We need to be talking about being responsible to the words we use and to the actions we undertake in the name of those words so that we no longer remain complicit and this is a way to do that. Especially right now.
The world is changing in increasingly volatile ways and the social issues of our times are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Interchange: Social Practice in Conversation explores the role of artists and social practice in these amplified times, through conversation, learning, and creating. These conversations will be free, online, and open to the public.
Interchange: Social Practice in Conversation is an online convening featuring a fellowship of social practice artists who have received the Interchange Artist Grant to discuss how “social practice” has shifted due to COVID-19 across Mid-America’s six-state region. These conversations will take place on Saturday, September 12; Sunday, September 20; and Saturday, October 3 at 10:00 a.m. CST and also feature a collaborative piece of artwork by various fellows that was born out of the conversations about this shift.
As many of the proposed projects for the grant have been forced to change due to restrictions on socialization, the artists face questions of what “social practice” truly means when one cannot physically access their community, and what an “artistic practice” looks like during a pandemic. They ask: what is an artists’ role during a crisis? And how important is financial support, both for the artists and for the communities their practices are connected to, during these times?
In each of the three conversations, the artists will briefly discuss their work, as well as engage in these topics.
To register for this series, please click on the dates listed below:
• Chloë Bass (Brooklyn, NY) with Xochitl Rodriguez (El Paso, TX), Mark Menjivar (San Antonio, TX), and Crystal Campbell (Tulsa, OK) (recorded September 12, 2020)
• September 20: Armando Minjarez (Wichita, KS) with Israel Alejandro Garcia Garcia (Kansas City, MO), Kendell Harbin (Kansas City, MO), and Erika Nelson (Lucas, KS) (recorded September 20, 2020)
About Interchange A program of Mid-America Arts Alliance made possible through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Interchange Artist Grant program is designed to strengthen communities and individual artists within our region by supporting artist-led projects focused on social change. www.interchangeartistgrant.art
About Mid-America Arts Alliance Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) strengthens and supports artists, cultural organizations, and communities throughout our region and beyond. We believe in more art for more people. Additional information about M-AAA is available at www.maaa.org.
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