The Three Bells

Summary
In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato speaks with David Cowan, Chief Public Spaces Officer at the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). David expands on the work of DDP in developing public spaces that place the wishes and needs of Detroiters at the forefront. The two go on to discuss the numerous attributes that create a successful vibrant public space; from programming to financial models to public safety, DDP considers it all.

External references

• Downtown Detroit Partnership: https://downtowndetroit.org/
• Dlectricy – outdoor visual light + art celebration: https://dlectricity.com/
• Beacon Park – new park in Detroit built in 2017: https://downtowndetroit.org/experience-downtown/downtown-detroit-parks/beacon-park/
• Downtown Detroit Parks: https://downtowndetroit.org/experience-downtown/downtown-detroit-parks/
• David Cowan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcowanarts/

Guest bio
Michigan native and Chief Public Spaces Officer at the Downtown Detroit Partnership. David is an intuitive, results-focused Executive, recognized as a strategic leader in Nonprofit Organizational Development, Public Spaces and Placemaking, Arts Management, Signature Events, Real Estate, and Destination Marketing.

In this episode, our host Adrian Ellis speaks with Hilary Knight, Senior Consultant at AEA Consulting. The two focus on all things digital within the cultural sector; from engaging online and in-person audiences to the importance of developing digital strategies, Hilary shares her extensive knowledge on this crucial and fast-evolving field.

External references:

• Hilary Knight’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarycpknight/
• The Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/
• The Tank Museum: https://tankmuseum.org/
• The Tank Museum’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thetankmuseum
• 59 Productions: https://59productions.co.uk/
• Kings Cross: https://www.kingscross.co.uk/
• V+A Museum’s Exhibit, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser: https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/alice-curiouser-and-curiouser
• The Space Economy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_economy

Hilary Knight Bio: 

Hilary is a senior executive with over 20 years of experience delivering strong growth and performance for creative and cultural organisations, including the Tate, Channel 4, Film4, and BBC. A highly commercial leader, she combines a wealth of experience in strategy and leadership with deep experience in digital and new technologies, audience-centric approaches, and agile methodologies, enabling organisations to remain competitive and significant in their space. 

Her career began with BBC Radio 1 where she led on content production for digital platforms and online channels at the advent of the transition into digital music and social media. This was followed by a long career with Channel 4, leading online and digital content for Channel 4’s news and documentary output, Film4’s channel and production house, and Channel 4 drama.

As Director of Digital for Tate, she developed and delivered a strategy that generated double-digit, year-on-year growth to its digital audience, and worked with the organisation to embed digital within their core capabilities and practices.

In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Paul Farber, Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab. They discuss the origins of Monument Lab and the value of understanding, setting, and respecting boundaries for healthy collaboration. The two also discuss Monument Lab’s Pulling Together – an upcoming public art exhibition taking place from August 18th – September 18th, 2023 – which will bring forward new perspectives on Washington D.C.’s National Mall.

External references:

• Monument Lab’s Website: https://monumentlab.com/
• Marian Anderson and the Easter Sunday Concert, April 9, 1939: https://youtu.be/XF9Quk0QhSE
• More about Marian Anderson, and how she came to perform on the Lincoln Memorial steps: https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2014/05/20/marian-anderson-and-the-easter-sunday-concert-april-9-1939/
• Monument Lab’s exhibition, Pulling Together: https://monumentlab.com/projects/national-mall-project
• Pulling Together Artist Derrick Adams: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-derrick-adams
• Pulling Together Artist Tiffany Chung: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-tiffany-chung
• Pulling Together Artist Ashon T. Crawley: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-ashon-t-crawley
• Pulling Together Artist Vanessa German: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-vanessa-german
• Pulling Together Artist Paul Ramírez Jonas: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-paul-ramirez-jonas
• Pulling Together Artist Wendy Red Star: https://monumentlab.com/projects/pulling-together-artist-wendy-red-star
• What lies underneath the Lincoln Memorial: https://www.moon.com/travel/arts-culture/secrets-of-the-lincoln-memorial/#:~:text=Hanging%20from%20the%20ceiling%20beneath,started%20when%20it%20was%20built.
• Rhode Island Black Storytellers: https://ribsfest.org/

Paul Farber's bio:
Paul M. Farber (he or they) is Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab. He is the host of The Statue, a podcast series from WHYY. Farber also serves as Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art & Space at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Farber and the team at Monument Lab were the inaugural grantees of the Mellon Foundation’s “Monuments Project,” a $250 million initiative to “transform the way our country’s histories are told in public spaces,” including Monument Lab’s National Monument Audit and the opening of research field offices throughout the United States. Farber has co-curated Monument Lab projects including its original Philadelphia City Hall discovery exhibition (Philadelphia, 2015), citywide public art and history exhibition (Philadelphia, 2017), A Call to Peace (Military Park Newark, 2019), Public Iconographies (Pulitzer Foundation, 2019-2020), and Staying Power (Village of Arts and Humanities, 2021).

