Cultural Organizing in West Baltimore

In the fourth episode of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and Francois Matarasso compare U.S. and European funding systems for community arts. In this discussion they are not interested in who gets funding and whether that funding is deserved. Nor are they concerned with where funding goes. Instead they focus on the underlying bases for making funding decisions in the first place.
They find that both the American and European systems are way too focused on the wrong questions, with results that are politically, ethically, and culturally problematic.
How did this happen? What would be better?
Francois and Arlene have both written a great deal about questions of cultural policy and cultural funding over many years. This discussion can only scratch the surface of their thinking. If you are interested in what they have to say then you should check their websites for articles and links.

In the third episode of “A Culture of Possibility,” Francois Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard meet Clare Reynolds, one of the founders of Restoke, a group who make performances and events that tackle social issues affecting their communities.
Based in the British city of Stoke-on-Trent, where the founders grew up, Restoke’s work pursues an ambitious agenda in both its artistic and social purpose.
In the conversation Clare describes their work, with particular reference to two recent works: You Are Here and Man Up. She talks about what they do and why they do it and equally importantly, how they do it.
She also discusses The Ballroom, a project that began in December 2020 when “we received a capital grant from Arts Council England to restore and reopen the Ballroom at Fenton Town Hall as a brand new community arts venue for Stoke-on-Trent!”.

In the second episode of "A Culture of Possibility," Francois Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk with Amber Hansen and Reyna Hernandez, community muralists in South Dakota, USA. The conversation touches on the importance and challenges of portraying Indigenous themes in public art, particularly in rural America; making participatory work during the pandemic; and sustaining community arts work within the U.S. support system.

"Hope must be reinvented every day.” James Baldwin
Hosted by Arlene Goldbard and Francois Matarasso, this monthly series explores people, projects, and topics that expand possibility and choice through cultural work.
Our interests intersect in community arts and cultural policy (both broadly defined). Within those subjects, we see questions of possibility, choice, and hope as critical – especially now, as humanity struggles with the pandemic, climate crisis, and growing inequality. Virtually every community arts project engages people in working for the futures they desire, even if only on a local scale. Often that means overcoming a reluctance to get one’s hopes up for fear of being disappointed. Community artists and cultural democrats know that without dreaming together, our hopes can never be realized.
When we interview people, it won’t be just to to hear their work described, but to explore why they do it, what it means, how they hope it will engage others, what influence or change they are seeking, and so on. With each podcast, our plan is to begin with a conversation with a guest, then conclude with the two of us reflecting on what was expressed. Although we know a lot of people in our generational cohort—community arts veterans—our hope is to hear as much from younger guests reflecting on what’s happening now and what may be coming.