ArtChangeUS: Arts in a Changing America is a new, five-year initiative that will explore the dramatic demographic transformation of the United States and its profound impact on arts and culture.

Led by director, dramaturge and former Ford Foundation program officer Roberta Uno, ArtChangeUS launches in October from its base at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). The initiative will create a network of relevant organizations, artists, philanthropists, scholars and idea producers to reframe the national arts conversation through the lens of demographic change. Employing a curated series of events, performances, presentations and conferences, ArtChangeUS will serve as an urgently needed catalyst that brings unheard voices in the arts to the forefront of social discourse.

In October, events at the Ford Foundation in New York and REDCAT in Los Angeles will introduce ArtChangeUS to arts and culture stakeholders and the public.

ArtChangeUS links the arts and social equity. Its goals are to reframe the arts conversation to understand and respond to the cultural implications of demographic change; catalyze and make visible relevant, innovative artistic work and forward-thinking arts practices; and create opportunities for artists, organizers, and thinkers to connect in order to introduce new perspectives and collaborative possibilities.

“With Roberta assuming the position of Visiting Arts Leader at CalArts, we are proud to partner with ArtChangeUS,” said CalArts President Steven Lavine. “Her vision reflects the Institute’s historic dedication to diversity in arts and culture. Today, we are making one of the most thoroughgoing attempts of any arts college to place the education of artists of all backgrounds and cultures in a mutually strengthening ecology that links campus, community and the broader world. With its commitment to social transformation, ArtChangeUS will impact the cultural fabric of the nation—and act as an inspiring resource for our students and faculty as they pursue their artistic goals.”

“CalArts gives ArtChangeUS a powerful platform from which to engage artistic and cultural communities,” said Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. “It’s a great win for CalArts and a fantastic next step for Roberta, who during her 12 years at the foundation curated a profound conversation about the place of arts in a diversifying nation and the role of artists in the pursuit of social justice.”

On Wednesday, October 14 at 8:30 pm at REDCAT in downtown Los Angeles, CalArts President Steven Lavine will moderate “Arts and Culture in a Changing America,” a discussion between Uno and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and documentarian Jose Antonio Vargas. Vargas heads #EmergingUS, a digital magazine, backed by the Los Angeles Times, focusing on the intersection of race, immigration and identity in multicultural America.

The Ford Foundation in New York will convene a diverse group of invited artists and cultural organizers from across the nation onMonday, October 26. Expanding on the mission of ArtChangeUS, the daylong series of workshops and presentations will explore new cultural visions of America. Participating artists and cultural leaders include writer Jeff Chang, musician Martha Redbone, comedian/actor Hari Kandabolu, visual artist Favianna Rodriguez and presenters from CalArts—alumna and visual artist Beatriz Cortez and School of Theater faculty member Marissa Chibas. Watch live streaming video of the event beginning at 11 am EST on Oct. 26.