The Beautiful Struggle: Art and Commerce AEE Open Forum

Presented by Arts Engagement Exchange
Friday, November 19
9:30 a.m. Registration
10 - 11:30 a.m. Program

Do arts organizations and the professionals who run them shape or respond to popular cultural consumption? What is the responsibility of artistic and curatorial staff in the business of marketing and promotion? In our final AEE Open Forum, we will explore the artistic product and its relationship to audience engagement with the help of artists, curators, managers and artistic directors.

Mike Daisey, award-winning monologist, author and cultural critic will speak on the role we all play in the war over how the arts will be defined in our age and pose much for us to consider in his new manifesto, The Beautiful Struggle: Art and Commerce—

In a field where marketing is a dirty word, how can those given the vital job of bringing work to the public ever truly succeed? In a time of corporatism and compromised values, how do we keep an ethical aesthetic compass that points toward a true north? What does it mean to find an audience today, and how can the arts thrive in an environment where so much is aligned against it? Touching on horror, comedy, theory, and practice Daisey peels back the layers to reveal the rich heart of our artistic exchange in a candid and frank talk about the crossroads where we find ourselves at the opening of the 21st century.

Daisey will be joined by four leading artists and directors in a panel conversation about how they navigate their roles to explore and push the envelope of the aesthetic and make works that resonate with the public at the same time:

•Andreas Bottcher, CEO, Danceworks Chicago
•Henry Godinez, artistic director of the Theatre and Interpretation Center, Northwestern University, and resident artistic associate, Goodman Theater
•Adam Marks, director of artistic programming and ensemble member, Fifth House Ensemble
•Theaster Gates, Jr., urban planner, sculptor, and director of arts program development and lecturer, Department of Visual Arts at The University of Chicago

Questions? Please contact Maureen Burns at maureen.burns@cityofchicago or 312.742.1761.

Location
Chicago Cultural Center
Claudia Cassidy Theater
77 East Randolph Street

Admission
FREE. Registration Required