Farber's research and curatorial projects explore transnational urban history, cultural memory, and creative approaches to civic engagement. He is author of A Wall of Our Own: An American History of the Berlin Wall (University of North Carolina Press, 2020) which tells the untold story of a group of American artists and writers (Leonard Freed, Angela Davis, Shinkichi Tajiri, and Audre Lorde) who found refuge along the Berlin Wall and in Cold War Germany in order to confront political divisions back home in the United States. He is also co-editor with Ken Lum of Monument Lab: Creative Speculations for Philadelphia (Temple University Press, 2019), a public art and history handbook designed to generate new critical ways of thinking about and building monuments.

In addition to his work with Monument Lab, Farber served as curator for the inaugural Artist-in-Residence Program at the Office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia (2020), keynote speaker for the Americans for the Arts national conference (2020), and Scholar in Residence at Mural Arts Philadelphia (2015–2017). He serves as an advisor to numerous monument and memorial projects including for the City of Newark and the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. His work on culture has also previously appeared in The Guardian, Brooklyn Rail, Al Jazeera, Museums & Social Issues, Diplomatic History, Art & the Public Sphere, Vibe, and on NPR. 

Farber earned a PhD and MA in American Culture from the University of Michigan and a BA in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode of The Three Bells, our host, Criena Gehrke sits down with Senior Architect Naseema Asif and Studio Director Peter Emerson, from international design collective RIOS. The two share their insights on what goes into making a project successful, from incorporating evolution to exploring unanticipated angles and embracing a touch of 'messiness' throughout the process.

External references:

• RIOS website
• The Music Center Plaza
• San Diego’s Balboa Park
• Houston’s Lynn Watt Square For Performing Arts
• Gold Coast Hi-Lights
• Lampposts of progress: Hi-Lights
• Gold Coast Council votes to remove public art installation 'Hi-Lights' from the M1 at Yatala

Naseema Asif Bio:

Naseema is a Senior Architect at RIOS. She has been the Project Architect on commercial and institutional projects ranging from a community center in Playa Vista to the transformation of a 1980s office park into creative office space.

She is a trusted architect and manager, orchestrating complex project teams and projects with a focused vision on the end result. These projects track an ongoing exploration into the integration of tools from architecture and landscape architecture to shape spaces that respond to the unique relationship between a proposed program and the site’s environment. She adeptly blends disciplines to create places that blur traditional boundaries and redefine our conceptions of place.

Naseema is inspired by the notion of craft and tectonics. Her personal interest in making manifests through construction as an art form, exploring the juxtaposition of materials and textures in projects which transcend disciplines.

Her expertise and experience with sustainability is evident in her work on the Resort at Playa Vista. The green building strategies she instituted for this project led to a LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of environmental recognition. Her current projects include Music Center Plaza Renovation, which will enhance the Center’s connection to the community by making it more accessible to the public, and The Park, a transformation of San Diego Tech Center into and amenity-filled active landscape to augment the workplace community.

Peter Emerson Bio:

Peter has built a career around complex projects and integrated design. Since joining RIOS in 2016, Peter has quickly contributed these skills to become an integral part of the practice. His wealth of experience designing and building campus landscapes, parks, and iconic public spaces have been an asset to some of our most complex projects. Peter melds landscape, planning, and architecture at all scales of design, while working closely with stakeholders, collaborators, and clients to create inspiring places for people to live, work, and play.

His experience spans levels of scale and expertise, from organic farming and systems all the way to international experience designing landscapes for U.S. embassies that promote ecological diplomacy and design excellence. His projects find balance, whether it be between security and accessibility like at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and grounds, or design and programming like at Jones Plaza in the Houston Theater District. He is a registered landscape architect and a 2009 Olmsted Scholar.

Short Summary: 

In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato talks to Helen Kearney and Kat Pegler, authors of the recently released report: Sustainable Development in Cultural Districts – commissioned by The City of London Corporation with the support of GCDN.

