Special Features
January Creative Exchange Hangout Recap & Video
On January 28th, Springboard for the Arts Director of Movement Building Carl Atiya Swanson sat down to chat with Director of Artist Services Andy Sturdevant about the Community Supported Art…
Resolutions: Building up and looking forward
A new year is upon us, and that means it’s time for looking forward and making resolutions. There are always the old standbys of eating better and getting more exercise, but if you need some more…
How can a designed civic plaza and public art increase downtown activity in a small, rural city?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Driggs, a small mountain town in Eastern Idaho, is set amidst the scenic…
November Creative Exchange Hangout Recap & Video
On November 20th, just before Thanksgiving, we hosted a conversation with the creators of two of the community-oriented toolkits hosted on Creative Exchange. Jun-Li Wang, Artist…
How can the arts be used to turn uninviting, downtown space into vibrant, active public space?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Situated on the banks of the Pearl River, Jackson is Mississippi’s state…
How can public art be used to give new life to aging infrastructure and build connections?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Like so many American cities, Greensboro, North Carolina is in the midst of…
Every Artist Insured - A Goal and an Opportunity
If you’re a working artist, you know the story, maybe have even had it happen to you. You’ve taken part in or attended benefit concerts when a community member has had a medical emergency. You’ve…
How can students' ideas about art come to inspire an entire city neighborhood?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. With over 160,000 residents, Sioux Falls is South Dakota’s largest city, and…
How storytelling heals and strengthens communities
In April of 2014, Damian Woetzel and the Aspen Institute Arts Program convened a Strategy Group in Detroit. This convening brought together local and national experts: artists and leaders in arts,…
Welcome to Creative Exchange (again)
"I believe in the magic of storytelling, not only for teller but also the listener," says agrarian artist Nikiko Masumoto, who lives and works in California's Central Valley. "The possibility of…
How place and cultural assets can come to define a community's long-term goals for revitalization
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Most Angelenos perceive Willowbrook and the adjacent communities of Watts…
What role can the arts take in harnessing the wisdom of rural communities?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. With fewer than 20 residents, Last Chance is the smallest community funded…
How public art builds safer, stronger neighborhoods
In April of 2014, Damian Woetzel and the Aspen Institute Arts Program convened a Strategy Group in Detroit. This convening brought together local and national experts: artists and leaders in arts,…
Artists as community leaders
What a journey! Three years ago, Springboard for the Arts launched Irrigate, a creative placemaking project in partnership with the City of Saint Paul and the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support…
Revitalizing Baltimore's Station North with art and design
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. How can a distressed urban area capitalize on its creative artists,…
How planning for the arts be used strategically to augment current neighborhood planning efforts
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI), a nonprofit foundation…
Inspiring quotes from Creative Exchange
Since Creative Exchange launched in March, we’ve published 28 different artist profiles, featuring people working in communities across the United States. These artists come from all kinds of…
Creative Exchange Toolkits & Resources Hangout Recap & Video
Thursday afternoon (morning still, if you were out on the West Coast) was the first Creative Exchange Hangout – a live video conversation with the artists and creators featured on…
How can artists and farmers work together to expand the local rural economy?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Montgomery, NY has a longstanding agricultural tradition,…
How the arts inspire change in Detroit
In April of 2014, Damian Woetzel and the Aspen Institute Arts Program convened a Strategy Group in Detroit. This convening brought together local and national experts: artists and leaders in arts,…
How artist workshops helped revitalize Pacific Northwest Natives' community identity
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. For the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, modernization has…
Arts and culture: A superpower to help people and places prosper
On my business card it says: “Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) – Helping people and places prosper.” Community development organizations like LISC have learned that if we just help…
How a small town used abandoned buildings downtown to grow its arts opportunities and local economy
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. For Stone Mountain, an Atlanta bedroom community with a history of racial…
How can a small city increase access to the arts and create opportunities for its local artists?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. For a city with a well-developed park system, but with limited opportunities…
Being together is a wonderful thing
--------------------------------------------------------- My grandparents recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, which was special and incredibly sweet to see. For their party, I found…
How can artistic programming in DC help to strengthen the image of a neighborhood in transition?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. For an area of Washington DC that has long been faced with…
How can an arts restoration effort help to support the development of a small city like Wilson, NC?
These stories are brought to you by a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEA’s Our Town program. Creative people are doing incredible work to strengthen American communities…
National Endowment for the Arts announces partnership with Creative Exchange
Creative Placemaking Before I jump into telling you about the stories, let me nerd-out a little bit and give you some background. The NEA has a new(ish) program called…
The Joy of Toolkits
When I was a kid I loved getting a new box of Legos. There was a great rush of satisfaction in making all the little pieces come together to look like the thing that was on the box,…