AICE

Australia Israel Cultural Exchange

British cultural director to head new initiative down under

Jerusalem Post;
Jerusalem; Feb 16, 2003; by Barry Davis
(Copyright 2003 The Jerusalem Post)

Outgoing British Council Director of Culture Keith Lawrence is set to head a new initiative in Australia to promote Israeli arts and culture down under.

After five years in Israel, Lawrence, who is not Jewish, is taking his organizational skills to Melbourne to take charge of a new organization called Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE).

AICE, the brainchild of Australia-based former Israeli Albert Dadon, has been endorsed by the foreign ministries of both countries.

"It's about promoting Israeli art to Australia, and vice versa," Lawrence explains. "It's about presenting the work done in both countries in all its diversity. I get the idea that little is known in either country about the other country's culture. That's what I would like to do in Australia, to explore those diversities."

Laurence's work here puts him in good stead to head up such an initiative and he is proud of what he has achieved here over the past five years. "My biggest achievement has been putting the British Council in a very strong position in terms of its relationships with Israeli promoters, festival organizers, theaters etc.," said Lawrence on his last day at work in the council's sparkling new Ramat Gan premises. "I think I have put the council in a very, very strong position with regard to the relationship between 'them and us'."

Despite his optimism, Lawrence is keenly aware of the effect regional political developments have had on his "apolitical" professional territory. "Sadly, over the past 12 months things have significantly declined, for obvious reasons. While we're very happy that we have continued to hold a lot of [British] activities here, it's nothing like it was 18 months ago. There has been a definite decrease in activity due to the security situation."

However, the downsizing of the council's work here hasn't all been security related. It appears that directives from London have also made serious inroads, although part of the budgetary drop has been due to technological advances.

"There has been a decrease, in general, in budgets for arts programs around the world, and not just the British Council's arts program. It's basically a matter of budgets. But don't forget, the increased use of websites and of computer programs for teaching English, for example, have also generated a shift in [budget] focus."

If Lawrence were pushed to pinpoint a single project he has promoted here as his piece de resistance, it would be the British Film Season inaugurated three years ago.

"The British Film Season is a sizable project. In 2002 we showed films in three cities (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa), had 120 screenings, and three or four high-level visitors. There have been a lot of things I have been very happy with during my time in Israel, but the film season is my baby. I have done a lot of things over the past five years which I think were extraordinary, like the all-male production of Swan Lake, and the writing project we did at the Cameri Theater five years ago, but the film season is the one thing that will carry on after I leave."

Lawrence adds that the British Council is here to represent the full range of British culture, and not just the mainstream populist view.

"In the film season, for instance, we take care to show films from different parts of the U.K., to reflect the cultural spread. Some of the most exciting work in Britain is now coming out of the British Asian community. Some people think London is the U.K., but that obviously isn't the case. We're also constantly trying to reach new audiences."

Despite his purely cultural beat, politics recently threatened to upset Lawrence's work here when the British Musician's Union (BMU) put forward a motion - which was ultimately rejected - to ban appearances by Israeli musicians in the U.K., and by BMU members here.

Lawrence and his colleagues in Ramat Gan were naturally opposed to the idea. "The British Council is an organization that promotes culture overseas, so we have to have a very definite stance on any boycotts or such like, making it clear that we are here purely to promote culture in Israel," Lawrence declares.

Hopefully, his commitment to protecting culture from political pressure will stand him in good stead to represent Israel in Australia.

Back to the Culture page of Jewish Australia dot com

British cultural director to head new initiative down under Jerusalem Post; Jerusalem; Feb 16, 2003; by Barry Davis (Copyright 2003 The Jerusalem Post)
Outgoing British Council Director of Culture Keith Lawrence is set to head a new initiative in Australia to promote Israeli arts and culture down under. After five years in Israel, Lawrence, who is not Jewish, is taking his organizational skills to Melbourne to take charge of a new organization called Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE). AICE, the brainchild of Australia-based former Israeli Albert Dadon, has been endorsed by the foreign ministries of both countries. "It's about promoting Israeli art to Australia, and vice versa," Lawrence explains. "It's about presenting the work done in both countries in all its diversity. I get the idea that little is known in either country about the other country's culture. That's what I would like to do in Australia, to explore those diversities." Laurence's work here puts him in good stead to head up such an initiative and he is proud of what he has achieved here over the past five years. "My biggest achievement has been putting the British Council in a very strong position in terms of its relationships with Israeli promoters, festival organizers, theaters etc.," said Lawrence on his last day at work in the council's sparkling new Ramat Gan premises. "I think I have put the council in a very, very strong position with regard to the relationship between 'them and us'." Despite his optimism, Lawrence is keenly aware of the effect regional political developments have had on his "apolitical" professional territory. "Sadly, over the past 12 months things have significantly declined, for obvious reasons. While we're very happy that we have continued to hold a lot of [British] activities here, it's nothing like it was 18 months ago. There has been a definite decrease in activity due to the security situation." However, the downsizing of the council's work here hasn't all been security related. It appears that directives from London have also made serious inroads, although part of the budgetary drop has been due to technological advances. "There has been a decrease, in general, in budgets for arts programs around the world, and not just the British Council's arts program. It's basically a matter of budgets. But don't forget, the increased use of websites and of computer programs for teaching English, for example, have also generated a shift in [budget] focus." If Lawrence were pushed to pinpoint a single project he has promoted here as his piece de resistance, it would be the British Film Season inaugurated three years ago. "The British Film Season is a sizable project. In 2002 we showed films in three cities (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa), had 120 screenings, and three or four high-level visitors. There have been a lot of things I have been very happy with during my time in Israel, but the film season is my baby. I have done a lot of things over the past five years which I think were extraordinary, like the all-male production of Swan Lake, and the writing project we did at the Cameri Theater five years ago, but the film season is the one thing that will carry on after I leave." Lawrence adds that the British Council is here to represent the full range of British culture, and not just the mainstream populist view. "In the film season, for instance, we take care to show films from different parts of the U.K., to reflect the cultural spread. Some of the most exciting work in Britain is now coming out of the British Asian community. Some people think London is the U.K., but that obviously isn't the case. We're also constantly trying to reach new audiences." Despite his purely cultural beat, politics recently threatened to upset Lawrence's work here when the British Musician's Union (BMU) put forward a motion - which was ultimately rejected - to ban appearances by Israeli musicians in the U.K., and by BMU members here. Lawrence and his colleagues in Ramat Gan were naturally opposed to the idea. "The British Council is an organization that promotes culture overseas, so we have to have a very definite stance on any boycotts or such like, making it clear that we are here purely to promote culture in Israel," Lawrence declares. Hopefully, his commitment to protecting culture from political pressure will stand him in good stead to represent Israel in Australia.

Back to the Culture page of Jewish Australia dot com