References:

• Sustainable Development in Cultural Districts Report – a report commissioned by The City of London Corporation with the support of GCDN.
• The Quartier des spectacles – a cultural district in downtown Montreal and a member of GCDN.
• 7 Square Endeavour – a collaboration-driven programme with a mission to sustainably transform seven urban squares around the world.
• The Rotterdam Theatre Square – part of the 7 Square Endeavour and featured in the report.

Helen Kearney Bio:

Helen Kearney is a Project Manager, Writer, and Historian with specialism in design, architecture, and development of cities. She is currently Operations Manager at ICOMOS-UK, and Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University in London. Helen is an experienced Project Manager with expertise in projects in the cultural sector, built environment and public spaces. 
 
Helen has managed complex, multi-disciplinary, built environment projects in central London with a particular focus on culture-led regeneration and public space design. She is a qualified Planner, specializing in sustainability practices in cities, in relation to the UN frameworks including the Sustainable Development Goals. 
 
Hlen holds a PhD from the Royal College of Art in London, in which she explored the history of communications in Victorian London and the impact that communications technology had on the development of the city. She recently completed a research report for the City of London Corporation that investigated the sustainability practices in a number of cultural districts across the world. 

Kat Pegler Bio: 

Kat Pegler is a multi-disciplinary creative who is passionate about increasing access to the creative industries. She loves creating exciting and imaginative work in unconventional spaces and has produced and created a number of immersive and intriguing experiences for the public, bringing people closer to heritage, history and art.
 
Kat has worked with an array of arts & cultural organizations across the UK and within the film industry, as well as a creative in marketing, she has an excellent understanding of how to engage a variety of audiences. As a researcher and creative in the climate art sector, specializing in eco-artivism, she is eager to collaborate with likeminded artists and people working in STEM to investigate ways to maximize the effect art can have on influencing climate action. 
 
Kat is a co-founder of Leo, an alternative reading platform for creatives who have dyslexia, to help increase access to the creative sector. Leo collaborates with leading creatives and authors across the industry, and now has an exclusive collaboration with Campaign Magazine.

In this episode, our host Adrian Ellis speaks with Botswana-based curator, DJ, and arts journalist Basadi Dibeela. Basadi shares her cultural journey that spanned various disciplines, in various countries and continents. The two then talk about Basadi’s recently published article for GCDN, Opportunities for Cultural Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from attending the GCDN 2022 Convening.

References:

• Opportunities for Cultural Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from attending the GCDN 2022 Convening – by Basadi Dibeela
• Latitudes CuratorLab – Online curatorial residency for emerging curators in Africa:
• Basadi’s CuratorLab Viewing Room
• Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF) – Arts Festival that promotes Malawian arts and culture: 
• Tropical Storm Freddy – hurricane that devastated Malawi
• Sauti Za Busara – One of East Africa’s largest music festivals held in Zanzibar, Tanzania: 
• MTN Bushfire - One of Africa’s largest multicultural music and arts festival
• New Americans Forum - a growing Social Forum focused on helping all refugees and immigrants communities and enhancing the American experience based in Syracuse, NY
• Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) – West African art museum in Nigera
• MuseumFutures Africa - a pan-African, people-centred cultural project that works with museums across the continent to test, explore and study potentials for new formats of African museology
• Keleketla! Library – an arts archive, educational workshop and performance space in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Underground – nomadic and collaborative art space in Uganda
• Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkman – book referenced during Adrian’s end segment

Basadi Dibeela Bio:

Basadi Dibeela is an arts and culture curator, DJ, and freelance arts journalist. Her work centres around arts, innovation, and sustainability. Drawn to villages as much as to cities, she is interested in an expansive and accessible art landscape that does not only look to - but seeks to find new expressions and vocabularies outside of cities and metropolitan areas. She is exploring what critical cultural placemaking looks in the context of a village, and the role of the artist, the curator, and the community in shaping what that could look like.

Previously, Basadi has worked as a strategic planner and programme developer, while serving on the board of the Kgosi Bathoen II Museum in her home village of Kanye, Botswana. As a social entrepreneur, Basadi started the Loselo Kultur Network, an organisation devoted to operating a multi-disciplinary arts and innovation space that encourages critical thinking, ideas exchange, experimentation. Basadi holds a Masters in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University in New York USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Botswana.

