Cultural Democracy

Established in 1985, City Lore does the authentic, artful, radical, political, emotional and inclusive work of building a cultural democracy — a society which allows many cultural traditions to co-exist on an equal footing and encourages active participation in cultural life, not just passive consumption of cultural products.

I was on staff at City Lore from 1999-2005 during which time I produced, directed and designed over 100 long-term public school residencies and 50+-ish community arts collaborations throughout New York City. I co-trained and managed diverse freelance artist staff of 20, conducted ethnographic fieldwork for use in CityLore-wide programs and publications, and served as Chief Content Developer and Managing Editor for agency’s three websites (City Lore, People’s Poetry Gathering and CARTS-Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students). While creating early digital platforms for the organization, I developed the first online profiles of National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Award winners. I was also a contributing author to the book Hidden New York: A Guide to Places That Matter.