155: Why Are Humility & Failure Essential to Art and Social Change Success?
ART IS CHANGE: Strategies & Skills for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers · Bill Cleveland
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Show Notes
This episode digs into one of the trickiest—and most revealing—corners of community-based arts work: the way humility and failure shape everything we do, from a 12-line role in Richard II to a city-wide public-art firestorm.
Leni Sloan, Barbara Shaffer Bacon and Bill Cleveland tumble into stories that peel back the glossy surface of “successful” arts practice:
- the actor with decades of experience learning cadence from an 18-year-old,
- the choreographer who turned military restrictions into creative fuel,
- the prison poet who left a Broadway star speechless.
And threaded through it all is this question: how do we stay porous enough—humble enough—to learn what the work is actually teaching us?
Together they talk about the kind of failure that doesn’t end a project but opens it—cracks the thing apart so the next, truer version can breathe. And they remind us that in this art-and-community dance, no one is ever done learning, not even the masters.
Listen in as we explore why humility is not soft, and failure is not fatal—they’re simply part of the craft.
And stick around: the next episode asks the big follow-up question—what responsibility do we carry for sustaining access to creative resources once communities have experienced their transformative power?
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NOTABLE MENTIONS
People
Actor, director, community-arts practitioner, and co-conversationalist in this episode, reflecting on humility, failure, and learning within community-engaged art.
Co-director of Animating Democracy and long-time leader in arts-based community development; contributes insight into constraints, ethics, and readiness in community practice.
Director formerly with Cornerstone Theater Company and a leader of community-based productions at The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park.
Choreographer, educator, and founder of the Dance Exchange, known for pioneering community-based performance projects including The Shipyard Project.
Poet quoted for the line “Freedom is riding easy in the harness,” used here to illuminate creative constraint.
Potter, writer, and philosopher known for her disciplined practice of smashing imperfect pots—a metaphor for artistic rigor and humility.
Award-winning actor involved in the Broadway production of Waiting for Godot, who visited San Quentin and sought insight from incarcerated actor Spoon Jackson.
Poet, educator, and long-incarcerated artist whose work in Arts-in-Corrections and performance in Waiting for Godot continues to inspire communities worldwide. Now eligible for review under California’s Racial Justice Act.
Events & Projects
A groundbreaking community dance and dialogue project led by Liz Lerman and the Dance Exchange in Portsmouth, NH, exploring the tensions around the naval shipyard’s potential closure.
Sacramento “Indo Arch” Public Art Controversy (1980s)
A major debate around a celebrated new public artwork whose meaning shifted with geopolitical conflict, sparking weeks of city council deliberation. (General Sacramento public art reference: https://www.sacramento365.com/public-art/)
San Quentin Production of Waiting for Godot
A culturally significant prison-based performance in which incarcerated actors, including Spoon Jackson, staged Beckett’s play for outside audiences and visiting artists like F. Murray Abraham.
Creative Community Leadership Institute (CCLI) (archival)
A long-running community-arts training program in Minnesota whose curriculum underwent major revision after direct feedback from BIPOC participants.
Organizations
A nationally recognized organization creating theater with and for communities across the U.S.
New York City’s home for Shakespeare in the Park and large-scale community productions involving hundreds of local participants.
An interdisciplinary performance company exploring the intersection of art, community dialogue, and participatory practice.
California Arts-in-Corrections Program
A statewide partnership providing arts education inside prisons, central to the development and visibility of artists like Spoon Jackson.
Legislation allowing incarcerated individuals to seek relief when racial bias may have influenced their conviction or sentencing.
Publications / Texts
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
The canonical absurdist play discussed in relation to San Quentin’s historic production.
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Change the Story / Change the World is a podcast that chronicles the power of art and community transformation, providing a platform for activist artists to share their experiences and gain the skills and strategies they need to thrive as agents of social change.
Through compelling conversations with artist activists, artivists, and cultural organizers, the podcast explores how art and activism intersect to fuel cultural transformation and drive meaningful change. Guests discuss the challenges and triumphs of community arts, socially engaged art, and creative placemaking, offering insights into artist mentorship, building credibility, and communicating impact.
Episodes delve into the realities of artist isolation, burnout, and funding for artists, while celebrating the role of artists in residence and creative leadership in shaping a more just and inclusive world. Whether you’re an emerging or established artist for social justice, this podcast offers inspiration, practical advice, and a sense of solidarity in the journey toward art and social change.