Caron Atlas: NOCD-NY and Arts & Democracy

On Culture of Possibility podcast #31, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk with Maribel Legarda, artistic director, and Beng Cabangon, executive director of the Philippines Educational Theater Association, PETA, founded in 1967!
PETA is an amazing amalgam of in-person performance, streaming, workshops, and festivals, led by a large group of artist-teachers, many of whom began as teenagers. We talk about PETA’s creative strategies to navigate massive political changes, the pandemic, and radical shifts in the support environment.
You will want to know more about this inspiring, resilient, community-based group.

On Culture of Possibility podcast #30, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard reflect on topics that are currently burning a hole in their brains:
Topics such as:
us vs. them;
what cultural democracy means and why some people can’t get it;
being a little braver.
Tune in and let us know what you think!

On Culture of Possibility podcast #29, listen to François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard interview members of TEAM from National Theatre Wales.
We talk with Natasha Borton, Anastacia Ackers, and Naomi Chiffi about two multi-year community projects: one in Wrexham and one in Pembrokeshire. These unfolded during COVID and engaged many hundreds of community members. One focused on nature and the environment, while the other focused on issues surrounding homelessness.
Both François and Arlene believe we can all learn a lot from the process they describe.

In Episode 28 of A Culture of Possibility, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk with Ben Fink and Kate Fowler about the new two-volume publication from Roadside Theater in Appalachia, Art in A Democracy, comprising play scripts and commentary from this stellar community-based theater’s history in Appalachian coal country and beyond, 1975-2000.
We touch on the need for sharing learning, generation-to-generation; the impact of changes in public funding that impose scarcity and competition; the obstacles capitalism places in the path of cultural democracy; and more.

In Episode 27 of A Culture of Possibility, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk about — given the scale of the challenges communities face — what community-based art can do.
They share powerful ideas from John Berger and Vaclav Havel, their own sense of the current social and political context, and what makes the best work generative, engaging, and co-creative for all.

This month Arlene Goldbard and François Mattarasso talk with Beverly Naidus about her life and work. Beverly’s art projects focus on environmental crises that create problems for humans. Her works address social issues such as racism, consumerism, body image, nuclear threats, cultural identity.
Beverly has written several artist books including One Size Does Not Fit All (1993) and What Kinda Name is That? (1996) which has been discussed by academics in the field including Paul Von Blum, Lucy R. Lippard, and reviewed by contemporary journals.

In Episode 25 of A Culture of Possibility, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk with Jasmina Ibrahimovic, director of the Rotterdams Wijktheater and the International Community Arts Festival that it hosts.
Jasmina is also a dynamic force of nature who has amazing stories to tell about her journey from the former Yugoslavia to a refugee camp in the Netherlands, remarkably powerful community-based work, and much more. The festival will happen in March/April for the first time post-pandemic. Join us to learn all about it.
Moreover, we have plans to attend ICAF and (among other things) record a series of podcasts that we will broadcast almost live during the period of the festival. Stand by for news of this in the next two Miaaw Monthly newsletters.

In Episode 24 of A Culture of Possibility, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk about Arlene’s forthcoming book. In The Camp of Angels of Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated? comes at its subject from three angles: paintings, including portraits of of eleven individuals whose work helped Arlene understand and become herself; a short memoir about each person, from James Baldwin to Paulo Freire to Alice Neel to Jane Jacobs; and essays that look at the harm that’s been done by privileging credentialed expertise and devaluing lived knowledge.
Tune in for the book’s backstory including family drama, fifties cultural alienation, outrage at the conversion of social goods to profit centers, a visit to a psychic, a pandemic silver lining, plus Arlene reading excerpts about Nina Simone, museum trustees’ elitism, and Isaiah Berlin!