The International Institute for Art, ulture and Democracy (IIACD) was started in May 2008 by an inter-disciplinary group with expertise in design anthropology, new media art, technology and art history. The group shares the common vision and agenda of programmatic advocacy for cultural democracy.
In several developing economies, the top-down policies of market-led regeneration of cultural capital need scrutiny. The rhetoric of social inclusion manifests as token co-option of the marginalized bearers of culture and what is required instead is an agenda that actively promotes democratic participation and communication.
In the context of India we see state, international funding agencies and NGO recipients focus on creative industries as a developmental strategy addressing livelihood concerns of communities. This focus has translated to a number of “designer” interventions as well as “corporatization” of NGO led entrepreneurial programs. The empowerment and entitlements of indigenous craftspeople and their communities, the bearers of the creative cultural assets, have been largely ignored.
Re-narration by kk in Kannada targeting Mysore for this web page
