ARTISTS + INSTITUTIONS: Common Ground was a live public participatory event at the Schindler House, organized by MAK Center Director Kimberli Meyer, and artists David Burns of Fallen Fruit and Sara Daleiden of the Los Angeles Urban Rangers. The program featured artist Sarah Beadle and Notch, an ensemble collective that produces ephemeral culinary and service interventions. Artist Christina Sanchez produced dialogical prompts for public discussion. The public was invited to join in table discussions hosted by special guest artists and representatives of art institutions of Los Angeles. 

With increasing international visibility, Los Angeles has become a vibrant collaborative environment for art and culture. However, informal discussion about the dynamics between artists and institutions often occurs on the margins of public events amongst the public, critics, and strangers. The ARTISTS + INSTITUTIONS Summer 2012 salon series was a response to recent interest in public visibility and questions of ethics around contemporary art museum programming. 

The series concluded with a question posed to the public: “What is the common ground for artists and institutions?” The purpose of the public program was to continue the debate on the varied definitions and boundaries of power dynamics in the cultural production in Los Angeles with invited participants representing academic, institutional and independent creative positions and interests. 

Produced as of part of SOCiAL: Art + People.