As part of our ongoing celebration of a decade of Culturebot (our first post was December 1, 2003) we will be hosting a series of conversations at APAP and Under The Radar, on a wide range of topics from the findings of the Brooklyn Commune Project to Art & Technology to Multiculturalism in a Global Context.

This is the schedule as of December 20, but we will update this as things get added or change.

“Scanning The Landscape” discussions at Under The Radar use a format inspired by Lois Weaver’s “conversation as performance” model The Long Table, which is informal, participatory & nonhierarchical. Special guests are invited to “seed” the conversation but you are invited to take a seat at the table and join in!

Events at APAP require conference registration, events at Under The Radar are free and open to the public. We hope you will join us and stay tuned for updates!!

Oh one more thing – just a reminder that while I got an awesome individual grant from The Warhol Foundation for a specific project, Culturebot still receives no funding or support from anybody except our community. You can help us by making a donation via Fractured Atlas).

SATURDAY JANUARY 11

9:00AM-9:25AM: Imagine A World That Operates Differently Than This One

Presenting the Brooklyn Commune Project Report!

What are the financial realities and logistical challenges to placing the arts at the heart of community development?  How can we better quantify the value of artists and their creative work as community assets as well as artists’ personal investments of time, labor and resources in the production of their work? How can we share this knowledge for the betterment of the field as a whole?  Learn how one grassroots initiative, The Brooklyn Commune Project, is bringing artists and arts stakeholders together to gain knowledge and propose new strategies around the intersection of creativity, innovation and economics; diversity, social values, and quality of life.

The Mercury Ballroom at the New York Hilton Midtown [APAP Registration required]

12PM-1:30PM: Performance, Technology & The Ever-Emerging Now

Join Culturebot and special guests for an open, participatory discussion on the rapidly evolving field of art/tech collaboration. How are artists, scientists and technologists working across boundaries to share expertise and develop new models for creating and engaging with performance.

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include: Joel Slayton (Zero1 Biennial), Kamal Sinclair (Sundance Festival/New Frontiers), Gunalan Nadarajan (University of Michigan, School of Art & Design), Alicia Gibb, Yehuda Duenyas, Joe Diebes, Miwa Matreyek & Chi-wang Yang (Cloud Eye Control), Bill O’Brien & Michael Orlove (National Endowment for the Arts)

The Public Theater [General Admission, Free]

4:00PM-4:50PM: The Emerging Role of the Citizen Critic

Since the demise of traditional arts journalism and the rise of blogging and social media, the arts writing landscape can seem daunting and unmanageable.  The concept of “critical horizontalism” and the emerging role of the citizen critic reflect the intersection of journalism, arts and citizenship around performance venues as civic space.  This session will explore how presenters are transforming themselves into “engagers” and audiences into communities.

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include: Ron Berry (Executive and Artistic Director, Fusebox Festival – Austin, TX), Julie Potter (Writer in Residence at the ODC Theater, YBCA:You Senior Program Manager at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts –SF, CA), Anna Drowzdowski (Editor at ThinkingDance.net, Programming Director at Christchurch Neighborhood House – Philadelphia, PA) and Jeremy M. Barker (http://deeplyfascinating.org/).

The Mercury Rotunda at the New York Hilton Midtown [APAP Registration required]

SUNDAY JANUARY 12

12PM-1:30PM: Diversity and Multiculturalism In A Global Context

Join Culturebot and guests in a freeform conversation about the past, present and future of multiculturalism in a global world. How are different countries addressing issues of diversity while negotiating aesthetic and cultural differences? How do we, as artists and presenters, create meaningful contexts and conversations around the work itself?

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include: Erwin Maas, Gabri Reid, MK Wegmann (National Performance Network), Nora Chipaumire, Nike Jonah & Hassan Mahamdallie (Creative Case for Diversity/UK) Monique Martin, Baraka Sele, Jonas Hassen Khemiri

The Public Theater [General Admission, Free]

MONDAY JANUARY 13

2:00PM-2:50PM: Turn On Your Lovelight (Let It Shine)

From coffeehouse Beatnik jug band to one of the top-grossing musical acts of all time, over the course of a forty year career the Grateful Dead attracted a fiercely loyal and astonishingly diverse, multigenerational, multicultural, global grassroots audience that grew from the ground up. Unconventional from the beginning, The Dead broke all the rules of music making and the music industry, fearlessly pioneering innovative techniques in performance, technology and business.

Join Culturebot & Friends for a round table discussion examining the changing world of arts presenting through the lens of the Grateful Dead’s career and legacy to identify the important lessons and innovative ideas that are still as exciting, groundbreaking and mind-blowing as when The Dead invented them.

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include Gary Lambert and Jesse Jarnow

The New York Hilton Midtown [APAP Registration required]

SATURDAY JANUARY 18

12PM-1:30PM: Playwrights In Collaborative Processes

From Caryl Churchill and Joint Stock to Anne Washburn and The Civilians, the role of the playwright in collaborative processes has been both creatively compelling and logistically complicated. What are the rewards and challenges of the playwright working in collaboration with directors, actors and ensembles; what questions arise about authorship, ownership and what defines “a play”? Join Culturebot and a collection of creative theater-makers for a fun and freewheeling discussion of the past, present and future of the playwright.

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include: David Mendizabal, Harry Rivers, Deborah Stein, Suli Holum, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Eric Ting, Paul Lazar

The Public Theater [General Admission, Free]

SUNDAY JANUARY 19

12PM-1:30PM: American Theater & The Aesthetics of Democracy

The early 20th century gave birth to a national Little Theater movement that rejected the hegemony of commercially-driven New York City shows and embraced a more community-based, locally responsive model of theater. This grew into today’s regional theater system, one that is increasingly removed from the everyday lives of many communities. As a new generation discovers the values of Little Theater, how will this shape the future of American Theater? Join Culturebot and friends for a lively discussion.

Participants as of December 17, 2013 include:

Keith Josef Adkins (New Black Fest), Abigail Browde (600 Highwaymen), Jess Chayes & Nick Benacerraf (The Assembly), Jan Cohen Cruz (Editor, Public: A Journal of Imagining America), Morgan Jenness (Theater Worker), Melanie Joseph (The Foundry), Sue Kessler (The Bushwick Starr)

The Public Theater [General Admission, Free]