Today we are excited to share an excerpt of the opening plenary of the 2022 CAR convening titled, “Artist as Model for the New Socioeconomic Normal.” In this portion of session, Christy Bolingbroke, our Executive / Artistic Director is in conversation with Washington DC-based performer, poet, director, and arts administrator, Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Bamuthi is a 2017 TED Global Fellow, an inaugural recipient of the Guggenheim Social Practice initiative, and an honoree of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship. While engaging in a deeply fulfilling and successful artistic career, Bamuthi also proudly serves as Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He is in high demand for his creative approach to organizational design, brand development, and community mediation, and has been enlisted as a strategic partner or consultant for companies ranging from Coca Cola to Carnegie Hall. Bamuthi is the founding Program Director of the exemplary non-profit Youth Speaks, and is a co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals which activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life.