September 6, 2017 Intro to Creative Place-making

Thank you to our wonderful panel of visitors Libby Barbee, Lisa Gedguadas, Libby Barbee, Brian Corrigan and Thomas Evans (Detour).

Libby opened our year-long investigation of Creative Placemaking by suggesting a grounding definition:

Creative Placemaking is an evolving field of practice that intentionally leverages the power of the arts, culture and creativity to serve a community’s interest while driving a broader agenda for change, growth and transformation in a way that also builds character and quality of place. – Artscape

The discussion that followed highlighted personal definitions of Creative Placemaking and we learned about the personal motivation to engage in civic minded, place based work. A few ingredients that appeared in each recipe include:

inspiring hope
making the work personal – both to the artist and to the community
managing expectations
listening, a lot of listening
responsive engagement

Returning to our unique setting as art teachers in schools we turned the conversation to the East Art Walk and enjoyed hearing from Alexa Overby and Jody Chapel. This inspired event moves the school community through a series of short performances and art exhibitions in a neighborhood-wide space. We will be visiting in May! I believe that the date is set for May 10. Stay tuned.