Creative People Power: Artists at the Table
Lightning Rod is performance for the present moment
Imagine a group of artists gathering: writers, directors, and performers; many of whom have never met before; some who don’t even call themselves “artists.” They’re handed news headlines from the…
Saying “Yes” to 4th Street
In a downtown core experiencing change, the 4th Street Market District partnership leads creative experiments & looks to the future It was a summer Sunday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and…
Caroline Woolard defines what it means to be a solidarity economy artist
The work of Springboard for the Arts is rooted in arts-based economic and community development. We believe artists are critical assets in that work, and support them by offering a variety of…
The Chinatown Art Brigade fights for housing rights in one of the most gentrified cities in America
Ten years ago, when urban activists spoke of "gentrification" they might as well have been speaking of the Bogeyman. Often dismissed as so much liberal hand-wringing, gentrification was an urban…
Thomas Wimberly finds his own artistic and political voice in provocative pieces
If Thomas Wimberly's work seems reminiscent of Shepard Fairey's, well, that's because it is. Fairey, the internationally-renowned street artist and activist who found mainstream fame after designing…
From Derry to Detroit, Éist works to address trauma and healing through art, culture, and media
Éist – pronounced "aysht" – is an Irish Gaelic word that means "to listen." It is also the name of a Detroit-based organization sponsored by Allied Media Projects that works to cultivate and promote…
Ujima Theatre Company uses theatre to foster self-determined communities
The work of Springboard for the Arts is rooted in arts-based economic and community development. We believe artists are critical assets in that work, and support them by offering a variety of…
Wesley Fawcett Creigh asks people what makes them feel like they belong
Wesley Fawcett Creigh grew up in rural Vermont in what she describes as a "very homogenous zone." In high school she got excited about the arts, but she couldn't figure out how to apply that to "real…
The USDAC imagines an equitable, sustainable economy for all with an actionable policy platform
The work of Springboard for the Arts is rooted in arts-based economic and community development. We believe artists are critical assets in that work, and support them by offering a variety of…
It's not enough to just Get Artists Paid; it's time to stage an Art.Exit
The work of Springboard for the Arts is rooted in arts-based economic and community development. We believe artists are critical assets in that work, and support them by offering a variety of…
Hip Hoppa Locka brings Muslim hip-hop culture to Northwest Miami
Miami Dade College is the largest educational institution in the country, spread out across eight campuses throughout Miami-Dade County. MDC's moniker is "democracy's college" because of its…
Sculptor Billie Grace Lynn creates provocative political pieces that spark dialogue (and outrage)
Billie Grace Lynn lost her mom when she was only 19 years old, and it was the experience of this loss that she credits with her calling as an artist. "At that moment [of losing my mom] I realized…
How Sacramento's Sol Collective built a sustainable arts activism organization
The work of Springboard for the Arts is rooted in arts-based economic and community development. We believe artists are critical assets in that work, and support them by offering a variety of…
One year of women, talking to each other, about something other than a man
January 20, 2018 marked the first full year of Donald Trump in the White House, and what a year it has been for women. An ideological sea change, led by women, has manifested in countless ways…
A celebration of Afro-Cuban dance and culture in Little Havana
While Corinna Moebius isn't a native of Miami, she is deeply rooted in Little Havana, her home of the last decade. She is the owner of Little Havana Tours, and was previously the Interim Executive…
5 Questions with Creative Exchange: What we have learned from our artists
Since August 2016, Creative Exchange has been asking each of our Artists With Impact a series of five questions, which appear at the end of every profile. We did this to create a thread of continuity…
"Miss Neighbor Lady" Kathy Mouacheupao hosts "Gatherings" in her St. Paul neighborhood
Kathy Mouacheupao has worked in arts-based nonprofits her entire professional career, working as the Executive Director for the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent in Saint Paul for ten years and as…
Public Transformation celebrates & contemplates art in rural America
Artifacts line the wall of Outpost Winona: handmade art and everyday objects, each labeled with the name of a place: railroad spikes from Lake City, South Carolina; a cookbook from Alliance,…
Emmett Phillips is a hip-hop artist, teacher, organizer, and Army vet who encourages people to just talk to each other
Emmett Phillips is a hip-hop artist, poet, teaching artist, and United States Armed Forces veteran based in Des Moines. It would be hard to say which of these he would list first on his life's…
Art programs help veterans create new memories
This is the second of a two-part feature on art and veterans. Read first story here. For people who have experienced physical, mental, and emotional trauma, creating art can be a way to express the…
Honoring Inuit culture through traditional tattoos
Holly Mititquq Nordlum is an Inupiaq artist born in Kotzebue, an Inuit village in the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska. As an artist, she has followed a lifelong call that has led her to painting,…
A small area plan with big ambitions: Frogtown's illustrated SMAPL is a document of tactical urbanism
A "small area plan" is a very common development document for individual districts within a city. Typically the stuff of purely esoteric urban planner interest, these are documents containing focused…
Leon Wang designs posters with impact
It was the Philando Castile shooting in July 2016 that ultimately drove Leon Wang to action. "It happened in my community, on the streets I drive on, in the area my kids are growing up in," Wang…
Connecting creative practice to healthcare through Ready Go tools at the People's Center Health Services
Amid all the uncertainty around health insurance, the fact remains that people need access to healthcare. Clinics and healthcare systems around the country have been seeking new and innovative ways…
What would happen if the NEA were defunded, and why should we care?
It has been a little over six months since Donald Trump took office, and a lot has happened during that time. Although the budgeting process for the federal government is a long and arduous process…
New Haven's Elm City Mosaic
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.…
Heidi Brandow documents definitions of "home" for Native peoples, refugees, and normalized residents
Santa Fe artist Heidi K. Brandow came by her creative practice somewhat naturally – on her mother's side, she comes from a long line of Native Hawaiian singers, musicians, and performers; and on her…
Ehren Kee Natay works in the rhythm of creation
Ehren Kee Natay has been a drummer for 20 years and refers to rhythm and percussion as his "principle art form." But at age 23 he began to shift his focus more towards visual and traditional arts. He…
Citizen artist: Eric Liu on artists’ role in civic life
Artists embody what it means to be a citizen, says Eric Liu. But the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University is quick to explain that “citizenship” doesn’t refer to a person’s documentation status…
Santa Ana’s Calliotree
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.…