BOOK CHAPTERS

“ Flava in Ya Gear: Transgressive Politics and the Influence of Hip-hop on Twentieth Century Fashion” with Nurí Chandler-Smith in Twentieth Century American Fashion. Edited by Linda Welters and Patricia A. Cunningham. London: Berg Publishers:229-254, 2005.

ESSAYS, ARTICLES

"Building Creative Communities: Approaching the Arts as Social and Economic Development." This essay discusses GATI (Global Arts Training Institute), an international model for building professionalism in the visual and performance arts. Using the principles of the Bahá'í Faith and arts education and management expertise, the model proposes a "floating" accredited, short-term training institute for younger and emerging artists, trianed by career professionals. Appears in: Australian Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2001

"The Beautiful Flight Toward the Light: Reflections of An Artist’s Life."
This essay is a subjective reflection on the life and work of artist Robin Chandler. It covers early mentoring and family experiences, career development, the artist’s principle medium-collage- and her collage techniques as well as her experiences with community development and the arts in the U.S., Brazil, South Africa, and Australia. Appears in: Australian Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2001

"Creative Parallel Spaces in Science and Art: Knowledge in the Information Age." This essay examines mythologies of creativity in both the scientific community and the art world. The author analyzes the ways in which artists and scientists are trained and socialized. It makes a case for theoretical applications in interdisciplinary teaching and research, parallels between the "routine" activities of both art and science, and the problem of overcoming the artificial and sometimes arbitrary boundaries between art and science. Appears in: Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 1998

"The Concept of the Harmony of Science and Religion in African Culture."
This article argues for the preservation of the best elements of African traditionalism as an empowering tool when interconnected with the best of modern western science. It argues that the next stage of development for the scientist is his/her spiritualization, rather than further material development and experimentation. It presents the theories of the Baha’i Faith as working theories for engaging these two processes. Appears in: Research Institute for Theology and Religion, UNISA, Pretoria, 1998

"The New Movement of the Center: A Theoretical Model for Future Analysis in Art Worlds." This article discusses the proposition that artists have become artifacts, products of an exclusive elite disconnected from the wider global community. The author suggests that there is a new movement underway precipitated by globalization, technology, interdependence, ethical chaos, and cultural diffusion, phenomena beyond the control of artists. As outlined, the pathway of success of a new, more spiritualized art world includes the transformation of the artist from self-centered to people and community-centered models in which artists solve real problems in the real world. Appears in: Voices of Color: Art and Society in the Americas, ed. Phoebe Farris-Dufrene, 1997

"Xenophobes, Visual Terrorism , and the African Subject." This essay examines the impact of visual representations of people of African descent historically. It documents various forms of image making (minstrelsy, parody, commercial illustrations et al ) as an expression of visual terrorism by non-Africans. Appears in: The Black Subject: The Third Text, published in 1993.

TALKS

"Women of Color: Laying Tracks, Building Bridges, and Movin’ On Up in the Information Age." Cybersisters and Virtual Visionaries: A Celebration of Women of Color in the Information Age’. This MIT conference keynote called for cross-cultural and intergenerational links among women of color interested in technology. 1999.

"Micro-enterprise Development, the Arts, and Economic Prosperity: Making It Work, Putting Artists To Work." This presentation was made to the Southern Metropolitan Leadership Council, Gauteng Province, March 16, 2000. It discusses the cultural industries growth strategy, whether or not it has been successful, and recent South African press coverage of maladministration in arts and culture organizations in South Africa. It argues for a vibrant link between arts and cultural heritage. 2001.

BOOKS

"Amazing Grace: An African American Sojourn in South Africa." This book manuscript is the author’s reflections and experiences of living, working, and traveling throughout southern Africa between 1993, just prior to South Africa’s first national elections, and up to 1997. The manuscript is under revision and will be made into a documentary film. Unpublished.

"The Role of Artists in Democracy Movements in the Black Expressive Tradition in Brazil, South Africa and the United States." This edited book chapter describes the ways in which communities of color link theory with practice and social change in three regions of the world. It is an analysis of parallels in the social and political challenges of liberation struggles in the art worlds in which these artists have survived and thrived through solidarity, innovation, advocacy, and global citizenship. Appears in: Comparitive Perspectives on Sohth Africa, ed. Ran Greenstein, 1998

"Notes From the Briarpatch: Art at the Cultural Crossroads: The Case of Caravan for International Culture." This edited book chapter tells the story of Caravan for International Culture begun in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, by the author. Appears in: The Promise of Multiculturalism Education and Autonomy in the 21st Centrury, ed. George Katsiaficas and Teodros Kiros, 1998