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Note: photo of Clayton Windatt courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada
What if you tasked the arts sector with how to make messages, not about the crisis, but on the shifts in behavior that are necessary on a more meaningful basis. When the pandemic began and certain products weren’t on the shelves at grocery stores, but there was still lots of stuff. There were shortages, but there wasn’t that much shortage. How much would my life really change if half the products in the store were just not here, right and half of them didn’t come from all over in the world? Like they were just: whatever made sense to have it available here and just having less choice. How terrible would that be: kind of not. How can we change behavior on a more holistic level, and have it stick, because that’s what we need to do right now, and I think the arts would be a great vehicle to see those messages hit everybody and make a change.
clayton windatt, conscient podcast, may 13, 2021, sturgeon falls, ontario
Clayton Windatt is a curator, multi-arts performer and filmmaker living and working in Ontario who is current Executive Director of the Artist-Run Centres and Collectives Conference. Clayton has an extensive history working in Artist-Run Culture and Community Arts and works in/with community, design, communications, curation, performance, theatre, technology, and consulting, and is a very active artist.
I first met Clayton Windatt at a national arts service organization meeting in Ottawa while I worked at the Canada Council for the Arts. Clayton always impressed me with his clarity of thought and vision. The slogan of his web site is ‘make things happen’. This has been my experience with him.
As I have done in all episodes in season 2 so far, I have integrated excerpts from soundscape compositions and quotations drawn from e19 reality, as well as moments of silence, in this episode.
I would like to thank Clayton for taking the time to speak with me, for sharing his deep knowledge of art practice and rights, his values, his wicked sense of humour, his generosity and his sharp strategic mind.
For more information on Clayton’s work, see https://claytonwindatt.com/cv/
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