ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Since the establishment of the Ministry of Culture (and Communication) in 1959, the French government has put emphasis on democratization of culture so the latter would be accessible and enjoyed by as many people as possible. The decentralization policy under President Francois Mittérrand, in effect since 1982, has led to the introduction of a variety of cultural policies that differ distinctly from the conventional centralized approach of the French government up until then. Under the Mittérrand government was installed a Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles (DRAC) across the nation, which is now considered to be a representative institution for executing the decentralized cultural policies. The Fonds Régionaux d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) were also established during the same period. The paper examines the ways in which the decentralized cultural policies of France are put into action in overseas départments-régions. France currently has five overseas départments-régions: Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies; Guiana in South America; and Réunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. These overseas départments-régions operate a Direction des Affaires Culturelles (DAC), which is an overseas equivalent of DRAC. There exists also the special Fonds d’Echanges artistiques et Culturels pour l’Outre-mer (FEAC). It is true that the cultural development in the overseas départments-régions seems to stagnate, at least in part due to limitations and burden of consistent financial input. The importance of promoting arts and culture in overseas territories, however, remains two-fold. Firstly, It shows that French culture is inevitably one of diversity, collaboration and even confrontation of different elements. Secondly, it can strategically reflect the core idea of the French Ministry of Culture that lays emphasis on cultural diversity. Under such circumstances should the policies of culture and arts promotion in French overseas départments-régions continue to be closely monitored and reviewed.

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