning the role of the arts in society and their potential as means of promoting constructive and transformative social change. In introducing the contents of the book and its wide-ranging essays, this first chapter highlights the ways they address a range of significant questions, including the ‘re-enchantment of the world’, the relationship of art and the environment and the role of the arts in promoting identity, cultural autonomy and cultural integrity. In doing so, it concludes that the exclusion of the arts from development discourse has been a major error and argues that this book re-establishes their role not as a ‘luxury’, but as an essential part of the culture and development discourse.