Report on White House Briefing On Art 12 May 200

******************************************************* Introduction On May 12th, more than 60 artists and creative organizers engaged in civic participation, community development, education, social justice activism, and philanthropy came together for a White House briefing on Art, Community, Social Justice, National Recovery. This meeting combined the interests of several groups addressing intersecting issues. All are interested in the power of the arts to build communities and create change. Arlene Goldbard requested a meeting with community cultural development practitioners and thinkers to talk about how the remarkable mobilizing power of community arts can be used by the Obama administration as a tool and a pathway for national recovery. Claudine Brown of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, arts organizer Billy Wimsatt and Caron Atlas working with the Pratt Center for Community Development and State Voices, requested a meeting with policy makers, artists and organizers. Their intent was to identify existing efforts within the cultural and social justice movements that are in alignment with the national agenda and to discuss our common pursuits and possibilities. This diverse group includes Hip Hop organizers, green designers, creative communicators, social networkers, and other visual, performing, and media artists committed to social justice from both the non-profit and for-profit sectors who are working on such issues as green jobs, health care and economic justice. Each of the sponsors of this meeting had been in contact with Yosi Sergant who was then an Associate with the White House Office of Public Liaison (and is now Communications Director of the National Endowment for the Arts.) Once we understood that a larger meeting would enable us to access more advisors and policymakers, it made sense to combine forces and invitation lists. The Washington DC meeting had three parts: 1) a meeting at the Kaiser Family Foundation to prepare for the briefing, 2) the two-hour White House briefing at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and 3) a post-briefing meeting at Bus Boys & Poets to interpret and respond to what we had learned and to engage in small-group strategy sessions including: cultural policy, green jobs, immigration, public/private space, healthcare reform, organizing power on behalf of community artists, and a department of alternative thinking. This report includes notes from the White House briefing and from the post-briefing strategy session. The latter includes a summary of the small group discussions and the full notes submitted by each group, including contact information. Our intention in issuing this report is to ensure transparency for colleagues who were not at the meeting, so that they can weigh in on what was learned from the White House and respond to it. Thanks to Meghan McDermott for her extensive notes and great first draft. As our White House hosts repeated throughout the briefing, this is the beginning of a conversation. We hope that this report extends the conversation throughout the field and that it continues and expands wherever people care about art, community, social justice and national recovery. Caron Atlas, Claudine Brown, Arlene Goldbard & Billy Wimsatt................CONTINUED

White House Briefing: Art, Community, Social Justice, National Recovery On May 12th, more than 60 artists and creative organizers engaged in civic participation, community development, education, social justice activism, and philanthropy will come together for a White House briefing. During the campaign, powerful narratives, compelling images, and creative activism moved people from all walks of life to get involved in civic participation and public service. Every day, artists and organizers apply our knowledge and creativity to the actions that make democracy concrete. We perceive this as a favorable moment to catalyze broad public support for a bold and forward-looking national agenda and we look forward to discussing how we might work together toward that end. Our purposes for this White House briefing are: (1) To learn about key Obama Administration initiatives that might be advanced through the long-term engagement of artists working with communities; (2) To connect the creative community with campaigns and other action opportunities involving important national issues; (3) To share the exemplary work of our diverse field; (4) To facilitate the inclusion of dynamic cultural strategies as an integral part of the administration’s agenda for economic recovery, community renewal and civic engagement. Our work encompasses both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Our group includes individuals working independently and with a range of organizations and networks, in new and old media, including hip hop activists, green designers, creative communicators, arts educators, social networkers, and visual, performing, literary and media artists. While we work in many different ways, we share a common dedication to the power of the word, music, and image to capture moments of triumph, struggle, and transcendence. Within our group we: • Honor unheard, authentic and diverse voices; • Reach the hearts and minds of Americans who often are not included in organizing campaigns or town hall meetings, transcending the polarization that marks so much public discourse; • Cultivate social imagination, helping people to envision positive changes in their communities and the nation, to see past differences to common purpose and see themselves as part of the change; • Engage the earthshaking power of creativity in the service of national recovery. Some of us focus on the arts’ power to call attention to possibility and generate hope. Some of us focus on cultural development as a process that cultivates democracy through art and imagination, through shared stories and an experience of our own creativity. Some of us focus on cultural recovery, putting artists to work for the common good in communities across the country. As artists and organizers we are interested in advancing public policies, generating ideas, raising the visibility of key issues, and working collaboratively with the administration in support of its long-term goals. We have a deep passion for social justice and experience in carrying out successful programs and campaigns. We see this as a special moment of opportunity to be of service and advance the administration’s goals for national recovery. That the briefing is taking place is unprecedented acknowledgement from the White House that our work’s value is being perceived, which we receive with gratitude and hope. We look forward to using our creative muscle in collaboration with the Obama administration, making our mutual vision for change a reality. We will meet after the briefing to immediately begin drawing on what we have learned to inform our strategies for future action. Caron Atlas, Claudine Brown, Arlene Goldbard & Billy Wimsatt

from valerie jarrett’s ear into barack’s.
the WH people told these 60 peeps in May whom to speak to and whom had Barack’s ear.

is valerie jarrett a mother figure to Barack?

(nice sized pdf link)
http://www.statevoices.org/system/files/WH%20Briefing%20Report%206-4-09_0.pdf

Mike Strautmanis directed our attention to key people with whom to foster relationships: Kareem
Dale, who was appointed to deal with the arts specifically; and Valerie Jarrett, a close confidante
and advisor to the First Family, who connects directly to the Oval Office.
He also introduced Yosi Sergant, who was instrumental in arranging the briefing. Yosi had just left
the Office of Public Engagement to serve as Communications Director at the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA), noting that he represents the commitment to bring in people not
traditionally part of the political process to share their talents and skills. He recognized that Yosi’s
efforts had made the campaign soar with arts work beyond what could have happened with
traditional political consultants. With Yosi and Anita Decker (Director of Government Affairs at the
NEA) in place, he explained, people very close to the President are involved in the effort.
“Q: William Cleveland, Center for the Study of Art & Community, noted that he appreciated
Strautmanis’s words about seeking advice, input and connections. He suggested the people in
the room equaled a think tank to serve the administration’s aims, and asked how in practical
terms we could connect to the administration’s policy work.
A: Mike Strautmanis described two paths. First, there are formal, set pieces of work such as the
healthcare debate, efforts to reduce energy costs and the commitment to community service. In
these areas, the administration wants to bring people in informally to advise and offer
perspectives and to receive updates on impact. The administration wants to know what’s missing
or doesn’t make sense, and will reach out periodically as issues come up.
Second, through Kareem Dale, there is a conduit to the White House and the Obama
Administration, to initiate contact and stay in touch via email and phone. The administration has
an agenda, but there are things activists know and are involved in that the administration can’t
know directly, such as ways to communicate with people and how to motivate them culturally.”

***I just noted this little gem that I hadn’t before. Notice the word WHITE.

A: Joseph Reinstein noted that the Office of Legal Affairs has sometimes been annoyed at the
Social Secretary’s office restricting the number of politicos who can come to events to make room
for others. Music students and faculty from Berkeley, Julliard and Oberlin attended the Stevie
Wonder tribute, for instance. Part of delivering on the promise to be the people’s house, he told
us, is to be responsive to the community and public, so inclusion is a major objective and
criterion for every event. The guest list is no longer just VIP and white.

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