Emily Johnson/Catalyst
Activating the Decolonization Rider
Movement Research and Abrons Arts Center
The Decolonization Rider is a powerful tool designed to advance decolonization processes within cultural institutions while protecting artists, their work, and collaborators. In this two-part presentation, the Decolonization Rider’s author Emily Johnson, along with Decolonization Rider Analyst & Strategist Leomary Rodriguez, will share how the Decol Rider works from both sides of an engagement. For artists, makers and scholars, it is a tool they can bring into agreements: a way to set terms, safeguard their work and collaborators and to initiate any necessary decolonization conversations with the organizations that present them. For cultural institutions, it is a framework to turn inward: a way to examine and change internal policies and practices so that engagements with artists and communities become safer and more justice-centered.
They will share research generated from their Decolonization Assessments, which asks: What changes have we seen in the field? What persists as perceived challenges toward decolonization? And what are some brilliant success stories? Participants will gain actionable insights for institutional transformation and learn from documented examples of successful decolonization practices.
This presentation is offered in collaboration with New York Live Arts, Movement Research and Abrons Arts Center.
Part 1 takes place Thursday, November 19th from 6-8pm at Abrons Arts Center as part of the Kinstillatory Fire, organized in partnership with Movement Research through the Studies Project program. This session is centered toward artists, scholars and makers who work with institutions; focusing on how the Decol Rider protects their work and supports them in shaping safer, more equitable engagements with institutions.
Part 2 takes place Wednesday, December 2nd from 4:30-6:30pm at New York Live Arts. This session broadens the conversation for artists where we also invite institutional representatives, funders, and others invested in field-wide change, offering research findings, an interactive workshop and practical pathways for institutional transformation.
“Merging art and activism, Johnson’s expansive work [draws] our attention to the land beneath and around us — to what has been here before and what could be in the future. ”
– The New York Times
Movement Research, founded in 1978, is one of the world’s leading laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms. Valuing the individual artist, their creative process, and their vital role within society, Movement Research is dedicated to the creation and implementation of free and low-cost programs that nurture and instigate discourse and experimentation. Movement Research strives to reflect the cultural, political, and economic diversity of its moving community, including artists and audiences alike.
Abrons Arts Center is the cultural program of Henry Street Settlement, a longstanding social services organization and anchor in the Lower East Side. Founded in 1975 as the Arts for Living Center, adjacent to the historic Neighborhood Playhouse that has served the area since 1915, Abrons is a home for artistic expression and creative exchange.
Abrons Arts Center builds a community where artists, learners, and audiences explore creative possibilities. Rooted in the immigrant and working-class history of our Lower East Side neighborhood, we offer free and affordable exhibitions, performances, classes, residencies, and space access.
