Rehearsing Democracy: Art and Empathy As Civic Practice

At a moment when civic life feels increasingly polarized, Soulpepper Theatre’s Executive Director Gideon Arthurs invites audiences into an exploration of empathy as a core democratic skill. Looking at arts and culture as bellwethers, the session considers what the erosion of empathy means for our shared civic life, and what it will take to rebuild it. Blending insight with live, experiential exercises, participants will engage in the practices that underpin a healthier democracy: listening across difference, holding complexity, and finding ways to stay in relationship even when we disagree.