This weekend is the first convening of the 2013 Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute. Our first assignment is to prepare a mini presentation on where we would like to be in 5 years in the practice of arts and community engagement, and what we would like to glean from this institute. Therefore, I am referring back to my original application for the program, and remembered that I wanted to share parts of that here. I have a post that I’m writing about some of my feelings and impressions from our first orientation, but here is part of my original letter of intent. It’s long, I know. Sharing is caring, right?
November 12th, 2012
Dear selection panel,
I am an emerging artist with a mix of roles in arts administration, marketing, leadership and education within various organizations in the Twin Cities and am at an ideal transition point in my career to benefit from the Creative Community Leadership Institute. My work is informed by an upbringing in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington, time spent abroad in Ecuador and Australia, a strong environmentalist and feminist sensibility, and a passion for education and community development fueled by extensive work in the fields of childcare and social service. In my primary roles in the local arts community I consult with Springboard for the Arts to manage social media for the Irrigate project and am a Board Member and Exhibitions Committee Co-Chair for the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota. I also have a lot of ties to the local theater and performing arts community due to working for the Minnesota Fringe Festival each summer.
In the art studio I create delicate watercolor painting and drawing with abstract imagery inspired by landscape, nature and biology. Professional and volunteer work has a sometimes subtle yet very strong influence on my artwork. I have worked in early-childhood and elementary education on and off for over ten years including two years of Americorps service in the Twin Cities. I followed Americorps service with five years of work in various roles at Wayside Family Treatment services, serving low-income women with children who are recovering from chemical dependency. The families who came through Wayside House transitional housing and treatment programs while I was there have left an indelible mark on my heart. Serving and getting to know so many incredible women while they struggled with recovery and rebuilt their families out of the rubble addiction leaves in its wake gave me a different kind of strength and devotion to social justice. While it is more obvious to myself than to other viewers, the abstract imagery I use in my painting often directly evokes emotions and stories from the heartache and resilience I witnessed in clients and children I’ve served over the years.
In the next five years I hope to explore new ways to approach the fields of social services and education from an artist’s vantage point and combine my artistic practice with the interpersonal and conflict management skills I’ve developed working with at-risk women and kids. This may specifically include pursuing professional development and higher education opportunities in the fields of art therapy, art education and/or child development. Attending workshops and events including Giant Steps, Social Innovation Labs, Springboard’s placemaking and community arts training, Minnesota Rising’s UnConference, and Arts Midwest’s ArtsLab Leadership Idea Exchange has helped me start to envision the direction I would like to go with my work, and I am excited by the prospect of taking that learning to a deeper level through the Creative Community Leadership Institute.
Creative Placemaking Experience
I was one of ten artists selected by Springboard for the Arts in the summer of 2011 to infuse creative placemaking projects into Friendly Streets Initiative block parties on Charles Avenue in St. Paul. The events were designed to create an accessible, inclusive environment that fostered neighborhood networking and where community members could give input into the long-term planning of a potential bike boulevard on Charles. I collaborated with drama therapists Talia Galowitch and Jen Johnson of Art in Action to create an art-making activity called
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