Redemption

Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Laura Raicovich about Fall of Freedom, which begins on the day this podcast drops. NOVEMBER 21 | SERIES 2025
STREAM A CULTURE OF POSSIBILITY | EPISODE 58 
PARTICIPANTS
Arlene Goldbard | François Matarasso | Laura Raicovich
COMMENTARY
On episode 58 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk with writer and curator Laura Raicovich, one of the initiators of Fall of Freedom, an action beginning 21 November in the US, described as “an urgent call to the arts community to unite in defiance of authoritarian forces sweeping the nation,” “activating a nationwide wave of creative resistance.” 
Artists and organizations are invited to participate by hosting public events of any size. We’ll talk about the organizers’ hopes and their sense of why and how art can resist authoritarianism.
Since this podcast goes out on November 21, it could not be timelier. Listen to the podcast, go to miaaw.net to get the links, and then look and see what is going on where you are! 
REFERENCES
Fall of Freedom website
Download the Fall of Freedom Toolkit
 
 

Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Betsy Damon whose work with water has had a healing impact across the globe. She talks about her work from early projects in China to her current undertakings. OCTOBER 17 | SERIES 2025
STREAM A CULTURE OF POSSIBILITY | EPISODE 57
PARTICIPANTS
 
Betsy Damon | Arlene Goldbard | François Matarasso
COMMENTARY
Betsy Damon is an internationally-recognized artist whose public work and living systems, such as the Living Water Garden, have received widespread acclaim. 
In 1991 Damon founded Keepers of the Waters,[23] a nonprofit organization that serves as an international community to encourage "art, science and community projects for the understanding and remediation of living water systems." The nonprofit is run with a collaborative approach and was started with the support of the Hubert Humphrey Institute.
In 2006, Damon, alongside a group of artists, scientists, and funders, met in Vancouver and created a summary report for UNESCO titled <strong>Art in Ecology – A Think Tank on Arts and Sustainability.</strong> UNESCO had commissioned a report in advance of this meeting titled <em>Mapping the Terrain of Contemporary EcoART Practice</em>, of which the meeting and summary report were a result.
She is the author of <strong>Water Talks: Empowering Communities to Know, Restore, and Preserve their Waters.</strong>
On episode 57 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Betsy Damon. 
Her work with water has had a healing impact across the globe and in this fascinating episode, she talks about her early projects in China and the work she’s undertaking now. 
She also shares excellent advice for others who want to help.  
REFERENCES
 
Betsy Damon’s website
Betsy Damon’s CV
Betsy Damon in Wikipedia
 

On episode 56 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso offer their third podcast in a series about censorship and related issues, following on episode 54 with writer Jeff Chang and episode 55 with muralists Amber Hansen and Reyna Hernandez. Arlene and François talk about their own direct experiences with these issues, including times community artists had to chose which aspects of a project to share or not, and times when establishment arts forces suppressed cultural policies because they objected to cultural democracy principles. It’s not only art that’s vulnerable, but also ideas about art and culture!

On episode 55 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso host muralists Amber Hansen and Reyna Hernandez, who were the first interviewees on the podcast! Following on Episode 54, in which Jeff Chang detailed the censorship of his book by the US Department of Defense, Amber and Reyna talked about the more local or subtle forms of pressure to censor or self-censor, such as agencies that commission community murals and then withdraw because they don’t like the subject matter. When and how is expression limited by those in power and when and how is artists’ work shaped by considerations or controversy or empathy?

On episode 54 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview author Jeff Chang, known for his books on cultural subjects including hip-hop, race and racism, and Asian Americans. In May, Jeff posted to his Substack an account of how the Defense Department had removed his book, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A Hip Hop History, written for young adults, from schools on US military bases around the world. The reasons given were Trump’s executive orders banning accounts of racism, gender and sexuality, and other such topics. Jeff joins us to tell the story and talk about what it means for the future of free expression and diversity.

On Episode 53 of A Culture of Possibility, “Money Changes Everything,” Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk about funding for community-based art and cultural democracy in light of the two previous episodes featuring funders from the UK and US. What’s happening? What does it all mean? Where can we go from here?

In Episode 52, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Lori Pourier, a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, who served as the President of the First Peoples Fund (FPF) between 1993-2024. Currently, Lori acts as the Founder and Senior Fellow of First Peoples Fund, which “supports the cultural, artistic and ancestral practices of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists, families and communities, helping them to thrive, heal and carry forward Indigenous creative expression, teachings and lifeways.” By supporting artists and culture bearers, First Peoples Fund helps Native communities heal and thrive. Collectively, they approach their work with rootedness, intuition, listening, humility and deep relationships.In this episode we talk about FPF’s work, its history and context, and the challenges posed by the MAGA regime.

On episode 51 of “A Culture of Possibility,” Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk with David Cutler, Director of The Baring Foundation, based in London. One of Baring’s strategic grant areas is Arts & Mental Health, granting about £1 million per year over at least five years to organizations specializing in arts and creativity with people with mental health problems; supporting participatory artists from Global Majority communities in this work; and supporting more men to engage in creative mental health. They’ve published considerable material documenting this work. We’ll talk with David about how and why the Foundation chose this focus, the impact they’re having, and how their work fits into the larger arts funding landscape.