Welcome to Artists In Presidents.
This is a provocation inspired by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Depression-era Fireside Chats. Today, Americans are faced with the crippling social and economic fallout of a global pandemic that has brought the existing disparities in our communities into stark relief. Many parallels have been drawn between both the upheavals and the possibilities of the present moment with those of the 1930s. Similar to Depression Era FDR, we have arrived at a moment of crisis and possibility. What can we learn from the Fireside Chats about modern day performances of the presidential power? And what would it look like to shift the performance of the presidency again now, as FDR did with the Fireside Chats in the 1930’s? Artist Constance Hockaday, was curious what it would look like to give our most radical imaginations the authority to speak as President, and so she invited 50 artists to address the nation alongside the 2020 Presidential Campaign.
These episodes are updates to the original Fireside Chats. They are an acknowledgement that many of the national narratives of liberation have erased Indigenous voices and the voices of people that make up the majority of this country— LGBTQIA, people of color, persons with disabilities, and women. The time for an update is overdue.
Artists-In-Presidents: Fireside Chats for 2020 will be released weekly via podcast, virtual gallery, and social media. To sign up for weekly Artists-In-Presidents transmissions to the nation visit: www.artistsinpresidents.com and follow us @artistsinpresidents
Sound design by Phoebe Unter & Nicole Kelly featuring Mara Lazer on saxophone with additional mixing and recording by Cristy Michel. Narration by Sasha Debevec-McKenney.
