Ideas for Creative Exploration Conversation Series
Podcast Episode 15: Arts + Community
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Audio highlights from a public conversation series on the theme of arts and community, edited from conversations that took place during fall 2020 and spring 2021 via remote video conferencing technology. We invited guests from a range of backgrounds to share their ideas about what artists and organizations should know about each other, and about how they can work together to support vibrant communities. This episode includes the voices of Stephanie Raines, Andrew Salinas, Montu Miller, Madeline Blankenship, Alden DiCamillo, Carmon Colangelo, and April Parker.
Stephanie Raines is an artist advocate, independent curator, and Arts Division Administrator of the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, where she collaborates with arts leaders to manage the Athens Creative Theatre, East Athens Educational Dance Center, Lyndon House Arts Center, and the Morton Theatre.
Andrew Salinas is the Chair of the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission, a volunteer-led group that advises local government about cultural affairs and public art projects.
Montu Miller is Chief Operating Officer of ATHfactor-Liberty Entertainment. He is a cultural worker, educator, producer, community organizer, and a Hip-Hop advocate.
Madeline Blankenship is the Program Lead of “Get Artistic,” an initiative sponsored by Creature Comforts Brewing Company to help creative communities thrive.
Alden DiCamillo earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia and has remained active in the Athens community. They identify as a queer artist, poet, arts writer, and mutual aid organizer through Athens Mutual Aid.
Carmon Colangelo is Dean of the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He was also the founding director of the UGA Arts Collaborative, then known as Ideas for Creative Exploration. Carmon spoke about the power of collaboration and community from his perspective as an artist and university administrator, and about social justice as a unifying theme for the art, architecture, and art museum programs at Wash U.
April Parker is a community leader, activist, and the first Arts Administrator-in-Residence at Elsewhere, a museum and artist residency program in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her works of creative resistance engage public scholarship, performance art, and direct action while centering the lives and legacies of queer and trans Black people.