The Wave

The Wave is speculative fiction. Gloria Steinem has written that "The Wave tells us how to create a future in which creativity, empathy, and social imagination are the primary forces in our daily lives. Everything in it is doable and practical. It is a road map to the future country we want to live in." In 2023, a young journalist, Rebecca Price, writes a series of articles describing an emergent cultural change that has been gathering force over the previous decade (even longer, some of her informants say). She draws on a range of examples unfolding in New York City where she lives. “The Wave,” her name for the Zeitgeist—the rising spirit of the times—catches on, entering common usage. In 2033, she is asked by an editor to revisit her findings and report again. The text includes notes to her editor, excerpts from the 2023 series, and new material she writes in 2033. The Wave offers one answer to this question: If we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift, a radical change in worldview that will thrust art and culture onto center stage, how will the world be different?

The Wave was written to answer a question the author often asked: You say that we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift, a radical change in worldview that will thrust art and culture onto center stage. What does that mean? How will the world be different? The Wave is speculative fiction. In 2023, a young journalist, Rebecca Price, writes a series of articles describing an emergent cultural change that has been gathering force over the previous decade (even longer, some of her informants say). She draws on a range of examples unfolding in New York City, where she lives. “The Wave,” her name for the Zeitgeist—the rising spirit of the times—catches on, entering common usage. In 2033, she is asked by an editor to revisit her findings and report again. The text includes notes to her editor, excerpts from the 2023 series, and new material she writes in 2033. Van Jones says "If we’re going to end this fiscal madness and start rebuilding America, we’re going to have to get creative! We need a tsunami of music, film, poetry and art. The Wave is about changing the story to change the world. Buy it, read it, share it!" The Wave was published simultaneously with a nonfiction work on art's public purpose, The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future.

Arlene Goldbard is a writer, speaker, consultant and cultural activist whose focus is the intersection of culture, politics and spirituality. Her blog and other writings may be downloaded from her Web site: www.arlenegoldbard.com. She was born in New York and grew up near San Francisco. Her book New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development was published by New Village Press in November 2006. She is also co-author of Community, Culture and Globalization, an international anthology published by the Rockefeller Foundation, Crossroads: Reflections on the Politics of Culture, and author of Clarity, a novel. Her essays have been published in Art in America, Theatre, Tikkun, Teaching Artist Journal, and many other publications. She has addressed many academic and community audiences in the U.S. and Europe, on topics ranging from the ethics of community arts practice to the development of integral organizations. She has provided advice and counsel to hundreds of community-based organizations, independent media groups, and public and private funders and policymakers including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Independent Television Service, Appalshop, WomenArts, the Center for Digital Storytelling, and dozens of others. She serves as President of the Board of Directors of The Shalom Center. The Wave was published simultaneously with a companion work of nonfiction on art’s public purpose, The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future.