Public Art for Public Good: Reimagining Community Investment

Join HowlRound and Company One for a roundtable conversation that will explore how Boston’s commitment to expanding public access to the arts has redefined what constitutes public art and its impact on placemaking efforts. This event will feature Boston-based arts leaders and funders, arts leaders from around the country, and national funders, including representatives from the Mellon Foundation, to speak toward the vision, leadership, and expertise on public art efforts.

This event is part of a multi-day convening of a new national cohort of theatres launched in January 2024. Cleveland Public Theatre in Ohio, Company One Theatre in Massachusetts, Crowded Fire Theater in California, Mosaic Theater Company in Washington, DC, and Perseverance Theatre in Alaska launched a new collaboration, the Future of American Theatre Cohort, bolstered by a generous $2.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. These are intentionally multiracial organizations who envision an American theatre that aspires to be a tool for social change, serving as a catalyst for cross-cultural connection and learning. In the face of rising rates of theatre closures and shrinking audiences, these five small to midsize theaters have come together to share resources, foster collective learning, and champion new visions for the American theatre. Each of these organizations will receive support from Mellon to support their ongoing innovation, cultural change-making, and ambitious artistic programming. This support from Mellon combined with the generous support from the Activation Grant from the Office of Culture also helped Company One launch its Public Art for Public Good initiative.

Over the next two years, each organization in the cohort will host one in-person gathering designed to provide space for peer learning and local engagement. The cohort’s insights will be shared throughout the theatre industry to promote widespread learning. This September marks the first cohort convening, hosted by Company One in partnership with HowlRound Theatre Commons.

Hosted by the HowlRound Theatre Commons and Company One at Emerson College, Boston.

Moderator: Ilana Brownstein

Speakers:

• Shawn LaCount: artistic director and co-founder, Company One Theatre
• Summer L. Williams: associate artistic director and co-founder, Company One Theatre
• Kara Elliott-Ortega: chief of arts and culture, City of Boston
• Michael Colford: director of library services, Boston Public Library OR
• David Leonard: president, Boston Public Library
• SueEllen Kroll: senior program officer, Arts and Creativity, Barr Foundation
• Stephanie Ybarra: program officer, Arts and Culture, Mellon Foundation
• Catherine T. Morris: founder and artistic director, Boston Art and Music Soul Festiva (BAMS Festl) and director of arts and culture, the Boston Foundation
• Kenneth Bailey: founder and methodology and strategy director, Design Studio for Social Intervention (DS4SI)
• Jaronzie Harris: artist, Dorchester Weather Theatre Ensemble and the Lot Next Door
• Alison Yueming Qu: executive director, CHUANG Stage 

Schedule (time listed in EDT / Boston):

• 10:15 a.m.-11:00 a.m.: Panel conversation with Ilana, Shawn, Summer, Michael Colford or David Leonard, Kara Elliott-Ortega
• 11:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m.: Break
• 11:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Inner circle conversation
• 12:00 p.m.-12:25p.m.: Outer circle conversation
• 12:25 p.m.-12:30 p.m.: Closing remarks