Participatory Art

Adrienne Doyle headshot – a Black woman with glasses and a lip piercing, with teal and lilac braids, wearing a black hoodie

Adrienne Doyle: Burn Something, Build Something

Which is more important: art or the people who make it? Some say art eclipses its creators, and some artists sacrifice themselves for their work. But Adrienne Doyle, a curator, writer, and zine…


Kenna-Camara Cottman: “Blackness has everything in it”

Kenna-Camara Cottman’s eyes light up when talking about three things; family, art, and the Northside. Kenna grew up immersed in the arts, thanks to parents “Auntie” Beverly and Bill Cottman. “I…


Za'Nia Coleman

Za’Nia Coleman’s Tangible Collective, Tangible Impact

A community baby turned community organizer, Za’Nia Coleman is creating space for cultural expression in a way unlike what is typically reflected at the center of the Twin Cities arts scene. The…


Community Heroes display

Community Heroes

Through Creative Exchange, we are always excited to share toolkits from creative community projects – especially ones created by artists, and using resources from Springboard for the Arts like the…


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…


Create new worlds with Chamindika Wanduragala

Chamindika Wanduragala can turn paper bags into papier-mache. She can sew cloth into creatures. She stirs ingredients into food for family and peers, and she has converted many rookies into…


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,…


Ayolanda Mack Builds Up Black Families

Ayolanda Mack is a rebel and an idea generator. She didn’t always see herself that way. Mack comes from a long matrilineal line of artists, and art is one way she reveals her rebellious side. It’s a…


Chitra Vairavan is Committed to Seeking

Chitra Vairavan started dancing when she was two years old, watching her older sister learn and practice South Indian Classical dance. Vairavan was born and raised on the north side of Milwaukee (on…


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…


Ka Oskar Ly Creates Connections and Understanding

As a kid growing up in France, Ka Oskar Ly wasn’t sure how to define “being Hmong.” Their parents were refugees, having fled Laos after the Secret War. “My parents didn't talk about who we were,” Ly…


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…


Cecilia Cornejo embroiders community connections

Cecilia Cornejo is an educator, filmmaker, and artist who engages with different communities in order to create meaningful art. Originally from Chile, Cecilia focuses on the immigrant experience as…


A woman in a tank top and shorts paints a bright mural with a butterfly

Dana Sikkila Flies Her Flag for Creativity

According to Dana Sikkila, she graduated high school “by the skin of [her] teeth.” Months later, she earned a 4.0 in her first semester of college. She attributes the drastic change to the…


Isabel Velsaco Gomez (right) displays her sculptures in a Poughkeepsie business.

Adaptations to Meet the Moment and Keep Engaged

This profile is part of a three-part series that highlights the work of five NeighborWorks network organizations that pursued new or expanded partnerships with artists or arts-based organizations to…


Building Partnerships to Lead the Work

This profile is part of a three-part series that highlights the work of five NeighborWorks network organizations that pursued new or expanded partnerships with artists or arts-based organizations to…


A building with a large poem, Ode to East End, on its wall

Using Art to Keep a Neighborhood’s Culture in Place

This profile is part of a three-part series that highlights the work of five NeighborWorks network organizations that pursued new or expanded partnerships with artists or arts-based organizations to…


Getting Closer

In 2014, Springboard for the Arts was faced with a question – How do we grow our work and support more artists across the country while staying grounded in our work as an artist-led organization…


Building a Brand, Getting the Word Out, with Krista Rolfzen Soukup

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…


Announcing From the Field!

Update! Join us for From the Field: Imagining the Future of Creativity, Healing and Wellness with Holly Doll and Jamie Horter on April 9!…


A group of people in spooky and glamorous costumes.

Don't get spooked! Dominic Facio is here for you

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…


Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists

Developed by Springboard for the Arts, Work of Art: Business Skills for Artists is based on a series of professional development and entrepreneurship workshops that have been taught at arts…


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…


Community Development with Amanda Cortés

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…


Hello? It's Andy Sturdevant!

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…


Black and white photo of A woman writing, with a box and tin of art supplies in the foreground

Alison Bergblom Johnson's career builds on fruitful partnerships

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…


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…


Immersive Theatre in the Time of Coronavirus

By its very nature, immersive theatre doesn't lend itself well to social distancing. Immersive theatre has become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to any number of factors—big production…


What does it mean to be Black? "The 'Black Card' Project" explores ideas around Black identity and belonging

Dominic Moore-Dunson says he was one of the rare boys who started dancing when he was just three years old. "I was a little hyper. I had so much energy. My mom was like, 'Let's put some tap shoes on…