Episode Seven
The Arts in the Pursuit of Shalom
PreEnact Indy
Episode Summary —
Learning to love your neighbor through PreEnactment.
The arts can play a vital role in the Call to Shalom, but also can harm if approached uncritically. Joanna Taft and Keesha Dixon are deeply embedded in their Indianapolis community and are seeking to work for shalom through the cultural and creative expression of the arts. Learn about the incredible story of PreEnact Indy, one of the most powerful examples of living out the Christian imagination quite literally on the streets of a city.
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PreEnactment Theater: Fighting Cultural Gentrification TED Talk
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MusicI Thank you Lord
Detroit Remembers, Volume 2, Gabby JohnsonWondering Where the Lions Are
Bruce CockburnCheck out our Spotify playlist with recommendations from our guests here.
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Read the episode transcript here.
Join the conversation on Relight.
Part 1 — Place
Loving the Place You Call Home
Part 2 — The Arts
The Arts in the Pursuit of Shalom
Part 3 — PreEnactment
Acting Out the Hopes of a Neighborhood
Guests
Joining host Josh Yates this episode are Joanna Taft and Keesha Dixon.
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Joanna Taft serves as Founding Executive Director of the Harrison Center, a leader in neighborhood cultural development; Founder and Board Chair Emeritus of Herron High School, ranking the top 3% of public schools nationwide; She is a pioneer in the field of creative placemaking.
For these endeavors, she has received the Indianapolis Business Journal Women of Influence Award, the Girls Inc. Touchstone Award, Heritage Place Lifetime Achievement Award, Arts Council of Indianapolis ARTI Award, Jefferson Award, Monumental Award, and two Cultural Vision awards. She is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Class XXXII and was a 2012 Creative Renewal Fellow.
She also serves on the boards of Marion County Board of Zoning Appeals (Chair), Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation (Treasurer) and the Katharine B. Sutphin Foundation (President).
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Keesha Dixon is currently the Executive Director of the Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis, Inc. She was instrumental in expanding the organizational model from a children’s theatre, established in 1990, into a multifaceted not-for-profit that serves as the parent organization for the Asante Children’s Theatre, Asante Artreprenuerial Incubator and Asante Community Connections.Her single most professional accomplishment was raising over $500,000 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most unearned revenue received in the history of the organization.
Veteran arts administrator, master practitioner, community advocate and experienced fundraiser, Keesha Dixon has become one of the most respected and revered leaders in the arts community of Indianapolis and throughout the nation.
