373) Mark Rectanus: Reclaiming the arts from corporate influence

Green Dreamer: Seeding change towards collective healing, sustainability, regeneration

"In many cases, corporations are using [the museum's cultural capital] to reaffirm their status in a local community... Artists are increasingly concerned about the context in which their work is displayed and also the values of the museum and the sponsor."

In this episode, we revisit our past conversation with Mark Rectanus, a University Professor of German Studies (Emeritus) in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Iowa State University. His publications include research on the German publishing industry, the book and electronic media, contemporary German literature, corporate sponsorships, cultural politics, museum studies, and contemporary art. His most recent book is Museums Inside Out: Artist Collaborations and New Exhibition Ecologies.

Some of the topics we explore in this conversation include the influence of corporate funding on art and culture, what it might mean to decolonize museums in spite of many of their troubled pasts, how artist-activists have been shifting the politics of art from within, and more.

(The musical offering featured in this episode is Black Moss by Johanna Warren.)

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