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based on the traditional map of the united states 'the fifty united plates' is a collection from american ceramic designers, corbé company. made of porcelain, the project crosses the boundaries of craft, art and design. constructed to scale the unique pieces fit seamlessly in with their neighbor, to collectively form the entire nation. 'they're a tribute to where you are, what you're making, doing, eating, loving and living.' says the designers, 'it's a local project - built for our neighbors… made only greater in its relation to another person, another place - a spread known as the fifty united plates.' using a combination of new technologies with traditional ceramic processes, each piece highlights the persona of the maker. digital files of the states are created with the information needed to effectively cut a prototype on a CNC router. liquid ceramic slip is then poured into a plaster mold - fired in an electric kiln, the casting is finished by hand and sanded to be buttery smooth. every state has approximately 40-55 square inches of interior space and they range from 11-13" at the longest dimension.

As studies of African and Afro-Caribbean performance have acquired a wider relevance during the last decade, it is now time to examine the diverse critical approaches currently being practiced within these fields. How are African and Afro-Caribbean cultures being constructed, analyzed, and re-imagined by recent discussions about theatricality, transnationalism, diaspora, translation, Circum-Atlantic exchanges, or cyberspaces? The conference's program will bring together a diverse array of presenters from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the United States who deal with topics that include--among others--dance, drama, community theater, the links between social justice and performance, rituals, religious events, diasporas, carnival, and intercultural barterings.

Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative is a program designed to provide planning assistance and consulting to struggling arts organizations throughout the United States. Open to non-profit 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations, the program will provide counsel from Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and the Kennedy Center executive staff in the areas of fundraising, building more effective Boards of Trustees, budgeting, marketing, technology, and other areas pertinent to maintaining a vital performing arts organization during a troubled economy.

At least since the early 1990s, the cultural field has lamented the fact that it is a disaggregated and distributed policy field. Policy agendas and new practices emerge in specific contexts, pushed along by actors and organizations that have particular interests. Leaders have increasingly become aware of the need for a consistent and powerful collective action agenda -or a common set of ideas recognized by most arts leaders, artists, arts activists and advocates as important issues for debate, dialogue, and action. \n\nThe 2008 National Performing Arts Convention was a self-conscious effort to answer this clarion call-to bring together arts leaders across disciplines to learn from each other, identify common goals, and advance a field-wide agenda. Was collective action possible? What were the constraints and opportunities for action?