WHAT NOW? Conference
- SMASH STAFF
- Aug 16, 2022
- 2 min read
September 30 - October 2, 2022 at Washington Hall & Online
The WHAT NOW? Conference Towards Artist-Led Movements is a regionally-focused, 3-day hybrid gathering in Seattle, Washington, that envisions the transformative possibilities birthed in moments of uncertainty. This gathering, designed by a Seattle team of artists and organizers in partnership with Common Field, is organized to strengthen creative ecosystems by building collective power and mutual awareness toward activating shared visions and strategies to transform structural inequities. Programming will be holistic and interactive to maximize the engagement and utility of resources. Sessions will include peer-to-peer workshops, collaborative arts network mapping, facilitated conversations, and other embodied practices. A combination of virtual and in-person programs will bring local and national voices together across regions to share the work that's working and dream the models for our futures. Expect the unexpected.
Conference programs will address:
The Role of Artists: How are artists and cultural workers leading in this moment of recovery and reimagination? How do we come together to build relationships, heal traumas, and resolve conflicts, to better weave together art-led movements?
The Structure of Support: What strategies and resources are needed for economic sustainability and equitable growth? How do we amplify existing solutions and cultivate collective abundance in our artistic ecosystems?
Program Accessibility
Accessibility will be a primary area of focus to ensure that our online and onsite audiences are supported in their participation; ASL and real-time captioning (CART) will be provided for all programs online and onsite.
Program registration will open in August and include tiered, self-selecting sliding-scale ticket prices for online and on-site attendance, with all levels providing access to the hybrid program. During registration, attendees will also be able to make special requests for additional accessibility tools. As always, our team will do our best to accommodate those needs.
Organizing Partners
In partnership with Common Field and lead organizers Vee Hua and Julie-C alongside Randy Engstrom, Anne Focke, and Elisheba Johnson. Curatorial advisors include Ebony Arunga, Soulma Ayers, Shelagh Brown, Olisa Enrico, Carolyn Hitt, Yingzhao Liu, Mari Shibuya, Jac Smith, Markeith Wiley, and Boting Zhang. Special thanks to Emily Zimmerman, an early advisor to the project.
Other partner organizations include, SMASH, Jack Straw Cultural Center for media and documentation, and Wa Na Wari, Northwest Film Forum, and On The Block as program partners. Thanks to ArtsFund, Artist Trust, and Seattle's Artist Coalition for Equitable Development.
