we want to have a discussion about Creative culture and equity.

Before being able to comprehensively talk about the intersection between creative culture and equity, there are few key words to define. Due to the broad nature of the discussion, these definitions are neither simple nor rigid.
We define Creative culture as all-encompassing of media, written and spoken word, performance arts, fine arts, architecture, and beyond. Last year we talked about visual culture - the things that are part of our every-day life that influence our thoughts and actions. This year, we are expanding the scope to all forms of creativity, beyond just its visual manifestations.
Where creative culture and equity meet is even less frequently defined. We have begun with discussions about skin tone and photo editing or makeup, representations in popular media, and most importantly to us, how these things form and drive a social movement. 
In this space, we want to talk about how we can use creative culture in politics, and in social movements. How does art inform policy? How does poetry inform civil society groups, and protests, and more? How do architecture and city design inform public opinion on equity? And how has this all changed as the world increasingly moves online?

Leave us your thoughts below. We can’t wait to chat. 

here are some resources that we and others have found useful throughout this conversation:

This is a moderated discussion space. We will take every measure to make sure that we are working to create an inclusive space of inclusion. In this affirmation, we are still learning. Should you have any concerns with a post, please email communications.idw@aedsa.ca. 
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discussion box

    on creative culture and equity
I think creative culture is a key avenue through which we can begin to decolonize the academic space. Historic tendencies to privilege voices that are packaged within neat, academic guidelines only serve to perpetuate marginalization and disparities in education and wealth. I’m interested in how creative culture can be something we consciously invest in as part of this decolonization process.

- yasmin rajwani

     We are living in an internet based world now, and that means that we are spending a lot more time on our devices. It also means that we are taking in a lot more content which has been carefully (or not so carefully) designed. Particularly in social media settings, the goal of individuals and organizations is 1) to try to engage the viewer for as long as possible and 2) to create an image that was visual connotations and symbols which reinforce a behavior or stereotype. What we see is what we believe. 
     Now, in an era of fake news, images carry loaded risk. When images are reproduced at the breakneck speeds that the internet now allows, there is the risk, if not the likelihood, that these images will be reproduced divorced of their context. This means that there is also the risk that the power of images to recolor our perceptions of our world may be doing so based on oversimplifications, myths, or with ignorance to the systems which are producing these phenomena. This does not mean that we should give up on visual culture as a vector for social change.
​     Across the world, artists are creating work that is challenging our preconceptions, and which is creating space for new discussions. This has been particularly potent in the environmental movement. I invite you to look into the work of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, and Indigenous artist and activist working to communicate to 'the outside world' the disenfranchisement and oppression of Indigenous peoples in 'Canada' and the relationship that this oppression has to the environment. Art is everywhere. It is part of literally everything that we see. Every product that we have, every building in our cities, every show or youtube video we watch, and every bit of marketing material that we encounter has been designed. The way that all of these things are presented to us has an impact on how we perceive our society and different accesses to different spaces. I cannot wait to learn from the creators of EXD this year about their interactions with how art informs equity.

-Sinead Dunne