I went to hear Nato Thompson speak last week and I really enjoyed his energy, style and what he had to say. He is the chief curator at Creative Time, New York’s premiere public art organization. His attitude towards public art was refreshing. He advocates for art that really reaches out to the public and is not afraid to tackle the hard questions. For example he spoke about supporting a project by artist, Paul Chan which re-staged Waiting for Godot in the deep South after Hurricane Katrina. To avoid the pitfalls of creating art in a situation where there is palpable racial divide and where locals could dismiss their efforts as “giving them Roses” when they really need “bread”, Nato and Paul spent time with the community, talking to them about the project beforehand. See project overview HERE. It was great to see such a smart guy talk about what we as artists have known for a long time now, namely that the old paradigm of the pristine white cube art gallery is on its way out. It seems to me that something new and more engaged is on its way in.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/479616 w=400&h=300]<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/479616″>You Are Here- Nato Thompson</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user284808″>bree edwards</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>