Citizen Artist Reading Group with Dorit Cypis Sunday, June 21st | 10 AM – 12 PM Virtual – Meeting Link Free + Open to the Public High Performance magazine, and later The Citizen Artist anthology, documented and amplified the voices of artists working outside traditional institutions, embedding their practice in the fabric of civic life. By revisiting these groundbreaking publications, we aim to spark dialogue, collective memory, and action—drawing from a powerful lineage of artist-led civic engagement and radical experimentation. The Citizen Artist Reading Group is a year-long inquiry into the intersections of art, politics, performance, and community. Meeting monthly from January–December 2026, the group will engage foundational and experimental texts that have shaped the fields of social practice, community-based performance, and art/life. Together, participants will explore themes ranging from feminist lineages and environmental interventions to activism, justice, and collective transformation. All sessions are virtual and public. Special guests will be invited to each session. Session 6 – June 21, 2026, 10:00-12:00 PM Readings: On the Side of the Deepest Soul on Earth: An Interview with JA Kyung Rhee and Hye Sook of Theatre – Steven Durland (p. 137) No Time for the Blues (Aesthetic) – Pearl Cleage (p. 145) Call Me in ’93: An Interview with James Luna – Steven Durland (p. 149) Shooting the Klan: An Interview with Andres Serrano – Coco Fusco (p. 159) The Shock of the Real: An Interview with Karen Finley – Margot Mifflin (p. 171) Guests: Dorit Cypis Dorit Cypis is an artist with extended skills in education and conflict mediation. Dorit’s familial cultural experiences deeply inform her multidisciplinary practice exploring intersections of history, cultural identity, the construction of meaning, somatic experience, and social justice. Dorit is recognized for artworks that weave together performance, photography, and immersive media installations, as well as for an innovative approach to community engagement. Dorit’s work, which has been exhibited internationally at museums, galleries, and civic spaces, has received awards and fellowships including from National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Foundation. Her art projects often invite audiences to wrestle with questions of memory, belonging, and collective responsibility. Dorit is committed to integrating creative expression with social change initiatives to inspire people within and beyond the art world. In 2016 Dorit founded PeoplesLab, bridging our differences to build possibility, as a platform for training, mediation, and dialogue facilitation. Drawing from diverse cultural influences, her psycho-social approach integrates perceptual, sensorial and communication tools to meet and bridge cultural and personal differences. PeoplesLab has developed engagement between diverse populations across entrenched cultural divides including race, policing, homelessness, at risk y...
