The 10th annual COA Summer Institute welcomes musician Rhiannon Giddens in conversation with Mariko Silver, president & CEO of The Lincoln Center.
American music carries a rich and complex history, one that is often incomplete, misattributed, or only partially told. In this conversation, Giddens reflects on her work to recover and reinterpret the cultural roots of American music, illuminating stories long overlooked and asking what it means to get that history right. Together, Giddens and Silver explore the relationship between artist and institution, how work is supported, shaped, and shared, and what responsibility both have in telling a more accurate and inclusive story. They consider not only who appears on stage, but how performance itself can evolve, moving beyond passive consumption toward experiences that invite participation, connection, and transformation.
Drawing on examples from Silkroad and Lincoln Center, they examine how artists and institutions create the conditions for meaningful cultural exchange through space, design, and the resources that make such work possible, including the opportunities and constraints that come with them. At a moment that calls for both urgency and imagination, they reflect on what it means for artists to carry us forward, and how this work of telling fuller, more honest stories can help shape a more inclusive culture and society.
The 2026 Summer Institute: Toward a More Perfect Union will mark the country’s 250th anniversary with a forward-looking series of conversations about the future of the American experiment. By late July, we anticipate that audiences will have encountered plenty of historical retrospectives and the predictable swing between overly patriotic and overly critical narratives. Our goal is different: To convene voices from across American culture—journalism, the arts, science, philanthropy, civic life, and beyond—and explore how the nation’s founding values have been, and continue to be, tested, reshaped, and reimagined. The Institute asks how these ideals can be stewarded, strengthened, and carried into the future.
