Title of the Book: Reading Cultural Power
Culture is often treated as something atmospheric or symbolic, but increasingly it is functioning as strategy, infrastructure, and power. In this Living Library conversation, I will expand on the themes from my Cultural Signals 2026 insight series, which explores four shifts I see shaping the cultural landscape: Europe courting American cultural capital, developers and hospitality groups hiring cultural strategists, brands building archives, and cultural authority moving from institutions to ecosystems. Together, we’ll discuss how influence is built, why certain people and organizations gain credibility, and how cultural meaning is now being shaped through networks, place, heritage, and lived experience. Participants are invited to reflect on what they are seeing in their own fields and communities, and to consider how cultural power is changing in real time.
Alex Delotch Davis is Executive Director of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, where she leads strategic direction, exhibitions, fundraising, and audience development for the museum’s locations in Atlanta and Lacoste, France, as well as SCAD exhibitions in Atlanta. Her career spans leadership roles in the arts, luxury, retail, and civic sectors, including the High Museum of Art, Cadillac, Bloomingdale’s, and the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. With more than 15 years of experience at the intersection of art, fashion, and culture, she is known for shaping thoughtful public-facing experiences and building meaningful institutional and cross-sector partnerships.