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[wd_asp id=1]FSP@PPG: Arts Activism in Durham
Arts Activism in Durham
An FSP@PPG Lunchtime Conversation
“FSP@PPG: Arts Activism in Durham” will be a roundtable discussion about the promise and challenges of the arts scene in Durham. Who are the audiences? Who are the artists? What are the strengths of the current arts scene and what’s missing? How do we create new audiences? How do we bring new types of art and artists to existing audiences? What types of spaces are available, and how do we creatively use those spaces? How does the building boom in Durham affect the arts? In what other ways is Durham changing, and what are the impacts of those changes? What are the funding sources for arts programming in Durham (public, private, and mixed)? Are there places or programs locally or elsewhere that seem to be “getting it right” in terms of supporting the arts, cultivating creativity, etc? If so, what lessons might we learn from those places? The scheduled roundtable panelists are: Laura Ritchie, Saba Taj, Shirlette Ammons, Caitlin Margaret Kelly, and Pierce Freelon. It will be moderated by Michaela Dwyer.
Facebook RSVP (optional). This program is the first in a regular series of public discussions co-sponsored by the Forum for Scholars and Publics and the Power Plant Gallery. The Power Plant Gallery is an initiative of the Center for Documentary Studies and the Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University. We encourage public transportation use or bicycling to the ATC. The Bull City Connector is free. Parking is limited near ATC.
Speakers
Shirlette Ammons
Shirlette Ammons is a musician, songwriter, producer (music, TV, film), poet, and, according to music journalist Grayson Currin, an all-around "Black queer Southern truth teller." Ammons' latest album Spectacles, co-produced with Phil Cook, is an 11-track examination of the duality between being objectified by the proverbial, patriarchal, white gaze and…...
Read MorePierce Freelon
Blackspace | Beat Making Lab
Pierce Freelon is a professor, director, musician, Emmy-Award winning producer, and former candidate for mayor of Durham. Born and raised in Durham, Pierce has traveled the world, building spaces for creative expression and social justice. He founded Blackspace, a digital maker space where youth learn about music, film, and coding.…...
Read MoreCaitlin Margaret Kelly
Power Plant Gallery
Caitlin Margaret Kelly is an artist, runner, and devout coffee drinker. She is director of the Power Plant Gallery, where her work creates conversations between artist, art, and audience. Kelly conceived and developed the new PPG Artist-in-residence public studio program in the gallery....
Read MoreLaura Ritchie
The Carrack
Laura Ritchie is co-founder and director of The Carrack, a zero-commission, donation- and volunteer-supported art space in Durham. Ritchie is passionate about creating opportunities across the arts and working with her community to build safe, inclusive space for underrepresented and emerging artists. A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, Ritchie has…...
Read MoreSaba Taj
Saba Taj is an interdisciplinary visual artist based in Durham, NC. Heavily inspired by Islamic stories and speculative fiction, Taj combines cultural and religious references to explore themes of hybridity and apocalypse. She is a 2011 graduate of North Carolina Central University and earned an MFA in Studio Art from…...
Read MoreMichaela Dwyer
Michaela Dwyer received her M.A. in American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied place, "southernness," and performance in relation to the legacies of Black Mountain College and arts infrastructure across the American South. She received her B.A. in English and Documentary Studies from…...
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