Exploring Inclusive Creative Economy Definitions & Concepts Part 1

Recorded On: 03/19/2021

Overview
Speaker(s)

About this Webinar

This session is the first of a two-part webinar to explore foundational concepts and definitions related to what an ‘inclusive creative economy’ means when it comes to talking about individuals. This program will focus terms such as “arts worker,” “creative workers,” and “artist,” and explore how using different language in different contexts and communities evokes different responses. The session will offer examples of how they come to life in the real world, and provide space for discussion and questions.

In this session, attendees will:

Explore concepts and terms related to an inclusive creative economy and what those terms mean in different contexts.
Hear some examples of projects that have brought the terms to life. Discuss ideas for incorporating or building on the terms in their own communities, and what barriers might exist.

ABOUT THIS TWO-PART WEBINAR

Understanding and creating shared language is critical if we are to do our work thoughtfully and with intention. Talking about the “creative economy” can mean many things to people. As Americans for the Arts launches a multi-year effort to support the continued development of local creative economies, we begin with the basics of exploring the language we use and how it can translate across communities. These two-part webinars will delve into foundational concepts and definitions related to what an ‘inclusive creative economy’ means when it comes to talking about individuals, institutions, and economic systems. These programs will focus on a few terms, offer examples of how they can be applied, how other organizations and practitioners may use different language in different contexts, and provide space for discussion and questions. In this two-part webinar, practitioners will gain knowledge of equity-based terms and concepts for the purpose of working as informed community partners in the development of their local inclusive creative economy.

abdiel j. lopez

Program Officer

Center for Cultural Innovation

abdiel j. lópez (they/them) is the program officer at the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a California-based knowledge and financial services incubator for individual artists. As program officer, they manage the AmbitioUS portfolio, which invests in alternative economic paradigms of and federated infrastructure by those most dispossessed—primarily BIPOC communities—who are seeking financial self-determination in order to preserve and support their cultural identity and artistic expressions on their own terms. They also help facilitate the CAL-Now Network and administer the CALI Accelerator Grant program. abdiel joined CCI in 2019 as the program assistant and later became the program associate.

Previously, abdiel was a gallery manager at Galería Estéreo in Mexico City. abdiel jump-started a career in the arts and culture sector after co-curating En Voyage: Hybridity and Vodou in Haitian Art at the Grinnell College Museum of Art and subsequently joining 18th Street Arts Center as the 2018 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Curatorial Programs Intern. Outside of CCI, abdiel works as a research assistant for a book project on the political activism of the adolescent and young adult children of immigrants. abdiel earned a B.A. in sociology and studied art history at Grinnell College. Born and raised in Los Angeles, abdiel currently lives in Koreatown with their Pomeranian dog Horchata.

Website: https://www.cciarts.org/