Summary: 

In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato sits down with Matthew Ché Kowal and Molly North, founders of Majestic Collaborations, a company that takes an experiential learning approach to community preparedness, specifically using music, art, and cultural festivals as an immersive classroom. The three discuss Majestic Collaborations’ Four Pillars model for successful events: Safety, Sustainability, Accessibility, and Community Engagement.

References:

• Standing Rock Protest, 2016 – 2017 protests against the Dakota Access pipeline - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline_protests
• Tour de Fat, bicycle parade by New Belgium Brewing company - https://www.newbelgium.com/events/tour-de-fat2/
• Performing Arts Readiness Project - https://performingartsreadiness.org/
• Denver Pride Festival - https://denverpride.org/fest/
• Elijah Anderson, American Sociologist and author of The Cosmopolitan Canopy: Race and Civility in Everyday Life- http://elijahanderson.com/
• Mellon foundation, New York based not for profit corportation - https://mellon.org/
• Salt Fat Acid Heat Cookbook written by Samin Nosrat - https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/
• Plena Music, native to Puerto Rico - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency - https://www.fema.gov/
• Art of Mass Gatherings Symposium - https://theartofmassgatherings.com/
• Matthew Che Kowal’s Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/matthew-kowal

Matthew Ché Kowal bio:

Matthew, co-founder of Majestic Collaborations, Majestic Amplifications, and Majestic Water is a festival coordinator, artistic director, spokesperson, musician, and community leader. His consulting work with Performing Arts Readiness spans agencies, festivals and venues in emergency and disaster preparedness. Contracted by Denver Arts & Venues, the Canadian Government, brands like New Belgium, and festivals like Tour de Fat, and Five Points Jazz Festival, he has organized hundreds of gatherings since 2005, collectively raising over $5 million to raise awareness and resources to capitalize locally-directed initiatives and inspire advocacy. A passionate skill-sharer, Matthew has used collective leadership to arrive at state-of-the-art festivals that are sustainable, safe, and equitable. A recovering marketer with a knack for initiating and identifying trends; he envisioned the experiential learning platform Art of Mass Gatherings Symposium as a way to catalyze emergency preparedness training across multiple stakeholders.

Molly North bio:

Molly North co-founded Majestic Collaborations to directly participate in community resilience work. She believes the resilience of a community is enhanced through effective preparation, mitigation, response and recovery, all of which can be enhanced by a strong art community. And when a community elevates artists and starts to more highly value the contributions of artists, they enhance the ability of their community to be more resilient. Molly is also the co-founder of Majestic Amplifications and Majestic Water.

Molly is also a progressive transportation leader. She has her Master of Engineering degree and has developed a unique set of technical, policy, and planning skills as well as expertise in communication and collaboration. She believes active transportation is essential to solving issues such as the climate crisis, environmental racism, and declining mental and physical health outcomes.

Summary
In this episode, our host Criena Gehrke talks with Elly Andriopoulou, Managing Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). The two discuss the origins and evolution of SNFCC – as well as its early successes, stemming from a strong vision of enacting social impact and the ambition to be a cultural center for all. 

Elly speaks about the social impact of SNFCC and highlights the importance of building impact studies into planning processes, as those can put into perspective the scale and reach of what a capital infrastructure project can bring to its community – by showing how it is viewed in the public eye, providing metrics around environmental and financial impact, and identifying clear KPI’s for stakeholders as well as the community.

Later in the episode, Criena and Elly talk about the various ways SNFCC aims to evolve and diversify its business model. They also talk about SNFCC’s role in developing cultural tourism in Athens – and the balance between that role and its primary mission of serving the local community. 

Criena wraps up the episode with her thoughts on Australia’s recently released National Cultural Policy – which she applauds as a beacon of optimism for the Australian creative sector in the years ahead.

References:

• Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
• SNFCC Board of Directors
• Greek National Opera
• The National Library of Greece
• Stavros Niarchos Foundation
• SNFCC's 2022 Impact Study
• Australia’s National Cultural Policy

Bio
Elly Andriopoulou is the Chairwoman and Managing Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), appointed in June 2020. Before joining the SNFCC, Elly held leadership positions in banking, strategy consulting, and most recently, philanthropy. She holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a BA in Psychology from Deree College.

Summary: 

In this episode, our host Adrian Ellis speaks with Vincent Chang, Deputy Chairman and Partner at Grimshaw Architects. Together, they explore the distinctive contribution of architecture. Having been with Grimshaw for over 20 years, Vincent also talks about his role managing the practice, and how vital it is for all to share a strong commitment to process – emphasizing the importance of understanding projects more holistically, as well as the butterfly effect that can happen by investing time and capital on initial concepts. 

