Looking Forward: Demographic Change, Economic Shifts, and the Role of the Arts

a conversation with Manuel Pastor

Denver—like much of metropolitan America—is experiencing a combination of demographic and economic change. While increasing diversity is welcomed by many, it is feared by others, with these diverging views playing out against a backdrop of growing income segregation and inequality which seeds economic despair, increases tensions, and isolates communities away from art cultivation and enjoyment. Yet the arts can be an important way to address these broader social dynamics: art can not only advance inclusivity and equity, but also promote community empowerment, inter-group understanding, and metropolitan prosperity. This presentation will lift up how these dynamics are playing out in both Denver and the United States and highlight how a nation that is itself facing sharp generational, and racial divisions—as well as proposals to eliminate national arts funding—can center equity as part of arts programming.

Dr. Manuel Pastor is Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at USC and USC's Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC.

Schedule At-A-Glance

8 a.m. -- Check in: Coffee, light breakfast, and networking

8:30 a.m. -- Welcome and presentation

10:00 a.m. -- Q&A