Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 2

Cultural Studies & Sociology

Session Chair: Yunjoo Sung

11:25-11:50

68351 | The Legitimatization of a New Form of Traditional Arts: A Study of Nouvelle Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong Since 2007

Jackie Yuen, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Victor Shin, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Cantonese opera, an important stream of Chinese opera originated in Guangdong, is a prominent traditional art in China since the 1920s. In 2009 Cantonese opera has been inscribed onto the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This frame of a world-class cultural heritage defined Cantonese opera as a traditional art form. Meanwhile, there has also been a rise of nouvelle Cantonese opera since the 2000s, a stream of Cantonese opera performance that incorporated western and modern elements from other art forms into traditional Cantonese opera in terms of the content and the production model. The number of nouvelle Cantonese opera productions in Hong Kong has increased since the late 2000s and more and more nouvelle Cantonese operas were shown overseas. The rise of nouvelle Cantonese opera in Hong Kong since the late 2000s presents an interesting case to examine the process of artistic legitimization of an alternative form of traditional art. This paper analyzed how macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors affected the opportunity space of pro-nouvelle practitioners in gaining legitimacy in the sector. From archives and in-depth interviews with Cantonese opera practitioners, this study shows that (i) macro factor – the change of Hong Kong’s socio-political environment since its retrocession to Mainland China in 1997; (ii) meso factor – the institutionalization of training and funding systems; and (iii) micro factor – the establishment of personal troupes for resource mobilization –gave rise to nouvelle Cantonese opera in Hong Kong despite the challenges of its traditional counterpart.

11:50-12:15

69741

| Arts-Based Way of Being and Knowing: Music Therapy with Young People from Multicultural Backgrounds in South Korea

Joon Oh, Queen Margaret University, United Kingdom

The purpose of this research project is to gain an in-depth understanding of the musical experience of young people from multicultural backgrounds and to explore any effects of music therapy on their well-being. It ultimately focuses on giving voices to young people from multicultural backgrounds and sharing experiences through music. A mixed methodology has been employed. Five young people aged 12 to 16 years from multicultural families living in South Korea engaged in 'Mu-Being', a 15-weeks music therapy programme at Migrant Welfare Center. The approaches and contents of the session highlighted collaboration with young people in all processes of planning, doing, sharing, and reflecting. With narratives, musical and creative works were used to gain a holistic and integrated understanding of the experiences. At the same time, quantitative measures based on a multidimensional framework were used to investigate how music might affect the well-being of young people. The whole process of synthesis and interpretation included arts-informed methods. The findings and discussions of this study reveal the dynamic process through which young people experience and share music within a multicultural context, and how musical work authentically captures their lived experiences. It also demonstrates how music contributes to individual well-being and the creation of a 'healthful culture' in a community as a shared experience. This leads us to a fundamental reflection on the notion of 'Multicultural'. Furthermore, it provides an insight into how arts-informed ways like music contribute to the exploration of 'yet to be known' cultural areas.

12:15-12:40

70871 | The Landscape of Korean Cultural Governance

Yunjoo Sung, Korea National Open University, South Korea

Cultural governance has been a dominating terminology in the Korean cultural scene since the 2010s. The democratic approach to making a policy decision was regarded as the core asset which cultural governance has nurtured. Several public institutions, cultural spaces, festivals, and government councils have adopted the form of cultural governance in the last several years. Despite abundant case studies on cultural governance, there remains such a shallow academic discussion on this issue. This study asks how Korean cultural governance has emerged, developed, and transformed, by analyzing disparate and representative types of cultural governance - Arts Council of Korea, Seoul Artists Platform, Seogyo, and Seongbuk Artists Round table. This study is aimed to focus on the concept of 'participation'. Though cultural governance might be seen as the organizational form, this study argues that it was a symbolic medium of participation, in particular, the participation of artists and arts intermediaries. This study will answer the reason why cultural governance has dominated the entire art scene by mapping the different levels of participation.