Prompted by Olivia Abtahi and Sarah McKenzie
On Medium: “On Regional History & Potential,” by Kealey Boyd, in response to Tilt West Roundtable: Regional History & Potential.
On Medium: “Another view on Regional History & Potential,” by Mark Addison.
Discussion Prompt
In November 2016, Tilt West launched our first season of roundtable events with a conversation on Region & Identity, prompted by Cortney Lane Stell, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Black Cube. Our discussion explored the extent to which a person’s geographic location, along with other aspects of cultural context, might influence his or her sense of personal and/or creative identity, as well as his or her artistic practice. We also debated the usefulness of promoting a distinct “regional” aesthetic in an increasingly global contemporary art world.
For our fourth and final event of this season, we return to the topic of our region, but this time with a more “brass tacks” focus on Regional History & Potential. Our goal is to come together as members of the arts and culture community to reflect collectively on where we have been, where we are now, and where we might be going as we look to a future that is sure to bring continued economic and population growth to our state.
- How do we each define or understand our region? Is it the Denver metro area? The Front Range? Colorado?
- In what way is the region’s history with respect to arts and culture relevant to our current circumstances and future potential? What should we learn from that past?
- If you have been engaged with cultural practice in this area for a long time, what recent developments do you consider most exciting, and to what do you attribute those developments? What concerns do you have as you look ahead?
- If you are new to the region, how does your experience in other regions inform your understanding and view of the arts and culture community here? Why did you choose to come here, and what will motivate you to stay– or not?
- What are our strengths right now as a community, and how can we build upon them?
- What challenges do we currently face, and how do you see those challenges shifting in the coming years?
- If you could change one thing about this region or add one thing, what would it be?
- Are we guilty of provincialism?
- Are there other cities or regions that we might identify as role models for supporting arts and culture in exciting ways?
- What are our aspirations as a cultural community? How do changes in the global contemporary art world potentially inspire, limit, or otherwise shape those aspirations?
—Olivia Abtahi and Sarah McKenzie for Tilt West
Suggested Readings:
- On Regionalism and Identity by Whitney Carter
- Regionalism Vs. Provincialism: Agitating Against Critical Neglect in Artworld Peripheries by Amy Zion and Cora Fisher
- Denver’s art scene is soaring thanks to new galleries, events By Gene Sloan and USA TODAY
- Five Game Changers From the Denver Art and Gallery Scene in 2014 BY MICHAEL PAGLIA
- Los Angeles Stakes Its Claim as a World Art Center By ADAM NAGOURNEY
- Surrounding cities send more people to Denver than L.A. and New York By ALDO SVALDI
- From Beirut to Bogotá: Art Cities to Watch? By GARETH HARRIS
About the Prompter
Tilt West is a new, nonprofit organization based in Denver. Our mission is to promote critical discourse focused on arts and culture through live events and publishing efforts. We aim to provide a platform for inclusive community discussion and debate on a range of issues relevant to cultural production in Colorado and beyond. The organization’s activities are supported by a talented group of volunteers culled from the region’s growing arts and culture sector. For this roundtable, board members Olivia Abtahi and Sarah McKenzie will prompt the discussion. Olivia Abtahi is a film director and writer. Sarah McKenzie is an artist and one of the founders of Tilt West. Her work is represented in Denver by David B. Smith Gallery.