Thinking global, acting local. Our guests Douglas Worts and Caitlin Southwick will discuss how cultural organizations are addressing community and environmental sustainability globally. They will be joined by Nicole Fougère and Ron Ulrich who will share how their local cultural organizations are taking action.
Available March 11
TABLE CONVERSATION
Recorded in January 2022. In this On The Table podcast, we bring together four cultural leaders to discuss the role arts and heritage organizations can play in addressing community and environmental sustainability. In our conversation, we bring attention to the work of Douglas Worts, a Canadian-based leader on the topic of culture and sustainability, and Ki Culture, a globally-focused organization committed to creating a sustainable future through the cultural sector. Nicole Fougère from artsPlace Canmore and Ron Ulrich from the Canmore Museum will discuss how their cultural organizations are affecting change at a local level.
TABLE GUESTS
Douglas Worts. Based in Toronto, Douglas has published and spoken widely, in Canada and internationally, on topics of museum audience, creativity, education and the relationship of culture to sustainability. For almost 20 years, Douglas’s special research and publishing focus has been on understanding and promoting the notion of a ‘culture of sustainability. From 2002 to 2005, he was co-chair of the Alberta Museum Association’s Museum Excellence Program (MEP), helping to foster innovation and effectiveness across Alberta museums. Douglas’s goal is to bring his unique perspective on culture’s relationship to sustainability into practical applications that foster meaningful societal change. Most recently, Douglas has been working closely with Ki Culture to develop an international community of museums focusing on creating shared tools to foster social and environmental sustainability at a local level.
Caitlin Southwick. Passionate about issues of sustainability, climate change, and cultural heritage, Caitlin is the Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture. She holds a Professional Doctorate in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam. Caitlin has worked in the conservation field and in museums around the world, including the Vatican Museums, The Getty Conservation Institute, and Easter Island. She was a professional member of the American Institute of Conservations Sustainability Committee and is the Secretary of the Working Group on Sustainability for the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Nicole Fougère . A mountain-trekking, truth-dancing, language-lover who believes that creativity transforms lives, Nicole is the Programs Director artsPlace Canmore. She is passionate about community engagement in the arts. At the Royal Conservatory of Music, Nicole innovated many successful arts education programs. She launched and managed these new programs nationally and internationally. She is a specialist in facilitating leadership training for artists, teachers and community facilitators. As an Artist-Educator, Nicole has lead workshops for children and adults in ten countries on three continents. She creates the learning structures in which people can let their own creativity thrive. Nicole is also a dancer, storyteller and an emerging writer. She is inspired by the energy of nature and this influences both her dancing and her stories.
Ron Ulrich. Ron is producer and host of the On The Table podcast and Executive Officer of the Canmore Museum. Ron has worked in the non-profit heritage and arts sector for his entire working career and is passionate about making communities authentic, culturally vibrant places to live, work and visit. Ron began working in museums as a volunteer at the age of 14, sitting on the board of his local historical society as they sought to build a new museum. He spent his first 10 years of his career in museum education and interpretation. For the last 25 years, Ron has served a number of organizations in a senior leadership role. He sat on the Board of Directors of the Empress Theatre Society, the Edmonton Heritage Council, and the Alberta Museums Association. He studied Canadian history and business at the University of Lethbridge and Museum Studies with the Medicine Hat College.
