By Elizabeth Howard

Episode Summary

On a beautiful evening in Boston, when we might have been sitting in a cafe on Boston’s Newbury Street sipping Prosecco, or enjoying an ice cream in the Public Garden, a group of us gathered in one of the studios at the Boston Lyric Opera on Channel Street.

We were talking about a question I have been pondering: “Can the arts provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue in a period of disruption and transformation?”

Episode Notes

In this Short Fuse Podcast, Elizabeth Howard moderated a conversation among:

Akiba Abaka, Interim Executive Director, National Center of Afro-American Artists; arts leader, producer, and educator advancing cultural equity.

“Racism is a gas or a virus that we all catch. And what I’m finding is that there are white supremacist ideas and ideologies that we have generated in ourselves as Black people as protective factors that have kept people out. So much of the undoing racism work that I did at Emerson, or that I did in some of the large-scale arts organizations, as a Black person in a predominantly white environment—I’m finding now that I have to adapt as a Black leader in a predominantly Black environment. How much of this gas, this virus, has permeated the consciousness of Black America and how we protect ourselves, and how that keeps people out?”

Dawn Simmons, Artistic Director, SpeakEasy Stage Company; Elliott Norton Award–winning director, producer, writer, and educator.

“We’re all fighting with the screen and we’re all fighting with our sofas and what I think right now, since the pandemic, is this move towards isolation. What will it take to get people to risk coming out and leaving their places of comfort? Are we offering them what they want? I think those are some of the challenges that I perceive right now.”

Bill Marx, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Arts Fuse; veteran arts critic across print, broadcast, and digital media.

“So when you cut small local newspapers, or when you reduce the arts coverage in the major newspapers, then that’s sending out a message of a lack of interest or a lack of value in the arts and the role they play in the culture.”

Anthony J. Piermarini, Architect, Associate Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology; co-founder of Studio Luz Architects and BR-A-CE, focused on socially engaged design.

“The challenge is space. How do we use public spaces, and who has authority over them? How can we gain access to them? We find that in conversation with the community this emerges as a common topic that can help break down or bridge many of those barriers. We need to consider the question, ‘What is architecture?’”

The Short Fuse Podcast  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that “artists are here to disturb the peace.”  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015), and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). @elizh24 on Instagram.

Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, he is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing to full-scale production.

Jessica Khan is a Bronx native and a rising senior at the University of Richmond, where she is double majoring in journalism and political science with a minor in leadership studies. As the current music director of one of the university’s a cappella groups, Jessica pursues her passion for singing while developing her skills as a journalist. She is driven by a commitment to uncovering the truth and telling stories that often go untold, using storytelling to bridge divides, spark conversation, and bring overlooked voices into the spotlight.

Evelyn Rosenthal copy edits the Short Fuse. She is a singer specializing in jazz and Brazilian music, a freelance editor, and the former editor in chief and head of publications at the Harvard Art Museums. She writes about music for the Arts Fuse and copy edits the magazine.

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