From Executive Director, Clarinda Mac Low
Welcome to PUSH/PULL! This online journal is a continuation and reconfiguration of our previous publication, IdeaNEWS, and we are excited to launch. Like all Culture Push endeavors, PUSH/PULL will be constantly evolving. The content will reflect the Culture Push ethos, and keep track of process and work in progress, bringing in field notes from Fellows, analysis and criticism, comments from participants, and unknown quantities TBD. Through this journal, we want to foster dialogue and extend the reach of the ideas and people that pass through Culture Push. We invite you to join the conversation—if you are interested in submitting a piece, drop us a line with your idea at cp@culturepush.org.
From Assistant Director, Madelyn Ringold-Brown
Since its founding in 2009, Culture Push has been keenly interested in sharing ideas around a practice of social and civic engagement. Culture Push gives a home to ideas that are often overlooked or undervalued by our capitalist culture, where self-interest and “practicality” are valued over collaboration and curiosity. Through our various programs we strive to encourage a horizontal and nurturing dialogue where people across disciplines can convene to discuss the issues they are passionate about. More than anything, Culture Push wants to facilitate creative thinkers as they develop sustainable methods for approaching their deepest concerns. As an organization our main interest right now is the Fellowship for Utopian Practice, which supports artists at any stage in their career as they realize new, boundary- pushing works. The Fellowship creates a home for ideas that have a positive impact in the world, but don’t necessarily have a formal system of support and realization.
Culture Push has never had a “home” in the traditional sense. We don’t have an office space, a storefront, or a gallery. Meetings happen in cafes, parks, studios, or restaurants. Work is done at home, at libraries, while walking, or on the train. This spaceless-ness, while sometimes frustrating, is crucial because it grants us a certain level of freedom. This lack becomes an opportunity--we are required to create alliances with organizations and institutions that can provide the physical plant for our projects and artists, creating lasting networks. Instead of paying rent and maintaining a place, we can use the lion’s share of our limited financial resources for supporting artists who are experimenting with interdisciplinary and socially engaged projects. This online journal will be one part of a full support system, providing a home for our Fellows, our collaborators, and the ideas around us.
PUSH/PULL* is an online journal sponsored by Culture Push, a platform for ideas and thoughts that are still in development. PUSH/PULL is a virtual venue that allows us to present a variety of perspectives on civic engagement, social practice, and other issues that need attention. PUSH/PULL will help to situate the Fellows and the work they do within a critical discourse, and act as a forum for an ongoing dialogue between the Fellows, the Culture Push community, and the world at large.
*Thanks to Culture Push Board Member (and Fall 2012 Fellow) Nancy Nowacek for the journal name!
ISSUE ONE //
01 DECEMBER 2015
Chloë Bass
Chloë discusses her experience as a Fellow working with Culture Push to bring her ideas to the public.
What Culture Push Means to Me: A Report by Lise Brenner
Lise meditates on what Culture Push means to her through text and images.
The Power of Darkness by Emerald Carter
Emerald describes the salvation of black female authors and the way writing saved her life.
Sarah Dahnke
Sarah explains the motivation behind her project Dances for Solidarity.