Episode 31, ACT 2: Rachel Watts - Arts and Revolution for Liberation

Courtney sits down with Rachel Watts, an artist and arts educator committed to advocating for and creating equitable arts programming for young people. She is also the artistic mind behind the #ArtsAreEssential campaign. In their discussion, Rachel, born in Ghana and raised in Trinidad, talks about her experiences at Carnival—a cultural celebration that employs music, dance, procession and masquerade—and cultural celebrations that take place here in New York City. The staggering dichotomy between the two: the absence and existence, respectively, of physical and cultural barriers. Courtney and Rachel also discuss this essential question, attributed to Watts's friend and colleague Megan Bang:* "How can arts education move from an assimilative endeavor to one that contributes to thriving education systems?" *Megan Bang, who is of Ojibwe and Italian descent, is a Professor of the Learning Sciences and Psychology at Northwestern University.