The Let’s Be Mutuals podcast is a conversation between Prudence Iticka, Philomene Iticka, Qian Cheng, Bianca Guimarães de Manuel, ma̱lidi, and Desiree Nault. This group of activists, artists, and organizers got together after the end of a 4 month collaboration to discuss what art and artist-run centres can offer to communities during times of social unrest + what communities and activists want from artist-run centres. The conversation is juicy, salty, and in the end, uplifting- we hope some of it resonates with you! 

We invite you to listen to the entire 90 minute exchange here and take a look at our website: mountainstandardtime.org/project/mutuals. There you will also find a .pdf files of the transcript, a link to our research bibliography, and a bit more contextual information on our year long partnership with the Calgary Black Empowerment Fund. 


Time stamps:
00:00:21 - Land Acknowledgment 
00:00:56 - Introduction to the podcast 
00:02:59 - Introduction to Prudence, Bianca, Philomene, Desiree, malidi, and Qian 
00:10:09 - Definitions
00:10:31 - How do we define Mutual Aid? 
00:15:23 - How do we define socially engaged art? 
00:24:26 - How do we define community?
00:35:42 - Are art institutions compatible with community building? 
00:50:27 - What can art offer to communities during a time of social unrest? How can we bridge art institutions and communities? Is this something we should even attempt?
01:08:04 - Divest or reform? Who should lead the restructure of an institution? Can they actually do this work? How willing are non-profits to reform themselves? 
01:29:44 - More about BPU
01:32:34 - End of recording

Let's Be Mutuals - The Podcast

M:ST Performative Art

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