Open Dialogues

The Art and Culture Center/Hollywood is thrilled to have been selected by the Community Foundation of Broward to receive an Art of Community grant for its multidisciplinary project “Open Dialogues: Promoting Social Justice Through the Arts.” Open Dialogues will utilize a variety of artistic and creative media in three unique programming components that are designed to foster constructive dialogue about social justice for Broward’s Black and LGBTQ communities.

This project will present in 2021-22 two short documentary films created in-house by the Center and a curated gallery exhibition that address inclusion, acceptance and equity in our community. These films and the exhibition will build collaborative networks among artists, writers, community members, nonprofits, businesses, academics, government agencies to illustrate how the arts play a vital role in inspiring conversations around race and gender.

“The Center is grateful to the Community Foundation of Broward for creating this incredible opportunity for us to expand our programming in such a powerful and meaningful way,” said Joy Satterlee, the Center’s Executive Director. “This project builds upon the Center’s existing Open Dialogues program model, which was launched in 2019 with a Broward Pride grant from the Foundation and resulted in our award-winning documentary film, Open Dialogues: Stories From the LGBTQ Community.”

The first component of this Art of Community grant will greatly expand public outreach for the 20-minute LGBTQ-themed film. Directed by Freddy Rodriguez and produced by the Center, Open Dialogues: Stories From the LGBTQ Community captures in often emotionally revealing ways, the diverse coming-out narratives of seven Broward residents who took part in on-camera interviews. It was presented in 2020 as part of a gallery exhibition in partnership with the Stonewall National Museum and Archives.

Through Art of Community, the Center will partner with fellow nonprofits and other organizations to present screenings with moderated panel discussions that engage audiences about the “coming out” journey for LGBTQ individuals in Broward. Open Dialogues was an Official Selection in OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival and 35th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Broward Documentary.

In 2021, the Center will produce a second Open Dialogues short documentary film that will be based on Black lives in Broward. This film will follow a similar production model as the first Open Dialogues film with a focus on what social justice looks and feels like for Broward’s Black residents – historically, currently and in the future. The Center will identify up to eight individuals, including artists, who represent a diverse range of generations, nationalities and work/life experiences in Broward’s Black community.

This second Open Dialogues film will also be filmed and directed by Rodriguez and will premiere as part of a contemporary gallery exhibition that represents the third component for this project. For this exhibition, the Center’s Curator Meaghan Kent will partner with Guest Curator Marie Vickles, the Curator-in-Residence at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex and Director of Education at the Perez Art Museum Miami.

The curators will create a group exhibition of primarily South Florida artists who will also participate in workshops, panel discussions, and family-friendly art-making activities, at the Center’s monthly Free Arts! Family Days. The exhibition dates are October 16th, 2021 to February 27th, 2022.

“As one of seven organizations to receive an Art of Community grant, the Center looks forward to working with our program partners to promote informative conversations around race and gender in Broward County through the arts,” Satterlee said.

Support for the Center’s Art of Community grant was provided by the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Helen and Frank Stoykov Charitable Endowment Fund, Ruth H. Brown Fund for the Arts, Dot and Keith Cobb Fund and the Mary and Alex Mackenzie Community Impact Fund.

About the Community Foundation of Broward:
Founded in 1984, the Community Foundation of Broward helps families, individuals and organizations create personalized charitable Funds that deliver game-changing philanthropic impact. 479 charitable Funds represent more than $200 million in assets, distributing $131 million in grants over the past 36 years. The Community Foundation provides bold leadership on community solutions and fosters philanthropy that connects people who care with causes that matter. The Foundation empowers visionaries, innovators and doers to create the change they want to see in the community – and to BE BOLD. www.cfbroward.org

About the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood
The Art and Culture Center/Hollywood is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported in part by its members, admissions, private entities, the City of Hollywood, the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. We welcome donations from all members of the community who wish to support our work.