인도·남아시아

This Element is an in-depth study of the Festival of India(1985–1986) in the United States, one of the biggest events evermounted to promote goodwill between two countries. Comprisingmore than seven hundred programmes of music, dance, drama, filmshows, art exhibitions, and workshops sponsored by over two hundredcultural institutions across over a hundred cities, the festival constituteda prismatic event that refracted the complex forces at play on the globalstage during the 1980s. The Element delineates how this multi-sitedspectacle of unprecedented size and near unfathomable political,economic, and cultural influence impacted theatre and performancestudies. Simultaneously, it traces how two complex historical shifts werecommunicated to the global public at the end of the Cold War: India’sdesire to transition from planned Nehruvian socialism to laissezfaire capitalism and the efflorescence of the model of ‘culturaldevelopment’that centred the arts in development.