Can the arts provoke and sustain dialogue in a period of disruption?

Moderator: Elizabeth Howard, host, the Short Fuse Podcast

Akiba Abaka, Interim Executive Director, National Center of Afro-American Artists - arts leader, producer, and educator advancing cultural equity.

Bill Marx, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Arts Fuse; veteran arts critic across print, broadcast, and digital media.

Anthony J. Piermarini, Architect, Associate Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology; co-founder of Studio Luz Architects and BR-A-CE, focused on socially engaged design.

Dawn Simmons— Artistic Director, SpeakEasy Stage Company - Elliott Norton Award–winning director, producer, writer and educator.

How can the arts continue to provoke, reflect, and sustain cultural dialogue as technology pulls us through a liminal space, defined by disruption and transition? What happens to the shared, embodied experience of theater, music, and dance as audiences become participants, collaborators, and even co-creators? How are architects and designers rethinking space to preserve intimacy and deepen human connection? How must educators and cultural leaders adapt to ensure that artistic traditions remain vital, inclusive, and forward-looking for the next generation?

At the same time, criticism itself is evolving. As online platforms and AI democratize cultural conversation, what becomes of expertise, evaluation, and trust? What does it mean—not just to consume—but to experience the arts today.

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