On May 25th, I joined a group of artists and activists at Bluestockings Cooperative Bookstore in Manhattan for a panel discussion entitled, “Sustaining Arts Labor: Past and Present,” organized by City Lore and Artists Alliance Inc., and sponsored by Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY). This was one event in a years-long project of research, dialogue, …
This is the text of a talk I gave on 8 April 2022 at the Community Built Association conference held at the Kaneko Foundation in Omaha, NE. I began by telling the assembled community-based artists and designers that I’d found it easier to react than to think during the last two years. My aim in …
Since the start of the pandemic, calls for new public-service job programs have been thick on the ground. A lot of smart people felt it was a no-brainer to call government in to employ folks who were out of work, paying them to do things for the public good. If you google “new WPA,” you’ll …
My husband’s and my media consumption definitely has gone up during the pandemic, to the point that we may have actually run out of engrossing British mystery series. From time to time, we leaven our escape with actual learning in a desperate attempt to preserve our self-respect. Lately, three programs have succeeded. All three are …
Last week, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of the City Artist Corps, a $25 million initiative that will give around 1,500 New York artists funding this summer to mount “performances, public artworks, pop-up shows through New York City’s Summer Rising program, new murals and canvasses, and more,” according to the official …
One more day to go, not to achieve heaven on earth, but to the relief of anticipating the Present White House Occupant’s exit. For me, that’s also one day closer to the reality of a new WPA, a public service employment program to enlist all kinds of workers in rescuing the public good from the …
Over the last week or so, both my colleague Francois Matarasso in Europe and I have published excerpts from our dialogue about past public service employment programs in the US and UK. Yesterday, we discussed it all on Zoom with folks on both continents, and I want to share that conversation with you. (But first, …
NOTE: I’m delighted to be once again cohosting a “virtual residency” with my friend and colleague Francois Matarasso on my blog and his. (You can access the previous residencies here: on ethics and on the future of community arts.) Starting 29 September, we’re publishing excerpts from our dialogue on public service employment past, present, and …
NOTE: I’m delighted to be once again cohosting a “virtual residency” with my friend and colleague Francois Matarasso on my blog and his. (You can access the previous residencies here: on ethics and on the future of community arts.) Starting 29 September, we’re publishing excerpts from our dialogue on public service employment past, present, and …
NOTE: I’m delighted to be once again cohosting a “virtual residency” with my friend and colleague Francois Matarasso on my blog and his. (You can access the previous residencies here: on ethics and on the future of community arts.) Starting 29 September, we’re publishing excerpts from our dialogue on public service employment past, present, and …