Culture Subgroup Conference Call 9-15-2009
Participants:
- Rishi Awtaramini
- Oya Amakisi
- Akanke Rashad-Omowale
- Nadir Omowale
We began the conversation befor e a notetaker was designated. Please feel free to make any needed corrections or additions to the notes below.
Concretizing how culture will fit into the actual programming of the USSF.
Overarching Theme:
Time frames, submission processes, and logistics.
Akanke
Culture to enhance and motivate the Detroit community to join the Utilize the space the whole week. Bring attention to the causes that the USSF is about and piggy back off of the workshops/plenaries We have the space to think about outdoor forums as well, which will lead the people who are interested in the culture to get involved in the USSF.
Nadir
We are expecting 25,000 people to come to Detroit. There are a lot of people here would benefit from the information that we bring. The people coming to the culture events may not be activist, but the activists want to reach them. We have to find a balanced way to make sure that the cultural events do not distract from the workshops.
We can schedule major acts like Rage Against the Machine after the workshops.
Political and activist exercise (workshop) that may be better done outside.
The fireworks typically brings a million people downtown, and we want to utilize that:
1. Most people won’t know anything about the social forum 2. They will be a captive audience 3. People start lining up to attend the fireworks as early as the night before 4. It is an opportunity to address a lot of the issues of the sochttp://wiki.ussf2010.org/skins/common/images/button_bold.pngial forum in so many ways.
Nadir
That day will be a bear. Think of the things that will go right or wrong and be prepared. It is a prime opportunity to engage the community.
Rishi
I agree that it is not just workshops and political discussions to the forum. I have been hearing from Oya how we are going to use culture to bring in the community. Using creative ways to use the space to organize the community. We want culture to be an integral part of the USSF. How this impacts programming, I don’t think we got it yet. We have to think in concrete terms How is it that .
I am an artist from Texas and I want to come to the social forum, and I do an amazing interactive art project with spray paint. It is unclear to me on how someone like that plugs into the process.
It is clear how people do workshops and plenaries. Details the process. The culture stuff is different. But if someone wants to do a performance, how do they get plugged in? We need a format or process for people to get involved nationally.
What are the times that people can do things? We have to make sure that the workshops don’t get taken away.
Can people apply to do 1 or 2 hour presentations. Performances we don’t need people to apply for that, but I think that we have to figure out the structure for mass participation.
Nadir
I would imagine that in the process that you would submit for the workshop, you can upload a pdf, video, etc. The person from Texas should be able to submit something that represents their work. Hart Plaza is large enough to have different types of art going on at the same time.
We talked about having smaller stages, and the idea of a soap box,
If we look at the entirety of the space, Hart Plaza can accommodate them. We know a little bit more once we start getting submissions.
Akanke
How would they submit their work.
Nadir
If artists want to bring a large work of art to the Cultural expressions.
Rishi
We all have a vision of how it can work. We have to figure out first what are the spaces and times that people perform. Is it during or btw workshop times ? Do we need to talk to programming about having one hour in the schedule for culture.
Or artists performing in btw workshops. What type of art do people have to apply vs people that we recruit. It is a decision making process that we all need to have?
Is that something that we can do now, or is t hat something that we need to do over a period of time.
Nadir
We have to look at the space. I would like to see a recruitment process and a submission process. Because of the large size of the space we can have multiple types of art going on at the same time. Do we know from the programming committee on what time it will start.
Rishi
3 slots of workshops for 2 hours each slot. Plenaries and culture in the evening. The most effective way that I found that overarching decisions get made. It is best that people come with a proposal. Some people create a proposal that people put together then create a proposal.
We would have a working meeting in the DLOC culture committee How long btw the workshops They would start at 10-12, 1-3, 5-
Rishi
We can ask Walda or Kiran to participate in the conversation about time frames for the workshops and plenaries.
Oya I posted the notes from the programming subgroups meetings. We are meeting as a P&C at the We have more time than we think. The proposals won’t go out until December.
Rishi We need to get the tech committee involved in the conversation.
Nadir Maybe we can see about getting some of the local
Rishi is going to be coming to Detroit in November to look at the space. We can walk through the space together. Possibly get other folks from the leftist lounge to come to Detroit as well.
Resolutions:
DLOC Programming and Culture Committee to come up with a proposal of the overall set up of the cultural expression at the USSF with emphasis on time frames, logistics, the submission process, and more. It is expected to take at least two meetings with members of the logistics and tech committee present for part of the process. http://wiki.ussf2010.org/wiki/Committees - Programming_and_Culture_Committee
Return to Program/Culture WG main page.