As Scotland’s contribution to the EU’s Month of Culture this May, the Scottish Affairs Office in Washington, DC organized a half-day conference on Cultural Diplomacy at NYU Washington, DC. The event, held on May 25, explored how different countries can learn from each other and work together to enhance their presence in a cluttered diplomatic landscape.
NYU Washington, DC in hosted Alicia Adams, the Vice President of International Programming at The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and other experts, who will assess the role of cultural diplomacy in achieving foreign policy and national security aims. The key note from Alicia Adams was followed by a series of case studies from the EU and other countries in an effort to broaden the conversation and provide a more global perspective.
Alicia B. Adams, Vice President of International Programming joined the Kennedy Center in 1992, first serving as Special Assistant to the Chairman, James Wolfensohn, Ms. Adams worked with him to articulate, coordinate and oversee implementation of the Center’s programs and policies. For the past decade, Adams’ role at the Center has been producing and presenting in the international arena. She most recently planned and produced the Center’s month-long Festival of China, the largest celebration Chinese arts and culture in American history.
She also planned and developed the center’s four-year initiative on Africa, African Odyssey (1997-2000) and the Latin American festival AmericArtes (2001-2004). Currently, she is working on JAPAN! culture + hyperculture, which will be held in February 2008, as well as a festival celebrating the arts and culture of the Arab world for 2009.
In addition to major international festivals, Adams also curates the Center’s Contemporary Dance Series and the Etcetera Series. In spring 2004, she curated the Masters of African American Choreography, a week-long series involving 15 of the nation’s top African American dancers and companies.
She has worked in the field of arts management in New York City for institutions including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Belafonte Enterprises, Inc., City Center Theater, Harlem School of the Arts and International Production Associates.