Between common ground and commercial gains: An examination of artists' negotiations in the Dutch pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan

In the globalized world of today, the approach of culture as a tool for development explains the use of art in international relations. Defined as cultural diplomacy, nations use their cultural resources as a way of projecting a positive image and foster mutual understanding globally (Wang & Sun, 2012, p. 5). International exhibitions are a powerful tool to do so, as they serve as spaces to create collective identities and as displays of power (Bennett, 1988, p. 74; Villanueva Rivas, 2010, p. 47). Naturally, World Expos offer an excellent environment for nations to execute their cultural diplomacy strategies. Within such a context, culture is instrumentalized as a means of pursuing political interests, which raises questions about the autonomy of artists and their work. Therefore, this thesis examines how Dutch artists negotiate their position in the cultural programme of the Dutch pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Semi-structured interviews with involved artists, curators and a policy officer shed light on the use of culture in cultural diplomacy, restrictions and objectives of the cultural programme and artists' perceptions of participation. An inductive thematic analysis revealed the subordinate position of culture in the diplomatic context of the Dutch pavilion. In the six-month cultural programme, hosted in a small part of the pavilion, the theme Activating Common Ground suggests a focus on mutual understanding and collaboration between the Netherlands and Japan. This political strategy imposes symbolic boundaries for participating artists, who see their work contextualized into this narrative. Additionally, this strategy seems to conflict with the rest of the pavilion, where a positive image of the Netherlands is projected, leaving less room for dialogue. Commercial interests seem to be prioritized, and as a result space for culture gets limited both symbolically and physically, putting artists in a secondary position. The way artists perceive the use of culture in the context of Expo 2025 and their motivations for participating determine how they position themselves and deal with these limitations. Whereas some accept how the pavilion is not a place for their work but just see it as an opportunity for future work, others have a more ideological view of their art contributing to the narrative. It shows how both political and economic interests constitute the heteronomy of cultural production, and how artists have different approaches navigating the field. At the intersection of cultural policy and artistic practice, this research contributes to the understanding of the position of artists in these power structures and the role of temporary cultural spaces like Expo 2025.