Art and cultural diplomacy in the international exhibition: documenta 1 and Prospect.1

Unrestricted Art in cultural diplomacy is a significant and powerful resource utilized not only for the purpose of furthering relations between disparate societies, but also for social regeneration in the public sphere. This thesis purports that art and the international exhibition can be an inherent tool of cultural diplomacy, particularly to nations and cities in times of devastation. Cultural diplomacy in art amid postwar and post-trauma contexts will be evaluated through two specific exhibitions, documenta 1 and Prospect.1, focusing upon the historicity of their physical sites as well as selected curatorial and artistic decisions within each environment. The development of documenta 1 will serve as a platform for investigating the nature of Prospect.1 in its own unique place in history. Finally, the serious role of art as a diplomatic and cultural resource in the substance of the international exhibition will be contextualized into the proliferating problematics of globalizing socio-economics and transnationalism.