On April 23rd I will be in Chicago to participate in a panel about the role of artists in the civic decision making process. Our moderator, Eric Leshinski, organized this panel to include Lynn Osgood, Ben Stone and Carrie Marie Schneider. I will present three example projects that demonstrate the positions artists can play: the commons - environmental strategies used by the ENGLISH KILLS PROJECT; private space - fixing a social art practice on a law office to establish LOCCA; and imaginary space - mapping a “gestalt” of the urban geography with the EAST END PLAN. Each are working outside the traditionally sanctioned methods for artists involved in the civic decision making process.
“What’s the Plan? Artists, Planners and New Models for Civic Decision-Making”
10:00am - 11:30am / Theatre Lecture Hall
This panel will explore the potential for a more inclusive approach to civic decision-making as it relates to artists and cultural policies. Working as artists, planners, and organizers, the panelists bring diverse perspectives to the topic formed from years of working on efforts to better integrate artists into the political frameworks that guide many of the decisions for how cities leverage the arts, allocate resources for the arts and otherwise attempt to shape the cultural landscape.
http://openengagement.info/chicago-2017/schedule/
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Open Engagement (OE) is an annual artist-led conference dedicated to expanding the dialogue around and creating a site of care for the field of socially engaged art. The conference highlights the work of transdisciplinary artists, activists, students, scholars, community members, and organizations working within the complex social issues and struggles of our time.
Open Engagement 2017 — JUSTICE will take place April 21–23, 2017 at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a constellation of sites across the city. This year’s conference, guided by the curatorial vision of Romi Crawford and Lisa Yun Lee, will feature presenters including Theaster Gates, Maria Gaspar, Maria Varela, Ai-jen Poo, Marisa Jahn and Laurie Jo Reynolds.