How Should Arts Institutions Navigate the Culture Wars - Johanna Burton, Nataki Garrett, and more

This panel discussion with Johanna Burton, Snehal Desai, Nataki Garrett, Adam D. Weinberg, and Kristin Sakoda took place during the 2023 Thomas Mann House annual conference on "Arts in Times of Crises - The Role of Artists in Weakened Democracies" on November 18 & 19 at REDCAT Los Angeles.
Polarization has engulfed arts organizations-like every other institution in 21st-century American and European life. But rather than finding themselves pulled apart by political parties doing battle, museums, performing arts companies, and other cultural cornerstones often face other conflicting demands, positioned between their aging donors and overwhelmingly white audience-bases on one side and younger, more diverse artists and new audiences on the other. How are institutional leaders navigating the warring tides of politics and public opinion-tides that may steer them toward uncertain futures? Can organizations help artists, patrons, and the public find common ground, or productive ways to discuss their differences, in this moment of deep democratic and cultural conflict? And, even as they themselves struggle to stay afloat, how do arts institutions serve as spaces of civic engagement, community, and inclusion? MOCA director Johanna Burton, Center Theatre Group artistic director Snehal Desai, former Oregon Shakespeare Festival executive artistic director Nataki Garrett, and Whitney Museum director emeritus Adam D. Weinberg discuss how the culture wars have impacted their work, and where they see institutions, and the arts at large, going next.
Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, REDCAT & Los Angeles Review of Books.
Learn more about the conference: vatmh.org/en/eventreader/arts...
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Participants: Johanna Burton, Snehal Desai, Nataki Garrett, Adam D. Weinberg, and Kristin Sakoda
Johanna Burton is an art historian, curator, writer, and educator and since November 2021 she has been the Maurice Marciano Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. Burton holds more than a decade of leadership experience in major museums and prominent arts and education institutions. Prior to her role at MOCA her past posts include tenures as Executive Director of the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio, Keith Haring Director & Curator of Education and Public Engagement at the New Museum, NY, and Associate Director & Senior Faculty Member at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program.
Prior to being named Center Theatre Group’s new Artistic Director, Snehal Desai was the Producing Artistic Director of East West Players, the nation’s largest and oldest Asian American theatre company. While at EWP, Desai produced and directed the three highest grossing and most attended shows in their fifty-seven-year history. Additionally, through his leadership he sought to raise awareness on social issues that affect Angelenos through impactful and empowering storytelling. Desai received his B.A. from Emory University in political science and theater studies and completed an MFA in directing at Yale University.
Nataki Garrett is a nationally recognized artistic leader. She was the first Executive Artistic Director and the sixth Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Garett is also the first female and person of color in the country to lead a forty-four million theater company. While at OSF, Garrett created Quills Fest, an immersive digital event intersecting XR and theater. In 2022 she served as executive producer for the Sundance award winning film YOU GO GIRL!, and the film ASHLAND both by Shariffa Ali. She has received several awards including the 2023 Bronze Telly Award and the OMPA Creative Innovation award.
Adam D. Weinberg is an art museum curator and director emeritus. From 2003- October 2023 he served as the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art. During his tenure, the Whitney has presented dozens of critically acclaimed exhibitions on diverse emerging, mid-career and senior artists and created award-winning educational programs. In addition to his leadership at the Whitney, Weinberg serves on the boards of numerous arts organizations from the Terra Foundation for American Art, and Storm King Art Center to the American Academy in Rome. In 2024 he will be a Presidential Fellow at The American Academy in Berlin.
Kristin Sakoda is an arts executive, attorney, and performing artist. She is Director of the L.A. County Department of Arts and Culture, a local arts agency with a mission of advancing arts, culture, and creativity. Prior to her role, Sakoda served as the Executive Director of the L.A County Arts Commission. Under her leadership, she led the organization during its historic transition into the County’s first Department of Arts and Culture.