NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced that Senator Amy Klobuchar will deliver the keynote address at Advocacy and Financial Resilience: A TCG Virtual Summit this Thursday, Oct. 28. The event, which will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET, will be the first event in TCG’s Fall-Winter season, titled Crisis and Transformation.
“Sen. Amy Klobuchar was instrumental in passing the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants legislation, a core part of the federal relief funds accessed by theatres and theatre-makers,” said Laurie Baskin, TCG’s director of advocacy and lead programmer of the Advocacy and Financial Resilience summit, in a statement. “Her keynote will help us build on the momentum of the largest federal investment in the arts in generations, and ensure those funds are equitably distributed.”
The Crisis and Transformation series will also include virtual summits on Climate Action in a Global Landscape on Dec. 9, as well as a to-be-determined summit of activism in January 2022. Additionally, in November TCG will partner with Jesse Cameron Alick for Emerging from the Cave: Artists Lead the Way, an invited, in-person forum inspired by Alick’s independent study commissioned by the Sundance Institute. The Nov. 13 forum, held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET in New York City, will acknowledge that artists are innovators, visionaries, and problem solvers, catalyzing fieldwide action to center their voices and leadership.
“It’s such an honor to get the chance to partner with TCG on the next phase of this conversation,” said Alick in a statement. “Doing the original study with Sundance was a labor of love, but the entire time we knew it was only the first step on the road to seeing true transformation in our field. We are so hopeful that the ideas that come out of this convening will have real impact.”
Through its convenings, TCG works to serve as a connector for theatres to share best practices and new business and artistic models with one another. TCG presents plenary speakers, breakout sessions, workshops, and performances. Past keynote speakers have included leading artists and thinkers, such as Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Eric Liu, Edwidge Danticat, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jer Thorp, Anand Giridharadas, Samantha Power, Stephanie Ybarra, Mona Eltahawy, Jeff Chang, Jane McGonigal, Anna Deavere Smith, and Baratunde Thurston.
Crisis and Transformation: 2021-2022 TCG Fall-Winter Season is supported by: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State’s Council on the Arts, Fisher Dachs Associates, Charcoalblue, Threshold Acoustics, and Schuler Shook.
“We’ve reimagined our Fall Forum on Governance in response to the unique challenges and opportunities facing our field in this time of crisis and transformation,” said Teresa Eyring, TCG CEO and executive director, in a statement. “We’re especially excited to partner with Jesse Cameron Alick and his visionary study Emerging from the Cave, which rightfully positions artists at the center of how we move through this pandemic into a more just and thriving theatre ecology.”
More information on TCG’s Fall-Winter Convening Season is available here.
