Before forming the Wormfarm Institute, my partner Jay and I ran a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. As newly rural, beginning farmers, our shareholders (the community) were all from Chicago, the city 200 miles away that we had recently left. Our community was one of interest and history and the rural/urban exchange informed nearly all our programming. As time passed, we acquired an office on Main Street in our small town, and after this investment and lots of experimentation, community took on a new dimension. Our new one did not, … [Read more...]

Growing up, I was part of many different communities. Among them were Girl Scouts, youth group, writing club, a small city just south of Akron and for one long and clumsy year in early elementary school, gymnastics. To me, to be part of these communities meant your pretty standard definition of “community.” It meant to simply be in the same area as other people at the same time who often shared a same interest or purpose. Quite often, my communities worked toward outcomes that made a difference. However, the purpose behind those … [Read more...]

Torres Hodges, a musician and Creative Community Fellow describes what community means to him in this original song: [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/272617914" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]   … [Read more...]

Let it be known that my initial response to this prompt detailed the intertwining life stories of the colorful personalities who lived within my grandmother’s nursing home. In Prairie Home Companion style, I waxed poetic about the antiquated charm of her slowly-disintegrating small town in northern Pennsylvania, and how my grandmother’s kitchen table served as a “home base” for so many members of her community. When my grandmother’s twinkly eyes and warm, welcoming disposition disappeared along with her memories due to the onset of dementia, I … [Read more...]

Being happily nerdy, I immediately went for the etymology of the word community. I got comuner, "to make common, share"; comun, "to talk intimately"; and commun, "free city, group of citizens"  Also, "shared by all", "held in common." (co = together, mun-i = change, exchange) And the second element is also at the root of Latin munia, which means "duties, public duties, functions". I think this pretty much sums it up: Community is a place that we hold in common (this can include physical place, geographic location, as well as … [Read more...]

Community, as a singular plurality, encompasses the people who, and places that I endear and embrace as an extension of my identity.  It canvasses the spectrum of personal, social, professional, geographic, passions, values, and many other ties that reflect the complexities that make us whole.   … [Read more...]

Awkward beers shared at a high school reunion, the Reddit thread I visit to share research about Game of Thrones episodes, an annual yelling match whose origins no one remembers each Thanksgiving dinner, subway riders throwing a few bucks to an underestimated musician who makes commuting a little more bearable, curt nods without eye contact from sweaty strangers at the gym, the other freshmen at university orientation who also feel fraudulent and terrified, a town that shows up to vote to ensure that the decisions – decisions about marriage and … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

"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...]

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...]

The Knight Foundation recently shared the results of a 3 year study, "Soul of the Community" (SOTC) looking at what factors played a role in 'attaching' residents to their communities. This study focused on the definition of community as tied to a specific geographic location, investigating what make people love where they live. ArtPlace America also defines 'community' as inherently place-based in their 4 principles of successful creative placemaking:     Define a community based in geography, such as a block, a … [Read more...]

Today, more than ever before, artists, individuals, and organizations are using social media to make connections and spark conversations with each other. Art even happens online. Community building does too, according to this article on The Guardian. From mobilizing communities to act to providing a space for conversation and connections, social media is increasingly being used to support and sustain communities, in-person and away from computer screens. Do you see crossover between your online, social sphere and in-person action? How can, or … [Read more...]