Later in the episode, Vincent shares how to create successful future developments by revisiting and observing past projects over multiple periods of time. He recognizes that architects contribute not only to the technical integration of assets but must also prioritize generating an emotional response and one’s relationship with a space. Vincent talks about the importance of movement modeling when designing a space, which allow architects to understand intended paths of travel as well as ensure an adequate level of service with relation to people moving throughout an area. He states that spaces should have intuitive movement, while also allowing users to pause and observe their surroundings. Adrian and Vincent conclude the episode by speaking about the architectural legacy of the pandemic.

References:

• Penn Station Expansion – A commuter-first plan to transform Penn Station into a first-class transit hub that better serves passengers with more space, new retail and amenities, and improved accessibility options.
• Google Development in San Jose – Google’s 80-acre Downtown West project, first proposed in 2019.
• Urban Design Forum – the Urban Design Forum convenes civic leaders to confront the defining issues in New York City’s built environment.
• Fulton Center – a subway and retail complex centered at the intersection of Fulton Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
• Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science – a leading science museum dedicated to sharing the power of science, sparking wonder and investigation, and fueling innovation for the future.

Bio:

Vincent Chang is Grimshaw's Deputy Chairman and Partner. He has been with Grimshaw since 1996 and has played an instrumental role in the expansion of the practice while maintaining a commitment to the quality, rigor and reputation for excellence that Grimshaw is known for. He established the firm's New York office in 2001 and was instrumental in securing the AIA New York Chapter's Medal of Honor Award in 2015 (the Chapter’s highest honor that is conferred on an architect, or firm of architects, to recognize distinguished work and high professional standing). Vincent is a graduate of Cambridge University and is a registered member of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects, and Living Future Accredited by the International Living Future Institute.

Summary
In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Simon Cane, Director of Cultural Engagement at University College of London (UCL) and Chair at Kings Cross Knowledge Quarter (KQ). Simon plays a large role in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s development, East Bank, a new cultural and educational powerhouse composed of five organizations located in London, UK. Simon speaks about the benefits and challenges that come with having multiple organizations in one district. He also talks about the different programs and opportunities East Bank has created that promote inclusive growth, diversification within the sector and community engagement. He shares the importance of knowing the surrounding communities and their needs when creating these programs. Simon also shares his thoughts on the benefits of partnering with artists, and how they inspire empathy towards the challenges that local communities face, shifting the conversation and spreading awareness.

Simon later shares his thoughts on iconoclasm, specifically with relation to the ‘Just Stop Oil’ movement and how art can act as a lightning rod, bringing awareness to current issues. He speaks about the ambivalence he feels for movements such as this, and the balance that is necessary to navigate these difficult topics.

Wrapping up the episode with our new segment titled “Things That Keep Me up at Night”, Stephanie shares with listeners her feelings about the recent US midterm elections and her concern for democracy worldwide. She emphasizes the necessity of interdependence, and shares that she seeks out arts news that highlights communities rather than turning to the 24-hour news cycle to stay informed. Creatives are impacting local communities, and artists are needed to activate civic imagination to create meaningful change. She wraps up her monologue by sharing follow up thoughts sent via email by Simon Cane.

External Links

• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
• East Bank
• University College London
• London College of Fashion
• Sadler’s Wells East
• BBC
• V&A Museum East
• H is for Hostile Environment - moving image piece by Edward Mingard and Keren Weitzberg that explores migration and asylum seeking in East London
• Simon was part of an international research project funded by AHRC a few years back on iconoclasms – which resulted in this book
• King’s Cross Knowledge Quarter
• Four scenarios for a world in disorder
• Just Stop Oil's Van Gogh soup stunt is the latest streak of radical art protest by women
• The great women's art bulletin: each fortnight Katy Hessel discusses an artwork made by a woman which speaks to today's news agenda
• 4 museum curators around Boston who are shaping what we see next, and how we see it 
• LA Vanguardia: An L.A. Times project celebrating the Latino vanguard transforming our cultural landscape
• Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
• Iggy Pop
• Iggy Pop - Lust for Life

Bio:
Simon Cane is Director of Cultural Engagement at University College of London (UCL) and Chair at Kings Cross Knowledge Quarter (KQ). Whilst his background is rooted in material culture and its preservation he is equally interested in the power of knowledge and culture, their production, their sharing and their impact.