New Wave of Artistic Culture in the Maldives

An Attempt at Reassignment to Go beyond the Boundary between the “Traditional” and the “Contemporary”

Abstract

In the Maldives, rapid economic growth has changed its artistic culture, which until then was limited to the traditional handicrafts and the objects made from coconut palms. This change can be defined as an arrival of an art culture as fine art and an addition of a new role as an art culture of tourism industry to the tradition. This wave of new artistic culture as described above does not simply mean a reform of the traditions; rather, it involves numerous complex factors such as the historical circumstances, the social condition, and the state religion Islam. This study investigates and reassign the new art culture in the Maldives within the contemporary context.