Who Defines Culture? Artists, Funders, the Marketplace?

Monday, October 13, 3:30 pm – 5:45 pm
Redwood, M1/Street Level

Organized by Judi Jennings, executive director, Kentucky Foundation for Women and Tommer Peterson, deputy director for programs, Grantmakers in the Arts. Presented by Dee Davis, president, Center for Rural Strategies, Roger Fernandes, Native Arts Committee co-chair, Potlatch Fund, Ana-Maurine Lara, author; and Vanessa Whang, senior program consultant, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

This question, first posed at the 2006 conference in Boston and further explored last year in Taos, is now a conference session open for discussion by all participants.

When a line is drawn around what constitutes “culture,” what (and who) is on the other side? Who draws the line? As funders, how do our practices play a role in ratifying or denying what is culture and what is not? What are our responsibilities as funders to understand the cultures that surround us—including those that transcend or ignore the traditional borders of ethnicity and national origin?

Invited artists and presenters will each provide a brief opening salvo in the form of a story. Participants will be invited to add their stories in a “Call and Response” format and Judi and Tommer will then attempt to facilitate the ensuing melée.