CIVIC ARTS Library

Resource Journey

Who are you?

COMMUNITY MEMBER: You’re someone who wants to do a project in the place you live. It could be at the neighborhood, block, corridor, or community scale. There might be a project or policy issue at hand that you think arts and community development might be able to help address. Arts and culture are powerful tools for communities to gather, ideate, and collaborate on how to preserve the past, live in the present, and plan for the future. You’re looking for more guidance on how you can play a role in that process.

ARTIST / ARTS ADMIN: You’re an artist or someone who works closely with creatives. You or your organization might have an idea or aspiration to do community-engaged work. Your art is not solely about delivering a product, but a way to communicate and interact with the people you live with and places you live in. Creative placemaking might be something you’re familiar with, but you’re wondering what it all entails.

CDC / LOCAL GOV: You are working within a local government or organization that frequently engages with the public and does community engagement. You’re looking for a different way to engage your community on a deeper level, whether that’s improving turnout, getting better feedback, or responding to a need for connection and togetherness. Creative placemaking may sound complicated, if uncharted. But it could be what your community needs. You’re looking for more information on how to facilitate it in a given project.

What are your goals?

COMMUNITY MEMBER: You want to do something with and for your community. Maybe you’re looking to make connections with people. Or maybe, you’re looking to address a longstanding issue or raise awareness on it. You might even be wanting to see arts and culture represented and celebrated in your community. In any case, you’re looking to improve the place that you live with those who live there too.

ARTIST / ARTS ADMIN: You have a vision. That vision might be to communicate a concept or to co-create on a community-based project. Maybe, you’ve been offered an opportunity and are ready to make the most of it. You’re looking to use the arts and creative methods as a way to engage with people in a specific place.

CDC / LOCAL GOV: Your work is rooted in people. You’re searching for strategies that engage them in a different way or on a deeper level. Your hope is that creative methods can be a way to draw people into a project while celebrating them and the specific context in which you work in.

Why is it important to you?

Let’s go on a journey