Roundtable Discussion: Co-Creative Placekeeping – Artists & Civic Partnerships in Action

How can artists and communities work together to challenge inequities, shape neighborhood narratives, and drive meaningful change? Join us for a dynamic roundtable discussion inspired by the new book Co-Creative Placekeeping in Los Angeles: Artists and Communities Working Together (Routledge, 2023). Featuring socially engaged artists, urban scholars, and civic partners, this conversation will explore how artists collaborate with communities to address pressing urban issues such as gentrification, displacement, and housing equity.

Guests will be asked to share insights on co-creative strategies—engagement, relationship-building, and defiance—used to uphold local identities and empower residents. This discussion will introduce the concept of “equitable placekeeping,” shifting perceptions of artists from gentrifiers to community stewards. Attendees may share and gain practical strategies for fostering meaningful artist-community partnerships that center social equity and collective agency.

Guests will include the authors Anne Bray (artist), David Sloane (USC urban planning professor) Brettany Shannon (urban scholar), and the subjects Sara Daleiden (artist and facilitator), Public Matters Reanne Estrada and Mike Blockstein (artists), and others.

Co-Creative Placekeeping in Los Angeles: Artists and Communities Working Together was written by Brettany Shannon, David C. Sloane, and Anne Bray. This program series is produced in conjunction with LA Freewaves.

To see and or purchase the book click here.