A Movable Feast: Conversations About the Artist-Grantmaker Relationship around a Virtual Dinner Table

In preparation for their preconference session at this year’s GIA conference in Chicago, Theaster Gates, a 2008 Chicago Artadia Awardee, and Ute Zimmermann, Artadia’s program manager, will reflect upon the artist-grantmaker relationship, its power dynamics and (co-) dependencies, as well as the creative energy, joint endeavors, and long-term partnerships that may result. Informed by their personal experience in those roles, they hope to have an authentic and frank exchange that will shed new light on this crucial relationship at the heart of arts grantmaking.

Structured like a dinner party, the blog will start August 2 with dinner preparations, followed by the arrival of the guests, the meal, after dinner conversations, and, possibly, a night cap. For every segment, Theaster and Ute will pick a theme, offer up their thoughts on that theme, and share experiences and wishes. Rather than give answers, the blog is meant to raise questions. Watch for highs and lows throughout the evening, a little bit of tension; but always love by the end of the night. Readers are invited to join in, comment, post images, poems, quotes, YouTube videos, or anything else that might (or might not) add to the conversation.