英国两大顶尖艺术节正仰赖外国政府和文化机构的支持，以抵御本国财政紧缩的影响。
不管是即将庆祝65周年华诞的爱丁堡国际艺术节，还是比较年轻的曼彻斯特国际艺术节，所募集的外国赞助均超过了往年。外国赞助者的目的是希望借艺术节推广本国文化，或共同分担新艺术作品的成本。
今年的爱丁堡国际艺术节将于8月开幕。作为本届艺术节上的亮点之一，中国国家芭蕾舞团(National Ballet of China)将携旗下交响乐团来访，演出三晚《牡丹亭》(The Peony Pavilion)。
将有160位中国艺术家参与这一演出。另有45位中国艺术家将参演上海京剧院的《公子子丹的复仇》(The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan)，即中国版的《哈姆雷特》。两项演出均得到中国文化部的赞助支持——如果不是得到这些赞助，这两部戏剧不可能在爱丁堡上演。
爱丁堡国际艺术节赞助与发展总监克里斯托弗•温(Christopher Wynn)表示，各国越来越多地利用文化外交“塑造自己的正面形象”。
他表示：“他们希望在一个国际平台上展现本国文化的精华。” 大部分赞助采取“机票加运费”的形式，而非直接出资。
但温估计，自从5年前乔纳森•米尔斯(Jonathan Mills)就任艺术总监以来，爱丁堡国际艺术节从外国政府和机构得到的赞助增长了7倍。外国的赞助有助于抵消本国公共部门开支下降（按实值计算）的影响。今年爱丁堡市议会(The City of Edinburgh Council)拨给爱丁堡国际艺术节的经费比去年减少了2%，而创意苏格兰(Creative Scotland)拨给该节的经费与去年持平。
米尔斯表示，考虑到其它方面公共开支的削减规模，这两个机构对艺术节的支持已经“非同小可”。但他也表示，为了举办宏伟的演出，寻找新资金来源是必要之举。
今年爱丁堡国际艺术节的主题是亚洲。米尔斯表示，在文化方面，西方现在不应再把亚洲看作一个“新奇古怪”的大陆。
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001038135
Britain’s two leading arts festivals are weathering the effects of the financial squeeze by turning to overseas governments and cultural bodies for support.
Both the Edinburgh International Festival, celebrating its 65th year, and its newer Manchester counterpart have raised more than ever before from foreign sources keen to promote their own countries’ culture, or to share the cost of new work.
One of the highlights of this year’s events at Edinburgh, which starts in August, will be the visit of the National Ballet of China, with its own symphony orchestra, presenting The Peony Pavilion for three nights.
The show involves the visit of 160 artists from China; 45 more will take part in the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe’s interpretation of Hamlet, The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan. Both shows are being subsidised by China’s ministry of culture, without whose support they would have been impossible to stage.
Christopher Wynn, director of sponsorship and development for the festival, said countries were increasingly using cultural diplomacy “to cast themselves in a positive light.
“They want to show the best of their culture in an international forum,” he said. Most of the support came in the form of “flights and freight” rather than money.
But he estimated that the festival had increased sponsorship from foreign governments and agencies sevenfold since the arrival of Jonathan Mills as director five years ago. The support has helped offset public sector cuts in real terms – the City of Edinburgh Council’s grant was down 2 per cent for this year’s festival, while Creative Scotland has provided standstill funding.
Mr Mills said the support of both bodies was “remarkable” considering the scale of public spending cuts elsewhere but added that it was necessary to seek new financial sources to put on ambitious programmes.
The theme of this year’s festival is Asia. Mr Mills said it was time for the west to stop regarding the continent as a “quaint curiosity” in cultural terms.
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