Features of Cultural Nationalism in Museum and Gallery Activities of Decolonised Countries of Asia

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to define a system of approaches to the formation of the national and cultural identity of post-colonial Asian countries through the prism of their museum and gallery activities of various forms of ownership. Research methods. The research is based on the theory of postcolonialism, stylistic, iconographic, biographical and comparative-historical methods are applied. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time, against the background of three Asian countries (Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines), the development of a post-colonial cultural policy strategy and the functioning of museums, galleries, and other types of artistic organisations were examined. Conclusions. As a result of the comparative analysis, it was found that all the above-mentioned states have a common problem of the primary multiculturalism of societies, which, together with the experience of colonial dependence, led to the hybridisation of culture. Their museums and galleries are in close interaction with the state and are interdisciplinary centres of knowledge. The art of the indigenous population is a priority in terms of study and exposure, but the art of the ex-colonizers has not completely disappeared from the exhibition halls. Each of the countries builds its own special type of cultural relations with the former occupier. The research is useful practical training for art historians, especially museum workers, cultural managers, as well as for civil servants in the field of culture, historians, political scientists.

Keywords: postcolonialism, identity, Asia, cultural nationalism, indigenous art, museum, gallery.