Collaboration & Community Building in the Arts and Humanities
This panel discussion brings together practitioners, artists, and humanities professionals to explore the intersections between the arts and humanities, and what becomes possible when the two come together. Through selected cases, panelists will explore how cross-sector collaboration has sparked new ways of telling stories, preserving culture, and engaging communities. Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from those at the forefront of this work, ask questions, and reflect on how collaboration might enrich their own practice.
This panel discussion brings together practitioners, artists, and humanities professionals to explore the intersections between the arts and humanities, and what becomes possible when the two come together. Through selected cases, panelists will explore how cross-sector collaboration has sparked new ways of telling stories, preserving culture, and engaging communities. Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from those at the forefront of this work, ask questions, and reflect on how collaboration might enrich their own practice.Aditya Desai
Aditya Desai is the Programs Officer for Literature at Maryland Humanities and Director for Maryland Center for the Book. Prior to this, he has worked as a writer, editor, educator, and publisher in the literary arts. He holds an MFA in Fiction from University of Maryland College Park and is currently a PhD Candidate in English Studies at Old Dominion University. His own fiction and essays can be found online.
Joy Davis
Joy Davis is an experienced curator, curatorial director, and an independent scholar of cultural and fashion history. In her tenure at the Walters Art Museum she, along with her staff, drove the museum forward with digital programming that encompassed some of the most diverse programming in the museum’s history. From 2015 to present she co-hosts and produces Unravel Podcast, a fashion history and culture podcast. Her scholarly projects include subject matter that is underdeveloped in academia and transcends many fields of study: fashion, history, art, media, and performance among people of color throughout history. She received her B.A. degrees in History and Media Studies from the University of Maryland, and her M.A. in Fashion and Museum Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
Rob Forloney
Robert Forloney is the Program Officer, Partnerships at Maryland Humanities. He collaborates with cultural institutions and communities to develop innovative programs, promote partnerships, and facilitate strategic planning. He has worked in the field for almost thirty years as an educator, administrator and consultant at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University. Robert strives to ensure that communities have their voices heard and are empowered by the organizations that attempt to share their stories.
Savannah Wade
Savannah Imani Wade is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, grants manager, and Creative Director of OARA (Our Art Room Agency) based in Baltimore, MD. Wade holds a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has performed in Pulitzer Prize-winning operas, Bread & Puppet Theater, The Kennedy Center, and more. Wade founded OARA, an artist collective focused on advancing financial liberation, holistic development, and community-supported sustainability for emerging artists. Currently, Savannah works at Maryland Humanities as a Grants Specialist focusing on foundation, state, federal, and corporate grants.