In Common: Readings and Resources - Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy

In Common Readings & Resources

This resource list is meant to serve as a supplement to the In Common symposium of December 2023, as a way to continue the conversations that took place over the course of the event.

Further Reading on Symposium Topics

The following are materials related to the topics covered in the symposium. This collection of books, academic and news articles, and reports provide more detailed descriptions of the modern intersections of race, art, and economy. This section is intended to help situate our conversation within the broader data, as well as to inspire action for the future. The breadth of these materials provide historical examinations of racism’s role in creating inequality in artistic communities as well as visions of how art can be used to address issues of racism and economic inequality. Artists can look to this section for creative inspiration and policy makers can look for ways to help provide support.

How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America: Problems in Race, Political Economy, and Society (Manning Marable, 2015)

The Palgrave Handbook of Race and the Arts in Education (Amelia M. Kraehe, Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández, B. Stephen Carpenter II (editors) 2018)

Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century (Nato Thompson 2015)

Art Activism for an Anticolonial Future (Carlos Garrido Castellano 2021)

Art Therapy for Social Justice (Savneet K. Talwar (editor) 2018)

For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights (Maurice Berger 2010)

Artistic Citizenship: Artistry, Social Responsibility, and Ethical Praxis (ed. David Elliott, Marissa Silverman, Wayne Bowman 2016)

Who We Be: A Cultural History of Race in Post-Civil Rights America (Jeff Chang 2014)

Storytelling for Social Justice (Lee Anne Bell 2010)

“Toward a Theory of Minority Entrepreneurship in the Non-Profit Arts Sector” (Jason C. White 2018)

“Race/ethnicity, place, and art and culture entrepreneurship in underserved communities” (Qingfang Wang, dt ogilvie, Lyneir Richardson 2021)

“Curating Inequality: The Link between Cultural Reproduction and Race in the Visual Arts” (Andria Blackwood and David Purcell 2014)

“Cultural Clusters: The Implications of Cultural Assets Agglomeration for Neighborhood Revitalization” (Mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert 2010)

“Using Arts Activism and Poetry to Catalyze Human Rights Engagement and Reflection” (Jane McPherson and Nicholas Mazza 2014)

“The Power of Art to Develop Artists and Activists, International Journal of Education & the Arts” (Sandra Spickard Prettyman and Elisa Gargarella 2013)

“Arts Activism: Praxis in Social Justice, Critical Discourse, and Radical Modes of Engagement” (Karen Frostig 2011)

“'White Night': Gentrification, Racial Exclusion, and Perceptions and Participation in the Arts” (Samuel Shaw and Daniel Monroe Sullivan 2011)

“The Cultural New Deal for Cultural and Racial Justice” (Elizabeth Webb et al. 2024)

“In Search of Real Progress” (Dwight Andrews 2013)

“Arts and culture advance equity, bridge racial divides” (Rachel Looker 2021)

“Hank Willis Thomas - Vision and Justice” (Hank Willis Thomas 2019)

“Chasms” (Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes 2017)

“Arts activism in simple steps” (Jeffreen Hayes 2019)

“Laura Callanan on inequality and art” (Laura Callanan 2017)

“Usher on facing inequality through art” (Usher 2016)

“Art and Inequality: An Open Discussion” (Tate Talks 2019)

“Race & The Creative Economy, Otis College of Art and Design Special Event, October 22, 2020” (Otis College of Art and Design 2020)

Creativity Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting U.S. Artists (Center for Cultural Innovation 2016)

Socioeconomic & Racial/Ethnic Exclusion in the Arts (Strategic National Arts Alumni Project 2021)

Not Just Money: Equity Issues in Cultural Philanthropy (Grantmakers in the Arts 2017)

CDI Research and Documentation: An Account of the Approach, Framework, and Methods (PolicyLink 2020)

The land of artistic beauty and racial inequality: A study of the U.S. since 1850 (Christian Møller Dahl and Karol Jan Borowiecki 2020)

Art, Equity + Place: Creating Neighborhood Health, Happiness, and Well-Being with Art (Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations 2018)

Building Community Wealth: The Role of Arts and Culture in Equitable Economic Development (Dayna Sherman 2020)

Romare Bearden and the Harlem Renaissance

Romare Bearden represented the intersection of race, art, and economy which fueled our symposium. While the achievement of his work is obvious, understanding the artist (including the artistic movements he was a part of) may provide deeper insight into his inspirations. This collection includes works by renowned Bearden scholars - and symposium speakers! - Mary Schmidt Campbell, Robert O’Meally, and Diedra Harris-Kelley.