Valuing cultural diversity? A plea for a receptive cultural policy

Abstract

The promotion of immigration-generated diversity has been on the agenda of the cultural policy in Germany for an extended period. Integration-oriented objectives primarily determine the policy discourse on cultural diversity, often supported through intercultural funding programmes. Parallel to this, the long-standing debate on improving access conditions to publicly funded cultural institutions for immigrants compels cultural policy to introduce measures to accommodate cultural diversity in the cultural sphere. In this article, I explore the interplay between the values, reflexes and habits of cultural policymaking on the lack of immigration-related diversity in the cultural landscape. Through dispositive strategy as a methodical tool of discourse analysis, I first examine the conduct, motives and concepts of cultural policy shaping the discourse on immigration-generated diversity. Then, I introduce a constructive policy approach for reducing access imbalances to the cultural scene, and, lastly, I propose an equality-based cultural policy framework.