Download This PDF File
Curatorial Practices for Intersectional Programming Cara Hagan, Appalachian State University, American Dance Festival Abstract Screendance finds its roots in the traditions of concert dance, museum culture, and film festivals. Film festivals - from which we borrow the structure for programming screendance - boast a history of discrimination towards bodies of color, varied gender expressions, bodies of different abilities, and more. Through an exploration of the history and socio-cultural context of film festivals in the west and dialogue with curators and directors from a handful of screendance festivals across the United States, this piece will present a set of curatorial challenges particular to our field, the creative solutions being explored by presenters and champions of screendance, and a consideration of where the field falls short, so we can better mitigate issues of underrepresentation of marginalized groups in screendance spaces. Keywords: Screendance, Curation, Programming, Discrimination, Race, Film, Media We do not discriminate. San Souci Festival of Dance Cinema does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations.1 Many screendance festivals operating in the United States today have statements like the one above in their literature. If they do not, many festivals and curators hope and attempt to echo such sentiments in their work through their programming. While many screendance curators may be aware of issues of underrepresentation in media spaces and are working to embrace diversity in terms of the work they screen, the artists they support and the audiences they attract to their screenings, the challenges to producing inclusive creative spaces with respect to race and other identities are manifold.
[Show full text]