Nicole Rupersburg

Fran Ilich believes another world is possible

Fran Ilich grew up in Tijuana next to the San Diego border. As a "border kid" in Mexico, Ilich has spent his life existing in a space somewhere in between – not quite Latin enough for Mexico,…


Jetsonorama creates social justice-minded murals on the rez

Chip Thomas is Jetsonorama, and he has a funny story behind that name. Chip Thomas, aka "Jetsonorama" "Well, I'm the son of James Edward Thomas" – "J" "E" "T" "son" – "and I grew up watching The…


Design Studio for Social Intervention uses design to change the way social justice is imagined

Kenneth Bailey is one of the founders of Boston's Design Studio for Social Intervention (DS4SI), an artistic organization that uses design to change how social justice is imagined, developed, and…


1612 Fulton

The business community comes together to support the arts in downtown Fresno

This story is supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Knowledge Building grant supporting a partnership between Springboard for the Arts and the International Downtown Association.…


Noël Raymond

Pillsbury House Theatre breaks the ice and serves the community

What does it mean to be a "community theatre"? What does it mean to be an arts organization "for the community"? When we talk about community, and about arts organizations with deep commitments to…


Tricia Suit

ArtVenture connects the dots between visitors and public art in downtown Cincinnati

This story is supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Knowledge Building grant supporting a partnership between Springboard for the Arts and the International Downtown Association.…


Michael O'Bryan

Michael O'Bryan helps people to find sanctuary in art

Sanctuary is a place of refuge or safety. In urban neighborhoods all throughout America, sanctuary is a luxury almost beyond attainment. But Michael O'Bryan is working to bring that sense of…


Anthony Smith

Newark's Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District embraces the transformative power of music

Lincoln Park is an 11-acre, four-block neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. In the late 1990s, the area became a focus of conversation on redevelopment efforts, with a series of charrettes – planning…


Nicole McGee

Upcycle Parts Shop engages the community though creative reuse

Nicole McGee has been a self-described "reuse artist" for several years, but her practice wasn't always her profession. Her background is in the nonprofit sector, doing work in PR and marketing,…


Sara Daleiden

Sara Daleiden focuses on cultural production and exchange in various roles of public arts leadership

In common use, "cultural exchange" tends to mean an exchange of ideas, customs, or practices between people of different countries. But "culture" isn't simply defined from one country to another; in…


Blake Brockington

Remembering Blake Brockington, Charlotte's first openly trans homecoming king, through music

Blake Brockington was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the bandleader and a drum major, and known as a talented musician and writer as well as a caring mentor. He was also crowned…


Alison Caplan

The Akron Art Museum will make art an everyday experience with their art library lending program

We all know how libraries work: you find a book (or maybe an academic journal, magazine, DVD, even a music CD) that you would like to check out with your library card, issued for free usually with…


Brigid Baker

Brigid Baker practices a holistic approach to contemporary dance in Miami

Brigid Baker, Director of 6th Street Dance Studio and progressive contemporary dance company WholeProject in Miami's Little Havana, has been a dancer, a choreographer, a teacher, an installation…


Brenda Hernandez

Brenda Hernandez leads the HOMAGO way

Brenda Hernandez is a Program Coordinator for Yollocalli Arts Reach, an award-winning program of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago offering free arts and culture programming to teens and…


Suchitra Sairam

Kala Vandanam is a life-long commitment to one of India's oldest dance forms

Suchitra Sairam, founder of Kala Vandanam Dance Company in St. Paul, has been dancing classical Indian dance for 30 years. Still, she says, she got a later start than most girls. "It's usually…


Leslie Neal

ArtSpring's arts-based workshops for underserved communities promote self-esteem and understanding

Leslie Neal has been involved in the Miami dance community since 1981. In 1992, she held a tenured faculty position at Florida University as an Associate Professor of Dance with a focus on community…


Grupo Folklorico Los Laureles

Grupo Folklorico Los Laureles conserves traditional Mexican folklorico dance and culture

Grupo Folklorico Los Laureles in San Jose is a dance academy and professional dance company co-founded by Ashley Lopez-Gonzalez and Cesar Gonzalez. They started in the summer of 2007, teaching…


Karla Boos

Quantum Theatre experiments with the language and location of theatre

Pittsburgh's Quantum Theatre is an experimental, site-specific theatre company currently celebrating its 25th season. Founded by Artistic Director Karla Boos in 1990, the one hard-and-fast dictum…


Shagun Singh and Rick Lin

Urban Matter Inc. creates interactive installations that combine technology, design, and community

This story is supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Knowledge Building grant supporting a partnership between Springboard for the Arts and the International Downtown Association.…


Carrie Morris

Carrie Morris Arts Production uses experimental puppetry to narrate people's stories

Carrie Morris Arts Production uses performing objects and experimental theatre to tell stories. In other words, puppetry. But this isn’t the soft, plushy children's puppetry of Sesame Street – think…


René Conrad and Bill Rodgers

New Hazlett Theater offers a CSA for the performing arts

You're probably heard of community-supported agriculture, and if you're a regular Creative Exchange reader you have most likely also heard of community-supported art – you can even download our…


Anna Metcalfe explores the intersection of craft and function, food and community, through ceramics

Anna Metcalfe's work in ceramics examines the intersections between public art and craft, specifically the intersections of her craft in people's daily lives. She leads community-based projects that…


Kate Balug at Block Party

Department of Play uses temporary play zones to connect people through imagined urban planning

The Boston-based arts collective Department of Play first started as an inkling of an idea when co-founder Kate Balug was studying interrogative design with artist Krzysztof Wodiczko at the MIT art…


D.S. Kinsel

BOOM Concepts is a creative hub that reflects the faces of the community on Pittsburgh's Penn Ave.

D.S. Kinsel, co-founder of Pittsburgh's BOOM Concepts, is a painter, installation artist, event maker, and art curator. He says he is always trying to make sure that his art is relevant to and a…


Cast of

Teatro Nahual is the Bay Area's first and only entirely Spanish-language theatre group

When Verónica Meza, founder and artistic director of Teatro Nahual, moved to Los Angeles from Mexico City in 2001, she couldn't find any options for Spanish language theatre anywhere. The same thing…


Brian Friedman

Ballot Box puts public art to the vote

Perhaps you've already heard: this year is a pretty big election year. And while you are going to hear a lot of folks encouraging people to get out there and vote this year, the folks at Northeast…


Andrew Eck and George Murray

Corner Concerts promotes Macon's local music scene with a placemaking agenda

Macon's Corner Concerts exists in a unique creative space where placemaking meets urban exploring meets pop-ups meets professionally-produced live concerts. If that sounds difficult to define,…


Yarrow Mamout Archaeology Project

The Yarrow Mamout Archaeology Project unearths the history of a prominent 1800s African Muslim

Yarrow Mamout was an African Muslim born in Guinea, West Africa in 1736, where he was thought to have been a member of the nomadic Fulani tribe. He was sold into slavery at the age of 16 and was…


Ivar Zeile

Ivar Zeile has seen the future of public art, and it's on 25' x 60' screens

Before launching Denver Digerati and becoming a national leader in digital placemaking, Ivar Zeile founded the contemporary arts gallery Plus Gallery in Denver in 2001. He had previously worked in…


Colette Fu

Colette Fu makes pop-up photo books that examine the self through photos of others

Colette Fu was a pretty typical teenager growing up in New Jersey: insecure about her looks and her identity, as so many teenagers are, Fu would peroxide her hair to alter her appearance. She was…