Zen Chanting and Jazz at a Public Arts Festival

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 165-209
Author(s):  
Michaela Mross

Abstract This article explores ritual change and innovation based on my participation as a saxophone player in two rituals featuring traditional Buddhist chant and jazz, which were performed at the Sōtō Zen temple Tōkōji in Ōmiya (Saitama prefecture) during the Yume Arts Festival. In designing these ceremonies, the monks selected elements from traditional rituals and put them together in new ways, while adding new entertaining elements, such as jazz and yōkai. I suggest that the modularity of rituals made it possible to easily create new ceremonies and perform them without extensive rehearsals. Moreover, I show that the monks aimed to offer an entertaining performance in order to reach out to the local community. This article further illuminates that Sōtō Zen has a rich sonic dimension, which our crossover ceremonies showcased.

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Sarmento ◽  
Marisa Ferreira

In the past decades many cities have experienced growing pressure to produce and stage cultural events of different sorts to promote themselves and improve economic development. Culture-led development often relies on significant public investment and major private-sector sponsoring. In the context of strained public finances and profound economic crisis in European peripheral countries, local community low-budget events that manage to create significant fluxes of visitors and visibility assume a particular relevance. This paper looks at the four editions (2011–2014) of Noc-Noc, an arts festival organized by a local association in the city of Guimarães, Portugal, which is based on creating transient spaces of culture by transforming numerous homes, commercial outlets and other buildings into ephemeral convivial and playful ‘public’ environments. By interviewing a sample of people who have hosted (sometimes doubling as artists) these transitory art performances and exhibitions, artists and the events’ organizers and by experiencing the four editions of the event and engaging in multiple informal conversations with the public, this paper attempts to discuss how urban citizens may disrupt the cleavages between public and private space permitting various transgressions, and unsettling the hegemonic condition of the city council as the patron of the large majority of events.


2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Louwrens Van der Merwe ◽  
Melville Saayman ◽  
Andrea Saayman

Events and festivals are hosted with the expectation that they hold many benefits for the host communities. These benefits include employment, income generation, and increasing tourist numbers, thereby improving the quality of life of the host community. However, little is known about the socio-economic impact of arts festivals, especially in the South African context. Hence, the purpose of this article was to determine the socio-economic impact of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK) on the community of Oudtshoorn. This festival is the largest arts festival, both in terms of visitor numbers as well as income generation, in South Africa. In order to achieve the goal of the research, three surveys were conducted: firstly, a community survey; secondly, a business survey; and, finally, a visitor survey. The results indicate that the KKNK contributes significantly to the economy and community of Oudtshoorn. From a social point of view, however, the respondents indicated that the festival benefits the community more than the individual. To increase the positive socio-economic outcomes of the KKNK, the festival organisers have to focus on greater participation by, and communication with, all stakeholders, especially the local community.


Author(s):  
Mathilda van Niekerk

Art festivals have witnessed a boom in the past few years; with new festivals proliferating that cater to every taste and region, in what has become a vital source of revenue and publicity for cities and artists (Eventbrite, 2014; Relaxnews, 2015). The ideal arts festival represents a carefully crafted mixture of artists, a variety in its programming, being visually spectacular, and also meeting its social objectives (The Guardian, 2015). Art festivals in general are important for many reasons, some of which are to grow the regional and local economies, to promote the specific destination, to contribute to the livelihood of the artists and the local community, displaying different forms of art and to create specific images of the destinations. An art festival should therefore not only exist or take place; it should make some form of contribution to its stakeholders (Getz and Andersson 2010). When art festivals are, therefore, hosted in a specific area the lives of the local community become affected by it either in a positive or in a negative way. Art festivals have various impacts (socio-cultural, environmental, political and economic) on stakeholders, and on one of the most important stakeholders, that is, the local community. For years festival impact studies have mainly focused on the economic, environmental and socio-cultural impact of festivals on the local community, but a limited number of researchers have conducted studies to measure the impact of art festivals on the overall quality of life of the community members and the community as a whole. In order to do this, it is important to look at which socio-demographic variables influence the quality of life of the community and its members.


Author(s):  
Selly Veronica ◽  
Nurlisa Ginting ◽  
AmyMarisa

Night tourism development comes up as an innovative strategy for tourism development in this current intense competition. There are four main elements in night tourism, namely economic, social, environmental, and night atmosphere. Berastagi is the most popular tourist destination in Karo Regency, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia, which already have night tourism destination but unfortunately undeveloped yet. Night tourism development in Berastagi must be with the local wisdom approach to maximize its benefit. Karonese as the majority ethnic of the local community in this area potential to be developed on its night tourism. This paper only analyzes the environmental and night atmosphere aspects in Berastagi’s night tourism, which based on local wisdom. Qualitative primary data from field observation and depth interview results have been analyzed by using the descriptive method. The study shows that involving local wisdom in developing the environment and night atmosphere can give the typical identity for the night tourism in Berastagi.Night Tourism


2021 ◽  
Vol 657 ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
BA Beckley ◽  
MS Edwards

The forest-forming giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera and the communities it supports have been decreasing across their native ranges in many parts of the world. The sudden removal of giant kelp canopies by storms increases space and light for the colonization by understory macroalgae, such as Desmarestia herbacea, which can inhibit M. pyrifera recovery and alter local community composition. Understanding the mechanisms by which algae such as D. herbacea interact with M. pyrifera can provide insight into patterns of kelp forest recovery following these disturbances and can aid in predicting future community structure. This study experimentally tested the independent and combined effects of two likely competitive mechanisms by which D. herbacea might inhibit recovery of M. pyrifera in the Point Loma kelp forest in San Diego, California (USA). Specifically, we conducted field experiments to study the individual and combined effects of shade and scour by D. herbacea on the survival of M. pyrifera microscopic life stages, and the recruitment, survival, and growth of its young sporophytes. Our results show that scour had the strongest negative effect on the survival of M. pyrifera microscopic life stages and recruitment, but shade and scour both adversely affected survival and growth of these sporophytes as they grew larger. Canopy-removing storms are increasing in frequency and intensity, and this change could facilitate the rise of understory species, like D. herbacea, which might alter community succession and recovery of kelp forests.


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