Exchange Presentations
We were extremely honored to welcome Grace Lee Boggs as our featured presenter. She was an inspiration for all throughout the conference. Her sixty years of political involvement encompass the major U.S. social movements of this past century: Labor, Civil rights, Black Power, Asian American, Women's and Environmental Justice. View her plenary "These are the times that try our souls."
Also, check out Alice Lovelace and poem "Answering the Call of the Drums." Alice's Group Speak piece, presented during the closing plenary at the Exchange, serves as a collage of voices she heard throughout the event.
Commissioned Papers
A collection of commissioned papers and relevant produced in conjunction with the National Exchange in October are listed below. Does something here strike a chord with you? Interested in talking about it? Visit the Discussion Forums!
The Art of Dialogue [PDF]
by Dr. Patricia Romney
A review of the ideas of selected major dialogue theorists considering the implications of their work for arts-based civic dialogue practice.
Seeking an American Identity (Working Inward from the Margins) [PDF]
by Suzanne Lacy
Artist Suzanne Lacy offers a democratic rumination on questions raised by artists, cultural leaders, and community partners at Animating Democracy's November 2001 Learning Exchange. In the shadow of 9-11 and stimulated by artist Marty Pottenger’s exploration of the meaning of U.S. citizenship at the gathering, Lacy considers anew what it means to as an artist in civic life.
INROADS: The Intersection of Art & Civic Dialogue [PDF]
by Pam Korza, Andrea Assaf, and Barbara Schaffer Bacon
First commissioned by Art in the Public Interest for the Community Arts Network, this essay draws significantly on the experience of projects within the Animating Democracy Initiative, as well as a broader sphere of community-based cultural work, to consider what value art and humanities (including historic conservation, preservation and documentary work) can uniquely bring to discourse on important civic issues. It shares some of what Animating Democracy is learning about the opportunities and challenges of this arena of work, and how Animating Democracy's thinking is evolving regarding the role of the arts in civic dialogue.