Episode 51, ACT 2: Rabab Ghazoul - Name, Listen, Witness

Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie

We are back with the second part of Episode 51: “Name, Listen, Witness,” in which Courtney continues her conversation with Rabab Ghazoul, a “socially-engaged visual artist whose work explores points of contact between systems of power and individual agency, voices that are yet to speak, spaces of in-between-ness, and the body politic.” Rabab speaks very eloquently about the responsibility we have, as artists and changemakers, to be co-conspirators, advocate and make a case not just to “do the work,” but to be truly mindful of others’ past traumas—to avoid perpetuating harm to communities. In their discussion, Courtney and Rabab also chat about the societal and cultural shifts occurring all around us, including the collapse of oppressive systems like colonialism and the historical legacies of racism that are embedded in our daily lives. Rabab points out the need to see the ultimate grinding down of these systems or the work of extracting them from people and communities will need to continue. Courtney also asks Rabab to talk about being nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize, an award recognizing a British artist’s work of visual art. As a reminder, Ghazoul works with gentle/radical, an organization laser-focused on addressing the gaps in mainstream cultural practice, provision and thinking. It’s an organization that is focused on “people working in the context of people,” and they center their work through the philosophy of perpetual outreach, which aims not just to draw people in and hook them, but to physically, interpersonally sustain and nurture relationships, while also searching for the intersection of their audiences and mining for the parts of the interpersonal connections made that might just lead to art-making. Questions and themes that arise in this episode are: As a long-term commitment to place and nurturing relationships with communities, what happens when you remain in one place over decades and drill down to what the possibilities are? What shapes does decolonization work take depending on community and place? What shapes might meaningful community engagement and connection through the arts take? How does “creative justice” work like this exist outside of the arts and arts education? Listen to this brand new episode to hear and learn more!