Can art save democracy? | Eric Gottesman | TEDxKC

NOTE FROM TED: TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

What is the role of art in politics? For Eric Gottesman, founder of For Freedoms, it's to plant questions—on billboards, in conversation, in exhibitions and online—connecting communities in civic engagement by creating a safe space for dangerous ideas. Eric Gottesman teaches, organizes, writes, and makes artworks in concert with other people. His work addresses nationalism, migration, structural violence, history, and intimate relations. His projects question accepted notions of power and, by engaging communities in critical self-reflection and creative expression, propose models for repair. Eric's work is always collaborative; he has never made an artwork alone. He is a mentor in the Arab Documentary Photography Program in Beirut, Lebanon.

Eric has presented his art projects at health conferences and universities, in government buildings, on the televised opening of the NFL season, on Indigenous reservations, in post-war rubble, and at museums. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx