This four-day gathering will focus on participatory practices, especially music and dance, that encourage people of diverse skills and abilities to engage creatively. Fandango, bomba, taiko, capoeira, hip hop and other practices are cultural knowledge systems with distinctive values and protocols. They are similar, though, in that they serve purposes—such as

connecting, healing and community-building—that are not always recognized in institutional

and commercial definitions of “art.” How can we understand and define these practices in

ways that lay the ground for collaboration between different communities, and between

communities and institutions?

This will be a space for practitioners to share their experiences working at the interface

between different communities and cultures, and to engage in a collective conversation on

topics that include: How to engage in different spaces/cultures, reciprocity and restoration,

support for arts activists and institutional accountability. Artists, educators, students and

community members are all invited to participate. Activities will include music and dance as

well as discussion. We will explore the possibilities of a Seattle Participatory Arts Network that can facilitate mutual support and collaboration, and try to imagine structures or

policies that would help the University of Washington partner equitably and effectively in

cultural arts work.