Multiple multiculturalisms: insights from the Edinburgh Mela

Abstract

This paper contributes to debates about the future of multiculturalism in Britain by exploring how it is conceptualized, constructed and experienced in contemporary Scotland. The work is grounded in Hall's (2000) important but commonly overlooked distinction between a 'multicultural society', which designates a condition of cultural diversity, and 'multiculturalism', which refers to processes and policies that attempt to fix the meaning of such diversity. As these definitions suggest, the abandonment of multiculturalism as a 'policy failure' cannot be a solution to problems arising from the complex composition of contemporary societies. The fact that all societies must make decisions about the significance of cultural diversity and its management-they must all practise some form of multiculturalism-is established through a review of how multiculturalism has been conceptualized and pursued to date. The paper then draws on the example of Edinburgh's South Asian Festival-the Mela-to explore the empirical complexities of these different applications in a Scottish context. An analysis of the Mela's changing organization and artistic programme over time reveals the coexistence of multiple conceptions of multiculturalism-in time, space and experience. This progressive reinterpretation of multiculturalism-as multiple-advances the goals of both cultural diversity and societal cohesiveness.

Making space: Investigating the diversity conundrum for British music festivals

“…Our empirical contribution is important because where Laing and Mair (2015) suggest little is known about the aims of festival producers -as cultural professionals -regarding inclusive festival strategies, we have prioritised their representations of festival space due to the powerful discourses they re/produce. Moreover, while Duffy (2005), Jordan (2021), Penrose (2013) and Richardson (2013) focus on non-profit arts, community or multicultural festivals, we have focused on smaller, independent commercial events that have shifted and sharpened their focus on festival diversity reflecting its ubiquity in public discourse, especially in the wake of the pandemic and BLM protests. Maintaining visibility and cultivating an audience within a burgeoning and competitive festival market is an important structuring factor for all commercial music festivals, whether produced independently or by a larger corporation.…”

“…Contemporary music festivals are conceived within a context where diversity discourse has become ubiquitous. However, there is little consensus on what diversity means in light of changing sociocultural identifications, what the policy goals and strategies are or should be and who or what should benefit from a diversity agenda (Penrose, 2013;Vertovec, 2012). But while there is no reliable consensus and a clear agenda around diversity, given that different political ideologies (separatism, assimilation and integration) underpin the variety of meanings it has (Penrose, 2013), Vertovec (2012) suggests that it has become 'an omnipresent emblem of openness and fairness' (p. 302) and has been 'institutionalized, internationalized, and internalized' (p. 309).…”

“…However, there is little consensus on what diversity means in light of changing sociocultural identifications, what the policy goals and strategies are or should be and who or what should benefit from a diversity agenda (Penrose, 2013;Vertovec, 2012). But while there is no reliable consensus and a clear agenda around diversity, given that different political ideologies (separatism, assimilation and integration) underpin the variety of meanings it has (Penrose, 2013), Vertovec (2012) suggests that it has become 'an omnipresent emblem of openness and fairness' (p. 302) and has been 'institutionalized, internationalized, and internalized' (p. 309). One of the major problems with its discursive ubiquity is that while the recognition of a range of diversities such as age, ethnicity, gender, disability and sexuality is important, it can mean a loss of political efficacy around tackling the specific mechanisms of racism for instance.…”

“…Temporality is also important to these racialising spatial processes. In the study of the Edinburgh Mela festival in Scotland, Penrose (2013) notes how different manifestations of multiculturalism emerge over time that are dependent on both racialised minorities and majorities' shifting requirements for separation and integration. Thus, through spatial and temporal dimensions, greater complexity is highlighted in how identities and communities are enacted such that 'different members of diverse ethnic groups overlap and intersect with each other differently in their various roles [.…”