Joanclair Richter: NAVIGATING FREEDOM

Playwright Joanclair Richter

Amsterdam, Thessaloniki, Prague, and Sibiu are just some of the cities previously awarded with the title of "European Capital of Culture." Of course, as the title suggests, only European cities qualify for such an honor. What is it within our culture, then, that has delayed the United States from implementing a parallel program across the Atlantic? Being based in Los Angeles, SEE Fest enjoys the unique opportunity of presenting art and film in an already culturally-rich environment. Of course cities like New York and Chicago also have a rich history of culture and art themselves, but how does one designate a lesser-known city, such as Sedona, Arizona, a "capital of culture"? New young female playwright Joanclair Richter, who has launched her career with her play It's Good 2 Be Crazy, also seeks out the answer. Continue reading Richter's piece NAVIGATING FREEDOM and decide for yourself whether culture, art, and policy should be intrinsically related factors in the United States as are in Europe.


NAVIGATING FREEDOM by Joanclair Richter


As an American, freedom is my default value. I live in a set of ideals where being
free is directly linked to prosperity and success, all achieved by hard work. These
terms are general, which allows them the ability to evolve to the present, more
worldly view that the entire human race is moving towards as mobility becomes
easier. As we move together, we must take into consideration our filters - Where
are your cultural values based? What are your societies ideals?

Natasa Stearns, a Slovenian born film maker and artist, utilizes videos to explore
innovative strategies in visual expression and storytelling. When I walked into
her multi-channel video installation at TARFEST -- a crib turned on it’s side, a
mirror and the adjacent wall-- all doused with projected moving images of toys,
dolls and laid over with sounds of eery laughing and child play -- It felt jarring
and discomfort set in. When I expressed this to Natasa, she said that’s how I
was supposed to feel - “It is about a loss of emotional investment to an object.
When dealing with one toy, a child has to use imagination in order to come up
with new ways to play with it. If she gets a new toy every day, the game always
stays on the level of fascination with novelty.” As objects become so easily
replaceable, one loses a sense, and as she rubbed her fingers together, it was
clear that for her, it was about things being tangible. The intense disconnect that
this artist encompassed in vivid images and sounds made me uncomfortable
enough that she stood out in a room of 38 visual artists.

Maribor, Slovenia: European Capital of Culture 2012

Natasa is from Slovenia. This fall, she is headed back to her hometown, a European Capital of Culture (ECOC), to take part in the yearly Maribor 2012. As a city that is laying new foundations and setting new trends, ECOC will open a dialogue for various individuals and institutions in Maribor to support social growth.

Where are our Capitals of Culture here in America?

That title alone grants a collective sense of culture. New York and Los Angeles are easily culture rich - they get to be. What about Sedona, Arizona? Taos, New Mexico? Marfa, Texas? These are meaty enriched pockets that when given some light, could offer unpredictable and colorful responses - like how I felt in the split second that my filtering mind was jarred by Natasa’s powerful installation.

Does embracing our inherent culture not ground us in the communication
essential to progressing in a way that we can feel in our fingertips? Knowing our
cultural values, becoming accountable for them and having the ability to express
them in tangible, energetic and enlightening terms is not a societal pillar to be
neglected. Instead, these cultural values can be welcomed, emphasized, debated
and implemented into our inherent sense of freedom as we move towards a
cultural sustainability model.