What does it mean as an artist-centered organization to be a full participant in civic life? How do we engage in the global community? How do we support artists working in social justice and public or community art? What responsibility do artists and arts organizations have to be civic leaders? How do we integrate support for artists, creativity, and innovation into public policy?

Seattle is rich with opportunities to address these questions – from its public art to its diverse population to its environmentalism and activism.

Join national and international leaders who engage artists and community, including artists’ residency directors, arts funders, civic leaders, activists, artists, and others.

Keynote speakers

William Cleveland
Thursday November 13
William Cleveland is author of Art and Upheaval (New Village Press, 2008) and director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community.

Richard Andrews
Friday November 14
Richard Andrews served for 20 years as director of the Henry Art Gallery at University of Washington, and for three years as director of the visual arts program at the National Endowment for the Arts. He is president of the Skystone Foundation, which manages James Turrell's Roden Crater in Arizona.

Session highlights

Public art and civic engagement
Public policy and the arts: making the case
Artists residencies support art for social change
Artists communities and urban renewal
Engaging rural communities
Artists communites as eco-stewards
Cross-discipline collaboration: integrating arts and social service
Funding social change through artists and artists communities

Events at Hedgebrook | Henry Art Gallery | Tashiro Kaplan Lofts | Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center | Pilchuck Glass School | Richard Hugo House | Suyama Space | Tacoma Art Museum | Tacoma Museum of Glass | Western Bridge