To cover up the glaring misfortune of Nate Hill's absence, not two hours into the Creative Capital Retreat presentations this morning, Beyonce and Jay-Z were name-checked as evidence of the cultural influence Creative Capital artists have on culture. What does that have to do with Nate Hill? Nothing, but it turns out that their child, Blue Ivy, was named after an essay by grantee Rebecca Solnit. While Creative Capital President Ruby Lerner was quick to concede that the organization had not managed to secure the attendance of Nate Hill, she did confusingly offer other Creative Capital project titles as resource for any future babies. E-Team's, "If the Dancing Gets Too Stiff, The Rain Must Get Dug Out As Ice-Cubes", is my pick for their next child's name.

Lerner mentioned this in a brief talk encouraging donors to support the organization, though it's the artist presentations that most substantially demonstrate the value of the organization. Without Nate Hill? Still, of the twenty presentations I've seen thus far, I have not seen one talk I thought was less than professional.

I have however responded especially well to a few of the presentations. The posts that follow will single out some of the talks I enjoyed most and explain why I enjoyed the work. I will also talk about how everything I came into contact with and thought about somehow related to Nate Hill. Let's get started!

[Editor's note: I am Arts Writer's grant recipient and have been invited by the Creative Capital Foundation to blog from their retreat this year. I have received a small stipend for my work.]