CEC ArtsLink - CEC ArtsLink

UNDERWATER FLOWS, Mishiko Sulakauri, Georgia, 2021

CEC ArtsLink supports transnational cultural mobility and collaboration, empowering artists and arts leaders to engage communities in dialogue and creative projects for a more equitable, compassionate and sustainable world. LEARN MORE

CURRENT

What a year! As we are winding down for the year w

𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝟭: 𝗡𝗬𝗖. 𝙎𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝘿𝙤𝙫𝙚 (𝘾𝙀𝘾 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙨𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠)
When I first met Simon in 2022 we had roughly 15 minutes to talk. Boy did we fit some topics into that window! Education for cultural leaders, memory, arts and healing. Not your typical small talk at a conference.
«Showcasing and selling art is good, but I want more» – that was what I ended with. «Apply for the Fellowship» was Simon’s response. I did. Cue to March on Zoom with Simon and my host, amazing Adam Horowitz (@adam.s.horowitz) discussing what my residence would center on.
First – I’m eager to explore: what’s the role and contribution of the arts for the community of a country, heading into over 1000 days of war? Steve Lambert, an impressive visual artist and cultural organizer, whom Simon and I are meeting in NYC gives his optics: art doesn’t need to directly reflect reality - it is about distraction or even mindfulness. It is rather to rebuild the spirit than directly reflect reality. «What’s the point of winning the war if you forget how to live?» asks Steve. It’s hard to disagree. Encouraging a positive mindset, being funny – this is what I find an artist's role being even about the most serious topics.
Next question. Sure, art is to distract. But can it solve issues, important and vital for a community? We are, meeting Rob Blackson – and my jaw is in a constant state of being dropped, as he tells about a project «Symphony for a Broken Orchestra». Rob (based in Philly) has run into a broken piano in one of the schools. That span into finding 1500+ other broken instruments in all school districts, photographing them, and uploading to the website “Adopt an Instrument”. A $50 donation – and you can sponsor their repair. Oh yeah, and Grammy award-winning composer David Lang has composed a symphony to make sense of the sounds these instruments make in their broken state. «All that to address the issue of institutional funding?». Yeah, a small community project can definitely address a larger problem.
«Congrats», Simon tells me as I leave this stage of my Fellowship and head to Philly. «You’ve caught the civic engagement bug». Boy, I’m grateful to the Artslink Fellowship 2024 for that!

Participate in the action of art solidarity this w

ArtsLink Assembly

An annual convening of transnational artists, thinkers, and activists working with culture to create a better world

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Supports transnational artists and arts leaders in developing community engaged practices in the US and around the world

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Supports artists, cultural organizations and communities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan

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A searchable directory of artists, curators, arts leaders, and arts organizations in our transnational network

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BACK APARTMENT RESIDENCIES

Residency program for the US and international artists and curators in St. Petersburg, Russia was suspended on February 24, 2022

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