Regional History & Potential

In November 2016, Tilt West launched our first season of roundtable events with a conversation on Region & Identity, prompted by Cortney Lane Stell, Executive Director and Chief Curator of Black Cube. Our discussion explored the extent to which a person’s geographic location, along with other aspects of cultural context, might influence his or her sense of personal and/or creative identity, as well as his or her artistic practice. We also debated the usefulness of promoting a distinct "regional" aesthetic in an increasingly global contemporary art world.

For our fourth and final event of this season, we return to the topic of our region, but this time with a more "brass tacks" focus on Regional History & Potential. Our goal is to come together as members of the arts and culture community to reflect collectively on where we have been, where we are now, and where we might be going as we look to a future that is sure to bring continued economic and population growth to our state.

• How do we each define or understand our region? Is it the Denver metro area? The Front Range? Colorado?
• In what way is the region’s history with respect to arts and culture relevant to our current circumstances and future potential? What should we learn from that past?
• If you have been engaged with cultural practice in this area for a long time, what recent developments do you consider most exciting, and to what do you attribute those developments? What concerns do you have as you look ahead?
• If you are new to the region, how does your experience in other regions inform your understanding and view of the arts and culture community here? Why did you choose to come here, and what will motivate you to stay– or not?
• What are our strengths right now as a community, and how can we build upon them?
• What challenges do we currently face, and how do you see those challenges shifting in the coming years?
• If you could change one thing about this region or add one thing, what would it be?
• Are we guilty of provincialism?
• Are there other cities or regions that we might identify as role models for supporting arts and culture in exciting ways?
• What are our aspirations as a cultural community? How do changes in the global contemporary art world potentially inspire, limit, or otherwise shape those aspirations?