Radical Conversation: Making America Great—Arun Venugopal: The Voices of Greatness

Arun Venugopal has been gathering narratives of those who voted for Trump. This conversation begins with an overview of how he, as a man of color, made sense of his role as interlocutor for the dispossessed of the white working class, and how he felt his subjects understood him. The talk also explores how Venugopal’s discoveries address the possibility (or lack thereof) of social reconciliation.

This program is the third in ICP’s series “Radical Conversation: Making America Great,” which explores the current political crisis and the nature of personal responsibility and action in this moment.

Speakers

Arun Venugopal is a reporter at WNYC, the National Public Radio member station, and focuses on issues of race, gender, and identity in America. His work in the recent series “United States of Anxiety” brought him into conversation with local Trump supporters. His empathetic and compassionate stance made it possible for him to gain the trust of his subjects and permit us, as listeners, to hear their thoughts with virtually no filter and to understand their motivations.

Accra Shepp (moderator) is a photo-based artist whose work has explored our relationship with the natural environment, such as in his 2014 solo exhibition at the Queens Museum that looked at the more than 40 islands that make up New York City. His work is in a number of important public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. His images of Occupy Wall Street have been exhibited all over the world, most recently in Sweden and Germany, and were excerpted in the book The Order of Things (Steidl, 2015). Shepp is the recipient of numerous awards and residencies, including a Fulbright Fellowship. He has taught at the International Center
of Photography, Princeton University, Sarah Lawrence College, and Columbia University.