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When artists and artisans can’t make a living, we all pay the price. Scott Timberg’s original and important new book, Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class, examines the roots of a creative crisis that has put booksellers, indie musicians, architects and graphic designers out of work and struggling to afford healthcare, stable housing and educational opportunities for their kids. This panel of creative thinkers and doers convenes to examine this urgent issue and explore what we can do to change course.
Scott Timberg is a Los Angeles-based culture writer, contributing writer for Salon, and one-time LA Times arts reporter who has contributed to The New York Times, GQ, and The Hollywood Reporter. His book Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class will be published by Yale University Press in January. He also co-edited, with Dana Gioia, the anthology The Misread City: New Literary Los Angeles. Scott runs ArtsJournal’s CultureCrash blog.
Barbara Bestor, AIA, is the Principal of Bestor Architecture and is the executive director of Woodbury University’s Julius Shulman Institute. Bestor Architecture was founded in 1995; work includes the new headquarters for Beats By Dre and Nasty Gal, an innovative small lot housing complex in Echo Park, and a variety of custom residences and commercial entities. Barbara Bestor is the author of Bohemian Modern, Living in Silver Lake and is a partner in Sisters of Los Angeles (SoLA), which creates design-based gifts and housewares for Los Angeles and California.
John McCrea is a founding member of the band CAKE, which originated in Sacramento, California. McCrea is the lead vocalist, primary writer, and lyricist, in addition to playing rhythm acoustic guitar, piano, and Vibraslap. He and the rest of the band have produced all of their albums. McCrea is a vocal activist for various causes, notably artists' rights, environmental and clean water initiatives, and world poverty. Additionally, John is a founding member of the Content Creator Coalition organization, an artist-run non-profit advocacy group representing all creators in the digital landscape.
Sasha Anawalt is director of USC Annenberg Arts Journalism Programs, including the Master's degree in Specialized Journalism (The Arts) program. She also directs the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program and the NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater. In October 2009, she co-directed and co-produced with Douglas McLennan the first-ever National Summit on Arts Journalism. Anawalt wrote the best-selling cultural biography The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company. She was chief dance critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, LA Weekly , and on KCRW, 89.9 FM. Her reviews and features have been published widely.
