Leadership, Courage, and Cultural Policy in Times of Uncertainty

As cultural institutions and funders navigate heightened political scrutiny, public pressure, and renewed culture wars, leadership in the arts is increasingly shaped by moments of choice. Decisions about funding, governance, and public engagement now carry implications not only for organizations, but for the public commons—the shared civic spaces, narratives, and relationships that make collective life possible.

This webinar explores leadership and courage as cultural policy practices, grounded in the realities of today’s civic landscape. Rather than focusing solely on crisis response, the session examines how cultural policy and cultural organizing praxis can help repair trust, strengthen the civic “we,” and support communities navigating forms of civic trauma and disorientation.

The conversation brings together cultural policy thinkers and city-based leaders working in places such as Seattle and Minneapolis, alongside reflections informed by decades of cultural policy research and practice. Participants will explore how leaders make choices under pressure: how risk is shared or shifted, how belonging is expanded or narrowed, and how cultural inquiry can be protected even when cultural expression is contested.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, March 17 at 2pm EST/11am PST for this 75-minute presentation.

Live captioning will be available in English throughout the webinar. For additional accommodation requests, please contact GIA Senior Program Manager Jaime Sharp (jaime@giarts.org), at least three (3) business days prior to the event.

Presenters

Roberto Bedoya, Cultural Strategist

Roberto Bedoya retired in October 2024 as Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland, where he shepherded the City’s Cultural Plan, “Belonging in Oakland“. Throughout his career, he has consistently supported artist-centered cultural practices and advocated for expansive definitions of inclusion and belonging in the cultural sector. His essays “Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-belonging” and “Spatial Justice: Rasquachification, Race and the City” have reframed cultural policy to shed light on exclusionary practices and decision-making. Most recently, his essay,  “The Courage of Imagination, A Pro-Democracy Movement, and the Civic We, “ was published in the GIA Reader. He is the recipient of the United States Artists 2021 Berresford Prize, given annually to a cultural practitioner who has contributed significantly to the advancement, well-being, and care of artists in society.

Randy Engstrom, Founder and Principal, Third Way Creative

Randy Engstrom has been a passionate advocate and organizer of cultural and community development for over 20 years.  He is currently the owner and principal of Third Way Creative, a collaborative consulting studio focused on cultural policy, racial equity, and creative economy. He is also Adjunct Faculty at the Seattle University Arts Leadership Program teaching cultural policy and advocacy, and regular lecturer at the Evan’s School of Governance and Public Policy at the University of Washington. Most recently he served as Director of the Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Seattle where he expanded their investments in granting programs and Public Art, while establishing new programs and policies in arts education, cultural space affordability, and racial equity. He also led several multi-department subcabinets, including Affordability and Livability, Youth Opportunity, Future of Work, and COVID Recovery.  He served as Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission in 2011 and was Chair of the Facilities and Economic Development Committee from 2006 to 2010. Before joining the City he owned Reflex Strategies, a cultural and community-based consulting practice. From 2005-2010 Engstrom was the Founding Director of the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, a multimedia and multidisciplinary community space. In 2009 Randy received the Emerging Leader Award from Americans for the Arts and was one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He is a graduate of The Evergreen State College, and holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Governance and Public Policy. 

Theresa Sweetland, Executive Director, Forecast Public Art

Theresa Sweetland is Executive Director of Forecast, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that supports artists working in public and civic practice and partners with communities and public agencies to activate, inspire, and advocate for public art that advances justice, health, and human dignity. Theresa is also the driving force behind FORWARD, a free digital platform that explores how artists are partnering with cities, institutions and communities to courageously tackle the vital issues of our time from affordable housing and the climate crisis to community safety and the threat to democracy. She leads Midwest Memory, a rural public memory initiative; Artists as Witness, a statewide Minnesota rapid-response grant program supporting artists documenting lived experience during the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota; and Creative Power, Civic Purpose, a national conversation series exploring how artists strengthen civic health and democratic participation. Theresa previously led Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis and was a co-founder of Creative CityMaking, a nationally recognized model connecting artists and city planners to advance the city’s racial equity goals. She has led cultural plans and civic initiatives across Minnesota and the Midwest, including leading the City of Bloomington’s recent APA-MN award-winning city-wide cultural plan. Theresa has spoken at events like the WESTAF Future History of Public Art Symposium in Hawaii, ArtBAB in Bahrain, and UNFOLD in Dubai. Theresa has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, lives in South Minneapolis and is a single mother of two teenage sons.