Coming to our Own Rescue
Harnessing the Power of Grass-roots Creatives to Change Community
Citizens for the Arts in Pa continues to seek ways to help our sector recover and thrive following the devastating impact of the Covid19 Pandemic. Following our collaborative Town Hall series with Fourth Economy, we evaluated the results of the conversations and will be presenting 3 core topics as a result.
Our three guest speakers will present the following topics:
- Small But Mighty -
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Don’t Take a Seat, Build the Table :
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Building Resources and Opportunities with (not for) Artists
Andrew Simonet
Artists U
Artists U
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Shameka Sawyer
is a writer, director, and producer of independent film. Communications strategist turned award-winning film producer and filmmaker, Shameka Sawyer is the Founder and Creative Director of the 5 Shorts Project, a film production organization with a notable roster of independent filmmakers and playwrights that represent diverse communities in Philadelphia. As a film producer and advocate for diversity and inclusion in the arts, Shameka is sought after by companies and organizations to provide her expertise in creative development, video production, and collaborative filmmaking. Shameka was an official speaker for the 2018 Pennsylvania Conference for Women, has produced 30 short films in 5 years and contributed her expertise about independent film production on various platforms including IHeartMedia and WURD. Under Sawyer’s leadership, the 5 Shorts Project teaches aspiring filmmakers and playwrights how to produce short films and stage plays, a skill that can be transferred into a profitable financial resource for participants. The 5 Shorts Project merges diversity with creative expression to create and develop productions that represent the voices of our communities. |
Kelley Gibson
is the current president of the Cultural Alliance of York County. As a true believer in the power of arts and culture to transform, Kelley works to ensure artists and arts organizations are a key voice in community conversations. A key priority of the Cultural Alliance of York County, is to leverage resources for their arts community so they can power education, the economy, and transform the region. |
Andrew Simonet
is a writer and choreographer in Philadelphia. He founded Artists U in 2006. His debut novel Wilder, was published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2018. He second novel, A Night Twice as Long, will be published by FSG in 2021. Andrew was, from 1993 to 2013, a founding co-director and choreographer of Philadelphia’s Headlong Dance Theater, along with his collaborators Amy Smith and David Brick. Headlong created collaborative dance theater in Philadelphia, and toured nationally. Andrew’s projects included CELL, a performance journey for one audience member at a time guided by your cell phone, and This Town is a Mystery, performances by four Philadelphia households in their homes, followed by a potluck dinner. With Headlong, Andrew helped found Dance Theater Camp, annual festival of workshops and collaboration for professional artists that is entirely artist-run and free for all participants, and the Headlong Performance Institute, a school for experimental performance with full college credit. Andrew created and ran the Dance Program at the Lawrenceville School, a private high school in New Jersey, from 1995 to 2005. |