Third Space Network

The May 30th episode of Bunker Fridays, Defending Culture, convened a powerful panel of artists and arts organizers to confront the mounting threats to American cultural institutions, artistic freedom, and the fundamental ideals of democracy.

 

 

Hosted by Randall Packer, the discussion featured panelists Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), Linda Klieger Stillman, Barry Threw, and Michael Sakamoto, who together explored the implications of government defunding of the arts, the weaponization of culture, and the urgent need for a collective response.

 

Randall Packer opened the conversation by framing the cultural crisis as a politically motivated assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion—exemplified by recent policy reversals targeting public arts institutions. He emphasized the power of artists to counter media disinformation by constructing alternative narratives through experimental and immersive performance formats like those pioneered in the Telematic Theater.

 

Linda Klieger Stillman offered a critical analysis of recent right-wing attacks on the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, as a former board member, as well as other federally funded organizations, identifying a broader campaign of cultural erasure. She highlighted the strategic importance of defending public memory and arts infrastructure in the face of rising authoritarianism. Her reflections stressed that the arts are not peripheral luxuries but essential to a functioning democracy.

 

Paul Miller declared that the arts are confronting an “extinction-level event,” tracing the roots of the crisis to decades of right-wing media manipulation led by figures like Roy Cohn and Roger Ailes. He described the long-term psychological impact of neoliberal propaganda and emphasized the need to “decolonize the collective unconscious.” Citing Black Mountain College and the New Deal-era WPA, Miller called for a bold revival of artists’ roles as educators, resistors, and visionaries.

 

Barry Threw, speaking from his position as Executive Director at Gray Area in San Francisco, offered concrete examples of how artist-run spaces are leading the charge in reclaiming cultural agency. He framed technology not as a threat but as a tool for critical reimagination, proposing new decentralized systems that support artists outside of traditional institutions.

 

Michael Sakamoto invoked his work in performance studies to underscore the artist’s responsibility to confront history and risk dissent. Drawing from his interdisciplinary practice, he emphasized the arts as a vital site for reconstructing identity and generating civic dialogue amidst political collapse.

 

The panelists collectively examined the paradox of artists working within systems that simultaneously marginalize and depend on them. They highlighted the diaspora of cultural workers leaving public institutions and debated whether to resist from within or operate outside the system.

 

The episode concluded with a call to action: to view democracy as an operating system in need of repair and artists as its software engineers. With references to the French Resistance, the Workers Projects Administration (WPA), and the enduring power of storytelling, the discussion illuminated a path forward—not through retreat, but through creative defiance, collective memory, and sustained artistic action.

 

Defending Culture was not only a discussion—it was itself an act of resistance, performed live from the underground studio bunker and streamed into the digital commons as a beacon for those fighting to preserve the soul of American culture.