The Roots Of Culture The Power Of Art

An engaging history of the Canada Council for the Arts that marks its sixtieth anniversary.

The Canada Council for the Arts is the country’s largest provider of grants for artists and arts organizations, benefiting not only writers, visual artists, performers, and musicians but Canadian culture as a whole. In The Roots of Culture, the Power of Art Monica Gattinger outlines the history of the Canada Council, the impetus for its foundation, and the ongoing debate about its goals and impact. Tracing the Council’s gradual shift from focusing on artistic supply and building the roots of Canadian arts and culture in its early years to its expanded focus on the power of the arts in society over time, Gattinger describes how leaders have navigated core tensions inherent in the Council’s activities. She examines the arguments for and against “art for art’s sake” and pursuing broader social and economic aims through the arts, as well as the inherent political conflicts between serving the needs of the artistic community and the needs of Canadian society, between leadership and followership, between autonomy and collaboration, and between emerging and established artistic practices. Combining lively storytelling with insightful analysis, and beautifully produced with dozens of photos of the art, people, and events that have shaped the organization through the years, The Roots of Culture, the Power of Art is essential reading for those with an interest in Canadian arts and culture and cultural policy.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of Canadian cultural policy and research, at a time of transition and redefinition, to establish a dialogue between conventional and emerging foundations. Taking a historical view, the book informs insights on current trends in policy and explores global debates underpinning cultural policy studies within a local context. The book first acknowledges what Canadian cultural policy research conventionally recognizes and refers to in terms of institutions, values, and debates, before moving on to take stock of the transformations that are continuing to reshape Canadian cultural policy in terms of values, orientations, actors, and institutions. With a focus on all levels of government-- federal, provincial, and local -- the book also centers on Indigenous arts policies and practices. This systematic and inclusive volume will appeal to academic researchers, graduate students, managers of arts and culture programs and institutions, and in the areas of cultural policy, public administration, political science, cultural studies, film and media studies, theatre and performance, and museum studies.

Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award “A deeply felt and passionately expressed manifesto.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred) A meditation in the spirit of John Berger and bell hooks on art as protest, contemplation, and beauty in politically perilous times As people consider how to respond to a resurgence of racist, xenophobic populism, A Mouth Is Always Muzzled tells an extraordinary story of the ways art brings hope in perilous times. Weaving disparate topics from sugar and British colonialism to attacks on free speech and Facebook activism and traveling a jagged path across the Americas, Africa, India, and Europe, Natalie Hopkinson, former culture writer for the Washington Post and The Root, argues that art is where the future is negotiated. Part post-colonial manifesto, part history of British Caribbean, part exploration of art in the modern world, A Mouth Is Always Muzzled is a dazzling analysis of the insistent role of art in contemporary politics and life. In crafted, well-honed prose, Hopkinson knits narratives of culture warriors: painter Bernadette Persaud, poet Ruel Johnson, historian Walter Rodney, novelist John Berger, and provocative African American artist Kara Walker, whose homage to the sugar trade Sugar Sphinx electrified American audiences. A Mouth Is Always Muzzled is a moving meditation documenting the artistic legacy generated in response to white supremacy, brutality, domination, and oppression. In the tradition of Paul Gilroy, it is a cri de coeur for the significance of politically bold—even dangerous—art to all people and nations.

Art for everyone--the Federal Art Project's drive for middlebrow visual culture and identity

In today's art world many strange, even shocking, things qualify as art. In this Very Short Introduction Cynthia Freeland explains why innovation and controversy are valued in the arts, weaving together philosophy and art theory with many fascinating examples. She discusses blood, beauty, culture, money, museums, sex, and politics, clarifying contemporary and historical accounts of the nature, function, and interpretation of the arts. Freeland also propels us into the future by surveying cutting-edge web sites, alongside the latest research on the brain's role in perceiving art. This clear, provocative book engages with the big debates surrounding our responses to art and is an invaluable introduction to anyone interested in thinking about art. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

How did a distinct and powerful Black British identity emerge? In the 1950s, when many Caribbean migrants came to Britain, there was no such recognised entity as "Black Britain." Yet by the 1980s, the cultural landscape had radically changed, and a remarkable array of creative practices such as theatre, poetry, literature, music and the visual arts gave voice to striking new articulations of Black-British identity. This new book chronicles the extraordinary blend of social, political and cultural influences from the mid-1950s to late 1970s that gave rise to new heights of Black-British artistic expression in the 1980s. Eddie Chambers relates how and why during these decades "West Indians" became "Afro-Caribbeans," and how in turn "Afro-Caribbeans" became "Black-British" - and the centrality of the arts to this important narrative. The British Empire, migration, Rastafari, the Anti-Apartheid struggle, reggae music, dub poetry, the ascendance of the West Indies cricket team and the coming of Margaret Thatcher - all of these factors, and others, have had a part to play in the compelling story of how the African Diaspora transformed itself to give rise to Black Britain.

A collaboration of political activism and participatory culture seeking to upend consumer capitalism, including interviews with The Yes Men, The Guerrilla Girls, among others. Coined in the 1980s, “culture jamming” refers to an array of tactics deployed by activists to critique, subvert, and otherwise “jam” the workings of consumer culture. Ranging from media hoaxes and advertising parodies to flash mobs and street art, these actions seek to interrupt the flow of dominant, capitalistic messages that permeate our daily lives. Employed by Occupy Wall Street protesters and the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot alike, culture jamming scrambles the signal, injects the unexpected, and spurs audiences to think critically and challenge the status quo. The essays, interviews, and creative work assembled in this unique volume explore the shifting contours of culture jamming by plumbing its history, mapping its transformations, testing its force, and assessing its efficacy. Revealing how culture jamming is at once playful and politically transgressive, this accessible collection explores the degree to which culture jamming has fulfilled its revolutionary aims. Featuring original essays from prominent media scholars discussing Banksy and Shepard Fairey, foundational texts such as Mark Dery’s culture jamming manifesto, and artwork by and interviews with noteworthy culture jammers including the Guerrilla Girls, The Yes Men, and Reverend Billy, Culture Jamming makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of creative resistance and participatory culture.