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Cultural Organizing at the US Social Forum (USSF) June 2007
Cultural Organizing at the US Social Forum (USSF) June 2007
Cultural Organizing at the US Social Forum (USSF) June 2007
Lena Richardson, Tuesday Aug 14, 2007, 12:00 am
On Thursday, June 29, 2007 the Arts & Democracy Project hosted a session on cultural organizing at the first-ever USSF held in Atlanta, GA. Over 60 people came out to participate in this conversation. The session explored the power of cultural organizing to expand who is included in organizing and how they are included to creatively frame and communicate visions of change to encourage critical thinking, break down fear, and humanize polarized issues. Presenters shared a range of experiences, demonstrating the diverse approaches and models being developed in this field in both rural and urban contexts, involving both youth and adults, and engaging various artistic media including performance, video, and visual art. The presenters included Amalia Anderson, Co-Director of the Raices Project, a program dedicated to building and strengthening a broad-based movement for political participation within Latino communities; Michelle Miller, a Senior Producer in the Community Strength Department at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Thenmozhi Soundaraajan, a filmmaker, singer, grassroots media organizer and the director of Third World Majority, a women of color, Media/Tech Justice training and organizing institution based in Oakland, CA; Anasa Troutman, an artist, producer, political strategist and activist-organizer who is currently coordinating the 75th Anniversary of the Highlander Center, a popular education and research center located in New Market, TN; and Carlton Turner, the Regional Director of Alternate Roots, an organization dedicated to supporting community based arts, and M.U.G.A.B.E.E., a multi disciplinary arts group based in rural Mississippi.
"Diverse approaches" - but were there any common themes coming forward from the session? Here in the UK, the role of the arts in creating an effective participatory democracy are being (re)discovered; for the last 15 years - participation has simply meant audience development. Very interested to see how we can link up internationally because then we get a chance to recognise what is universal and what is culturally specific.
Adrian Sinclair Heads Together Productions www.headstogether.org