"Why Culture Matters to Justice" is a series of essays commissioned by the National Performance Network (NPN) as part of their Culture Justice Initiative (CJI). It is curated and edited by Sage Crump and the series is being cross-published across the arts and social justice movement sectors.

This year, we’re reflecting on the act of gathering as an artistic tool for building movements, distributing resources, and nurturing new futures. In a field as expansive and difficult to define as socially engaged art, the impulse to gather people, collectively organize, and build networks emerges as a throughline amongst a vast array of disciplines and practices. This work cannot happen individually; collaboration is inherent to the process at all scales, from artist cooperatives, ensembles, and mutual aid networks to broader efforts of convening and coalition building across networks and geographies.

No Privacy, No Public, the second issue of Landscapes, explores the destabilizing collapse of public and private spheres in the U.S. today. Guest edited by artist and writer Dan S. Wang, varied contributions from artists and practitioners will unfold throughout the rest of the year. Does the crumbling of the U.S. political systems we've known open space to—in Dan’s words—“reinvigorate our imaginations regarding government and what it can do”?

Another Way, the first collection of contributions to Landscapes, centers artists in their own voices to spotlight the wisdom of our creative community. Anchored by a set of twelve questions created by artist Chloë Bass to gain insight into practitioners’ work and person, Another Way gathers responses, reflections, and expertise from a range of contributors. Exploring the knowledge passed through creative lineages and the ways socially engaged practice proliferates inside and outside of institutions, Another Way provides a window into ongoing conversations between friends and mentors.