I recently read Bill Ivey's book, and I was quite impressed by his ideas. His very idealistic, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think quite a number of his ideas are unrealistic in the United States. Think about establishing the cultural bill of rights Ivey proposes, and then think about how difficult it has been lately on healthcare reform. An issue that clearly affects everyone, and whose impact is immediately evident, can barely pass among those (the democrats) who supposedly support it the most.
We need idealists, they are the dreamers. But will also need realists. To be fair, Ivey doesn't purport that all his ideas would be accepted. He is speaking merely in terms of a "perfect world" scenario and what he sees this country needs based on the current structures in place.

Yes, we plan to record the event and share it online sometime soon, in partnership with Wisconsin Public Television.

Will the event be recorded and made available in some format? Thanks!

Bill Ivey is indeed compelling, and I wish I could be there. He gave the keynote speech at an individual artists' conference we were hosting at our warehouse performance space in Brooklyn a decade or so ago, and he did a great job.

It took a lot of guts to do that, given that the work of most of the people there had been seriously undermined by the NEA's continued inability to find a way to fund individual artists. But the artists listened respectfully, and Ivey gave an excellent speech. I think some of our government representatives could have learned a thing or two if they'd been there...

I was especially taken with the way he contrasted Europe's hierarchical social structure with America's horizontal one, like circles of influence with the head of the cultural "tribes" (my word) at the center. He described the dynamics of how the edges of these circles bump up against and overlap with those of adjacent circles. His view was that the most interesting action and creativity happened along these creases, where there were so many more possibilities to mix it up.

I pressed a bottle of water into his hands in gratitude (it was a hot day, and in those days that neighborhood was still short of delis) but I'm not sure he ever drank it.

So, Bill, thanks again! And thanks also for your service on the transition team, it meant a lot to us.