E89- “Can the Arts Create a Ruckus?”
"Can the arts provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue in a period of disruption?" On a lovely June evening the Short Fuse opened the pod and hosted a conversation in a studio at the Boston Lyric Opera on Channel Street. Throughout the lively conversation we considered the challenges that are being faced in the performing arts, the role of criticism now, and the importance of space through the lens of an architect.
Akiba Abaka urged artists “to make a ruckus,” while Dawn Simmons emphasized the need to draw audiences off their “couches” and back into shared experiences. Bill Marx framed criticism as “a primal instinct,” essential to cultural vitality. For Anthony Piermarini, any path forward requires grappling with place itself, beginning with the fundamental question: “What is architecture?”This episode is an edited recording of the conversation. It can also be found on the Short Fuse YouTube channel.
The Short Fuse hosted by ELIZABETH HOWARD, are conversations with artists, writers, musicians, and others who have a lens on contemporary thought and stir us to seek change. Through their art, music, performances, and singular vision they lead us through the social and environmental transformations sweeping across the globe. GERALD KENT, a musician and audio engineer based in Cape Town, South Africa, is the producer of the Short Fuse. JESSICA KHAN assisted in editing the conversation.
“Artists are here to disturb the peace.” James Baldwin.
The Short Fuse is distributed through theArts Fuse, a journal of arts criticism and commentary.
