Event

There has been much discussion lately regarding the leadership role that the arts have taken at this time of political instability. Many advocacy groups and grass root efforts are being organized to address voter registration and political awareness–and the arts and cultural institutions seem to be the venue of choice for getting the word out.

Artists and arts organizations are being tapped for new initiatives that mobilize and engage the public. Many nonpartisan (and partisan) campaigns from recently founded groups have used the arts (whether it be Hip-Hop, the literary, or the visual arts) as a link to their communities, to help galvanize these constituencies and, in turn, to make them more politically aware.

Now that we have engaged these constituencies through the arts and arts venues, how can we make this same community aware of the political issues surrounding the arts and culture.

Moderator
Nina Ozlu, Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, Americans for the Arts

Participants
Frayda Feldman, Co-Director, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, and Co-Founder ArtsPac
Nina Felshin, curator, critic, member of steering committee of Artists Network of Refuse and Resist!, and initiator of the Not in Our Name Statement of Conscience
Bronwyn Keenan, member of steering committee, Downtown for Democracy;
Chris Wangro, Co-Executive Producer, Imagine Festival

This panel is presented in collaboration with Americans for the Arts, ArtTable, and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.