The Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust announce Podcast Collaboration, ACTIVE HOPE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 17, 2021

The Apollo Theater, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and National Sawdust

announce

ACTIVE HOPE

a podcast collaboration

with Kamilah Forbes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Paola Prestini

First episode available Thursday, February 18

(WASHINGTON)—The Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center, and National Sawdust announce a new podcast collaboration, Active Hope, exploring how artists and arts leaders can shape this transformational, historical, and polarizing moment. Listeners are invited to join a new engaging conversation each month with a leadership trio from these national arts institutions—acclaimed theater director and Executive Producer at the Apollo Theater, Kamilah Forbes; poet, TED Global Fellow, and Kennedy Center Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact, Marc Bamuthi Joseph; and award-winning composer and Artistic Director & Co-Founder of National Sawdust, Paola Prestini.

The pilot episode, recorded during a live digital event in January, and available through Apple Podcasts and Spotify beginning February 18, includes performance clips from the archives of all three institutions and asks questions such as “How can artists and arts workers shape the transformational and polarizing moments of today?” and “How can we apply creative intelligence to cross borders and build a path for healing and the future?” Future episodes featuring special guests across a range of backgrounds and disciplines will also be recorded during live digital YouTube events for subsequent podcast release. Guests will be announced at a later date.

Episode 2:      

Topic: incarceration, law, and politics

Livestream Date: Friday, March 12, 2021

Podcast Release Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021

Episode 3:        

Topic: borders

Livestream Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021

Podcast Release Date: Thursday, May 6, 2021

Episode 4:       

Topic: futurism

Livestream Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021

Podcast Release Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021

Episode 5:        

Topic: feminism & social justice and beauty & aesthetics

Livestream Date: Thursday, June 24, 2021

Podcast Release Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021

To receive more information about Active Hope as well as updates regarding future livestreams and podcast episodes, click here.

Funding Credits

Leadership support for Kennedy Center Social Impact programs is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Major support for Social Impact at the Kennedy Center is provided by Ford Foundation and David C. Frederick and Sophia Lynn. Additional support is provided by Bernstein Family Foundation and the Orlebeke Foundation.

Support for National Sawdust is provided by Pamela Murphy and Rick D’Avino, Joan and Peter Faber, Ford Foundation, and The Tyler Perry Foundation.