"What is at Stake?" focuses on the intersection of visual culture and the complex and contradictory notions of community. “Community” is a potent, yet overused word, meaning dramatically different things to different people. Similarly, it can be hard to see the extent to which visual culture—the media, images, art, and memes around us—is the way we know our “communities,” and how that visual work might play a creative and productive role in social change. There will be conversations with artists, community organizers, cultural organizations, and public agencies, as well as with fellow participants, about how visual culture defines or redefines who’s included or excluded from “community,” and what are the hard questions cultural institutions, service providers, teachers, and artists need to ask themselves in the work that is sometimes referred to as social practice, social documentary, civic engagement, or simply community-based work. Confirmed speakers, facilitators, and participating organizations include: Nicholas Mirzoeff, Mindy Fullilove, Ruth Sergel, Stephanie Dinkins, Chinatown Art Brigade, The Point, the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the Laundromat Project, Erin Barnett, Kristen Lubben, Danielle Jackson, Quito Ziegler, Bayeté Ross Smith, MTL Collective, and Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani.
New York City, NY; NYC