Creative People Power: Lots of Little

Marlina Gonzazlez

Marlina Gonzalez: The Craft of Storytelling

Marlina Gonzalez is part of a storytelling dynasty. Her mother, Marina Feleo Gonzalez, is an award-winning screenwriter. Her brother, Jojo Gonzalez, acts onstage and onscreen. Her father, Arling…


Sharon Mansur

A Whole Life: A Portrait of Sharon Mansur

Sharon Mansur describes her childhood home as a place of collaborative creativity. “My dad used to draw,” she says. “We’d look at the Sunday comics, and if there was one strip we liked, he drew it on…


Artists Respond Q&A: Briauna Williams

In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…


Kashimana, Artists Respond

Artists Respond Q&A: Kashimana

In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…


DejaJoelle

Artists Respond Q&A: DejaJoelle

In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…


Katey DeCelle

Artists Respond Q&A: Katey DeCelle

In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…


Dr. Nicole Mary Milligan

Artists Respond Q&A: Dr. Nicole Mary Milligan

In 2021 the City of Saint Paul launched the People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot program, and Springboard for the Arts launched a Guaranteed Income for Artists pilot program to go alongside…


Bringing artists and local government together for lasting change

How can artists, local government, and civic organizations collaborate effectively? Art-Train brings them together and offers ongoing support for proven models of artist-led change. Artists use their…


Ditch your comfort zone with Ka Oskar Ly

In a publicity photo for Ua Si Creative, three Hmong women pose against a pink background. Christina Vang smiles in dark red lipstick on the left; next to her, Ka Oskar Ly wears a dark brown sweater,…


Contradiction and Creation Thrive in Ifrah Mansour

Ifrah Mansour is everything but a painter and a singer.  As a Muslim person and a Somali refugee, she has a quite particular point-of-view, which she channels into her quite particular artistic…


Jessica Lopez Lyman Knows la Cultura Cura

Jessica Lopez Lyman names her influences: Chicana feminist scholar Aida Hurtado. Writer/theatrical jazz artist Sharon Bridgforth. Artist/scholar Omi Jones. Performance artist/scholar Stephanie…


Jes Reyes, a woman with short brown hair, paints a colorful grid

Jes Reyes, Artist We Admire

Editor’s note: As the national platform for Springboard for the Arts, Creative Exchange has long been a platform to highlight the artists, resources, and efforts in our national network. In this…


People sit at outdoor tables with art supplies in front of a blue trailer that says Tiny School of Arts & Design

Looking back to the Rural Arts & Culture Summit

The 2019 Rural Arts & Culture Summit was held in Grand Rapids, MN, October 3-5, 2019. With over 350 attendees coming together to share ideas and opportunities around rural-based creative and…


Handbook for Artists Working in Community

In this day and age of continued disparities, injustices, pandemics and systemic racism, artists are critical agents of change in our communities. More than ever, we need artists to be catalysts and…


In Las Vegas, artists, businesses, and the city worked together to create joy during lockdown

Over the last several weeks, Creative Exchange has been highlighting artists responding practically to the COVID-19 pandemic with creative solutions to this unprecedented problem. If you know of an…


Find a virtual escape

Right now, we could all use a little escape. And right now, you can travel the world from the comfort (and safety) of your home, thanks to a glut of new and not-so-new-but-not-previously-widely-used…


Cado Musica

Take an artful break with these live-streamed events and performances

Whether you are currently responsibly practicing social distancing or live in a place under strict stay-at-home orders, it's probably difficult to feel very creatively engaged right now. So much of…


Free education and enrichment opportunities

First things first: the only thing you absolutely have to do right now is just get through today, and we cannot emphasize that enough. We compiled this particular list of resources to be a useful…


Resources for your physical, mental, and social health

UPDATE 4/1/20: Hello again. We published this last week with the intention of adding to it as it makes sense to, though for the most part, there probably won't be a whole lot to add. The information…


Emergency funds available to artists

UPDATE 4/1/20: Hello again. We published this almost two weeks ago with the intention of updating and adding to it regularly. For those of you who have already read through the resources and links…


Creative Exchange Survey

At Springboard for the Arts, we’ve learned a lot as we've published Creative Exchange. As we've published the site, we've centered artists and their work, stories about communities coming together to…


TruArtSpeaks the power of poetry for youth empowerment

Tish Jones has been a poet for as long as she can remember. The performer, organizer, and educator from St. Paul is also the founder and executive director of TruArtSpeaks, an organization that uses…


The Life of an ARTrepreneur

Some people know Felicia Perry from her time as a dancer with Ananya Dance Theatre. Others know her as an economic activist who served on the inaugural executive committee and board of the…


Find Creative People Power on Creative Exchange

"I honestly feel so inspired by the work that these artists have created that represents a life, challenges the status quo, or brings in communities. I feel so incredibly lucky to have the…


Sioux Falls' Zach DeBoer loves to paint street lines

When Zach DeBoer graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in art education and an emphasis in print making, he just assumed he would be a teacher. Even when he worked at the…


Reflections on Springboard's intensive trainings

For over a decade, Springboard for the Arts has been offering business skills workshops to artists to help them build a living and a life. Since 2017, we have offered an annual series of intensive…


Creating Community Ownership of the Bottineau Line

Artists are everywhere, on every block and in every community. Finding the opportunities for artists to share their creativity and networks can strengthen community bonds, build relationships, and…


Teaching Community Changemaking Through Art

Artists are everywhere, on every block and in every community. Finding the opportunities for artists to share their creativity and networks can strengthen community bonds, build relationships, and…


Diverse Voices Create the Community

Artists are everywhere, on every block and in every community. Finding the opportunities for artists to share their creativity and networks can strengthen community bonds, build relationships, and…


Two women in hijabs talking and holding camping lamps.

Connecting Community in Cedar-Riverside

Jamie Schumacher is the Executive Director of the West Bank Business Association, a partner with Springboard for the Arts and People’s Center Health Services on connecting and celebrating the…