A few days ago I discovered how the Woodford Folk Festival had its humble beginnings in a club night. It reminded me that one of the best gigs I still have seen was Zap Mamma at the World Music Festival.
Last week I interviewed a Koto player from Japan. She has been playing Koto since she was little, as can be seen from the bottom picture. Her Koto is marked with her name and is made of one piece of wood, aged for a long time and valued at around $20K. Such a beautiful instrument.She came to Brisbane and wasn't able to get teaching work even after gaining a relevant australian qualification, which has led to her playing Koto professionally.
For her, professional rascism in a sense granted her a creative career, which was no easy task to pursue.
It led me to think about the places we reserve for ethnicity in our culture. I've always wondered about how it seems that Aboriginals could only succeed in art and sport. And culture seems to be the only place in most societies where diversity is allowed to prosper. Except through sheer physical prowess.
Strikes me as strange that we can accept creative and athletic genius from other cultures but not ordinary professionalism. Is it because these realms are out of the ordinary reach?
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