U.S. Department of Arts and Culture

U.S. Department of Arts and Culture - Lawrence, KS Field Office

In 2013, the United States Department of Arts and Culture emerged from the future through a paradigm shift time portal. Inspired by the Ministries of Culture in other countries like Colombia and France, and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, Deputy Secretary Norman Beckett (aka Adam Horowitz) and Chief Policy Wonk, Arlene Goldbard imagined the USDAC into existence with the naming of the first cohort of Cultural Agents from across the country including me. Our founding document stated that, “The USDAC was founded on the truth that art and culture are our most powerful and under-tapped resources for social change. Radically inclusive, useful and sustainable, and vibrantly playful, the USDAC aims to spark a grassroots, creative change movement, engaging millions in performing and creating a world rooted in empathy, equity, and social imagination.”

Here in Lawrence, my first responsibility as Cultural Agent was to organize an Imagining - a willing suspension of linear time to explore the possible. We gathered at Haskell Indian Nations University to share messages from the future, a future where the values of the USDAC had been incorporated into all aspects of civic life. It was a hit, and a group of local citizen artists followed the Imagining with civic art engagements, interventions, workshops and zaniness, culminating in our being certified as USDAC Field Office,

“For too long, we’ve believed that everything that counts can be counted, ignoring the vital role that arts and culture play in advancing equity, innovation, and democracy. Active creative participation is a gateway to ongoing civic engagement and the capacity to collaborate is a key element of any resilient community, yet we've failed to fully invite our citizens to step up as artists and agents of change. The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture aims to help change that story.” – USDAC Deputy Secretary Norman Beckett

In 2018, after a good run, the Lawrence Field Office reentered the paradigm shift time portal, while the USDAC continues here.