Kate Balug, another Creative Community Fellows alum, writes powerfully about narrow definitions of "community" and how her work seeks to do the opposite by breaching walls to promote inclusiveness. After several years of working as an artist in under-resourced neighborhoods in the US, I developed an uneasy relationship with the notion of “community.” In particular, I noticed that local non-profit organizations like community development corporations benefit politically from deploying the term ideologically. Local governments count on such … [Read more...]
Rethinking Communities
Justina Crawford is a Creative Community Fellows alum who works for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her picture of community is impacted by current events and reflects creating more inclusive environments. After living in Boston for almost two years, I’ve often pondered the definition of community as I become acclimated to new spaces, faces, languages, and environments that continue to shift based upon perceptions. I once defined community as a group of like minded people with similarities. But I feel like this mindset is toxic because it … [Read more...]
Communities Are Creative
Our next entry comes from Micah Goldstein via new Creative Community Fellow Jane Wegscheider and is a great video about an annual event in their Western Massachusetts community. Jane writes: Micah Goldstein is an emerging videographer who participated in our ARTeens program for four years. The video is about a creative community event we do called our Fabulous Hilltown Draw-Around: a 12 hour mark-making extravaganza at a local historic gym. The Draw-Around is directed by my colleague, Laura Iveson, who is interviewed in the video. Note: … [Read more...]
Communities Can Start Quietly
Jean Mineo recalls a memory that left a powerful impression on how communities form and our ability to go out and create them. In managing a number of large-scale community-wide events, I find a sense of community can emerge from shared experiences and collaboration in preparation, presentation and as an audience member. Oftentimes, the process of creating the event is where social bonds are deepened. A recent experience in my church showed me a different example of how relationships can start quietly, with a very small spark and no intended … [Read more...]
Communities Come From Needs
Kate Schapira shares three stories about the needs that form a community and the effort it takes to be a part of one. Late summer, 2017: for a project, I needed many small drawings of organisms that live in Rhode Island, and I didn't have time to make enough on my own, so I put out a call for help on Twitter. A mix of old friends and newer acquaintances showed up, most from my own neighborhood, one or two from across town. They, my partner and I sat on the porch with pens, cards, field guides, and snacks as the day lengthened into evening. By … [Read more...]
A Community’s Traits
New Creative Community Fellow Jesse Keller Jason sends her thoughts on "What does community mean to you?" with a photo from a community she holds dear. … [Read more...]
Communities Don’t Always Need to Be Human
In this photo essay, Jane Wegscheider reflects on her non-human community and explores how her connection to her garden affects how she interacts with her human community. My community begins with the earth, by which I mean: dirt, soil, the varied browns that I dig into, walk in, watch things grow out of. What I think of as my community begins [quite physically] in the place I call home. There are different grasses, early flowering perennials, phlox taking over, invasive species everywhere, straggly strawberry plants in a weedy bed … [Read more...]
Intersections of Communities
Sheila Novak is a member of many communities and shares the myriad ways they overlap in a colorful drawing. … [Read more...]
Communities Are Fluid
Gowri Savoor reflects on the warm and evolving community of her childhood in Britain and shares original art that commemorates her cherished memories. I had a fortunate childhood; living in the multicultural Britain of the 70’s, in the ethnically-diverse suburbs of Leicester, in the green and leafy village of Oadby, on a street where everyone knew my name. It’s when I think back to these days, that I think of the importance of community. I lived in a time when there were cups of sugar to be borrowed, gossip to be shared, kids to play out … [Read more...]
What’s in your box?
If you're part of a CSA, or community supported agriculture program, you receive a box of fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farm every week. What would you say to a box of new artworks from local artists in your community? Many arts organizations and artists have started these community supported art programs to showcase and support the local artists in their communities. Springboard for the Arts is one of those organizations working to highlight the role that artists play within geographic communities. Like matryoshka dolls, they … [Read more...]
Teamwork makes the dream work
As we've seen this week, communities exist in many forms. Your workplace can be considered a community as well. Some more open than others. Some with multiple communities inside of one another. Some where the community changes based on the organizations trajectory. Workplace community is inherently based on teamwork: groups of people working together on a common project, cause or goal. These are typically the things that bring you together in a working environment. Of course, social interactions and friendships that are formed, change and … [Read more...]
Principles & Place
Alternate ROOTS is a southern-based arts and culture, service organization that works at the intersection of arts, community, and social justice. In a conversation on community, we must mention them and their work. In all the work they do, Alternate ROOTS embraces these five principles of working in community: Shared Power Partnership Open Dialogue Individual and Community Transformation Aesthetics of Transparent Processes Learn more about their process and these principles. Add this to your toolkit: Alternate … [Read more...]
Community on Community
It seems we've been here before. Yes, it is true, we've asked this question to Creative Community Fellows and many others throughout the years. This conversation is not new, but it is one that is still happening and one that is radically personal, yet shared. Take a look this chorus from our first cohort of Creative Community Fellows. Fellows hosted conversations with one another and contributed their perspectives on what community means to them. Some things sound familiar from our blog posts this week: commonalities, location, shared … [Read more...]
Rural communities and the artists strengthening them
"Once a rural area hosts a population of artists, they can help the region attract non-artist residents who value the arts as an amenity, and they can engage all residents in relationship-building through cultural activity." Take a look inside this piece from Createquity on the ways in which artists are working in their rural communities throughout America. Be sure to travel to the many resources mentioned in the post and comments. Are you working in your rural community? What resources can you share for others doing this … [Read more...]
You need a community, not a network
What's the difference between a community and a network? Networks focus on getting, communities focus on giving. Check out this article from the Harvard Business Review on the importance of strong leadership in guiding community building, and the amazing things that can happen when a network transforms into a community. We're not sure these words are necessarily the right way to describe these behaviors, but they certainly exists within certain groups. The Creative Community Fellows cohort is chock-full of givers. Take a look back at this … [Read more...]