Between 2012-13 the Network of Ensemble Theaters (NET) will launch The Place Cycle, exploring the intersection of art, civics and community. The cycle will spotlight and study how artists and ensembles are revitalizing, remembering and restoring “place.”

In the three locations NET will visit—Detroit, Eastern Kentucky and New Orleans—Place Cycle programming will include:

• Performances that highlight local work and community
• Events to promote dialogue around the work and the issues
• Tours of each community.

We will be in the community, not just in rooms talking about communities.

Detroit: Revitalizing. As Philip Lauri, founder of Detroit Lives! stated, “Detroit will be an innovator just because we happen to be one of the first behemoths to fall. We are forced to create the model, and what a grand opportunity that is.”

Eastern Kentucky: Remembering. In this region with key examples of place-based art embedded in tradition and social activism, a movement has been launched that turns to memory and tradition—not as nostalgia—but as key to understanding who they are today. We will visit three locations (Berea, Harlan County and Whitesburg).

New Orleans: Restoring. Since Katrina, much has happened there in terms of redevelopment, city hall, the education system—and the arts. As a community member put it, “pay attention to the art that comes out of here, because it doesn’t happen without everybody kicking in.”

Over the course of the Place Cycle, we will

• Contribute to a body of knowledge on place-based artmaking to be shared with the field
• Bring together cultural workers from across the nation to engage with local community leaders, taking part in the seeing of diverse work, and participating in public dialogue;
• Engage participants in a rigorous examination of place, inviting attendees to consider the implication of this work on their lives and communities.

To help us with this endeavor, NET will partner with Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that works to make the arts an integral part of solutions to the challenges of communities.

For more information, contact Mark Valdez, Executive Director:

mvaldez [- at -] ensembletheaters [- dot -] net