The Black Lives Matter activist Alicia Garza and the artist Carrie Mae Weems are among dozens of speakers who will descend on the capital of the US for the ninth annual Creative Time Summit (14-16 October). The New York-based non-profit organisation is holding the event in Washington for the first time, weeks before the country’s presidential election. The summit focuses largely on “the grassroots movement and how they’ve infiltrated our political systems and this particular political climate”, says Katie Hollander, the executive director of Creative Time.
To be held mainly at the Lincoln Theatre—which served the local African American community during the years of racial segregation in the US—the event is ticketed and open to the public. It includes two days of talks and films. A third day of participatory activities, including workshops and round tables, will be held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Speakers, including the DC-based musician Ian MacKaye and the artist Sheldon Scott, will address subjects ranging from climate change to queer politics. One section, the Case for Nonsense, pays homage to the Dada movement, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The keynote speaker, Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, has invited the poet and writer Eileen Myles to participate and says the plan is to “revisit her amazing DIY campaign to run for president”. While Dada might seem far removed from today’s political concerns, Nato Thompson, Creative Time’s artistic director, observes: “This [presidential] election feels very Dada.”