Registration for Imagining in Public - ep2 -
Artistic Perspectives on Social Impact
June 9th 2pm to 4pm EDT
Imagining in Public is a new public conversation series focused on bringing creative approaches to challenging questions, facilitated by artists in the community.
Join the Public Imagination Network for our second episode of the Imagining in Public series, where we explore social impact from the artist’s perspective. In a time when “impact” is a buzzword across sectors, this interactive conversation will delve into what it means in the context of creative practice. Featuring Public Imagination Network Fellows and special guest futurist Jesse Hirsh, we will look at how artists are reshaping societal change beyond traditional definitions of “impact.”
Date: June 9, 2025
Time: 2:00-4:00 PM EDT
Platform: Zoom
This event is a space to reflect together on how we express the social value of the work artists are doing, imagine how it can be amplified, and consider how we can create the conditions for expanded public engagement. Artists of all disciplines, arts workers, and those invested in the future of arts policy and practice, are warmly encouraged to attend. Through thought-provoking discussions, we’ll unpack how social impact is understood, who gets to define it, and how we can amplify the vital role artists play in transforming communities and shaping public life.
Hosted by the Public Imagination Network, in partnership with Mass Culture.
For information about the event’s content, contact Public Imagination Network at publicimaginationnetwork@gmail.com
www.publicimagination.ca
A Zoom link through a calendar invite will be sent to you once you’ve registered. If you have any issues or questions concerning registration email Robin – robin@massculture.ca
Session outline
Intro
Join us for an inspiring and interactive online conversation with Public Imagination Network Fellows—Shary Boyle, Kevin Loring, Shannon Litzenberger, Kevin Ormsby, Evalyn Parry and special guest futurist Jesse Hirsh, as we delve into the evolving role of artists in creating and innovating societal change.
We will explore the following:
- What does social impact truly mean in the context of artistic practice?
- If artists are catalysts for new imaginaries and drivers of transformation, how can their impacts be amplified outside of the arts and culture sectors?
- What systems and practices are necessary to sustain and amplify the relational work of artists?
The Invitation
Explore the intersection of art and social impact with some of the leading voices in the sector.
Share your insights in artist-led breakout discussion groups about social impact narratives and the evolving role of artists in society.
Connect with peers and thought leaders in the arts and social impact fields.
- LENGTH
2 hours
- DATE
June 9, 2-4pm Eastern
- WHO IS THIS FOR?
Artists and cultural workers, policy makers and arts scholars.
Shary Boyle
Shary Boyle is a lifelong visual artist, and recipient of the Gershon Iskowitz Prize, Hnatyshan Award, June Callwood Award for Volunteerism, an honorary doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, and represented Canada at the 2013 Venice Biennial. Her critically acclaimed solo exhibition Outside the Palace of Me was presented by the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC in 2024.
Jesse Hirsh
Jesse Hirsh is a futurist farmer based in rural Eastern Ontario Canada. On his farm, the Academy of the Impossible, which is wired up with high speed fiber optic Internet, he engages in a wide range of research regarding agriculture, media, technology, and culture. He has a Masters degree in algorithmic media from Toronto Metropolitan University. His current focus is on the rise of automated media, as well as the governance and ethics of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and food. He hosts a podcast named “Metaviews to the Future” and writes a daily newsletter called Metaviews: The Future of Authority which you can find on Substack.
Shannon Litzenberger
Shannon Litzenberger is an award-winning choreographer, director and embodiment facilitator. She creates sensory-rich multi-disciplinary performance experiences that animate our relationship to land, community and the forgotten wisdom of the body. Her imaginative collaborations connect art forms and communities, centring participatory experiences in artistic processes. Throughout her 25+ year career, her work has been presented across Canada and the US, in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading artists across disciplines.
Kevin Loring
Kevin is an Actor, Playwright, Director and the Artistic Director of Savage Society, a non-profit charity dedicated to producing Indigenous stories. Kevin is also the founding Artistic Director of Indigenous Theatre at the National Arts Centre of Canada.
Kevin A Ormsby
Artistic Director of KasheDance, Curator of Programming at Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Kevin A. Ormsby was a nominee for the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize 2023 and finalist in 2021 and recipient of Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch – Staunton Award. His research and creative practice exist in constant interrogation and navigation of Caribbean and African Diasporic cultural practices towards methodologies geared to research, creation and presentation. At Intersections of Culturally Responsive Art, Space / Place Making and Communities.
Evalyn Parry
Evalyn Parry is a theatre creator and songwriter whose acclaimed live performances have toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Evalyn's innovative work weaves together elements of social and personal documentary, storytelling, poetry, sound, and song, exploring under-documented histories and themes of social justice, liberation and ecology.
This initiative is made possible through the support of the following
