Above: Ensemble improvisation in a performance of Bacchae Before (2021), a trans-centered version of Euripedes’ The Bacchae. Performers: Belinda He, Karla Quintero, Wiley Naman Strasser, Silk Worm.
Photo by Robbie Sweeny.
The emergence of new, transformative, even revolutionary creativity…occurs at the juncture between the production of art and the exercise of deep critical thought. —poet Garrett Hongo
Activism is a form of creative practice. For decades I have worked to build artist power—through community-based curating, through facilitating models of artist-centered leadership, through convening dialogue, and through radical lawyering. I have written about this work in Shifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance, published by the National Center for Choreography.
Through my solo law practice, Movement Law, I support artists and arts organizations in building capacity, value-aligning structures, and navigating change. As a Fellow with the Sustainable Economies Law Center and as a Fellow with the Grassroots Artist Advocacy Program, I build bridges between the solidarity economy and the arts. Reach out for support and see my resources page for tools on a wide range of issues, from distributed leadership to contracts and artist mental health.
My podcast, the body is the brain, brings artists together in conversation as a resilience practice.
In 2020, I co-stewarded the transition of Hope Mohr Dance, which I founded in 2008, to a model of distributed leadership and a new name, Bridge Live Arts.
Press & Resources about Distributed Leadership Work
New York Times on the transition of Hope Mohr Dance to Bridge Live Arts
Dance Magazine on Bridge Live Arts' new name
In Practice: Stepping Back to Move Forward (In Dance)
Inside Power Shift: A Conversation on Distributed Leadership (Grand ReUnion)
Shifting toward Models of Equity (Stance on Dance)
Collective Models in the Arts (S.F. Chronicle)
Another Bridge Toward Equity (S.F. Classical Voice)
Notes on Stepping Back (the body is the brain blog post)
Value-Driven Restructuring (the body is the brain blog post)
Presentation on Re-Structuring Arts Organizations (video)
Organizations I have consulted for and/or shared learnings around Distributed Leadership and Governance Transition (some of these presentations have been solo and some have been with colleagues at Bridge Live Arts, Cherie Hill and Karla Quintero):
Sustainable Economies Law Center (2022)
New Yorkers for Culture and the Arts (2021)
North Carolina School of the Arts (2021)
Draper/Echoing Green Leadership Transition Cohort (2021)
Creating New Futures (White Caucus) (2021)
Arts Connect International (2021)
Berkeley Cultural Trust (2020)
Dance Artists National Collective (2021)
Dance/NYC (2022)
Dance/USA Conference (2021)
LeaderSpring (2021)
National Performance Network (National Conference) (2021)
On the Boards (2020)
Paths to Empowerment: A Panel about Cooperative Governance (2020)