Arts and Community Development

Brion Gill (better known as Lady Brion), activist and spoken-word artist, led a walking tour of Baltimore that was part of the application process "to create what would be the first Maryland-designated arts and entertainment district dedicated to black arts and culture, in a city that happens to be two-thirds black," as Next City reports.

The door is heavy. I don’t remember if it is steel or wood, but it takes effort to open. We are a small group of four. A few more will join our group shortly. I lead the way inside. They said not to wear blue. I keep it simple — a black dress and gray pants that come just above my ankle. And black boots. My usual.

A publicly-owned space, ARTS at King Street Station, a combination gallery and offices for the Seattle Office of Art and Culture, as Next City points out, is the house for a new exhibit, yəhaw̓, that features 280 indigenous artworks.

A post in Medium points out "artists and governments have a future together," reflecting on how a group of residents had gathered together to brainstorm for a community garden and sculpture project following the call of artist Carolyn Lewenberg.

Amid conversations of gentrification and affordable housing, the presence of Westbeth Artists Housing in New York City is a key reminder of the importance of spaces like this one. Artsy provides an inside look at the first federally subsidized artists’ colony in the US.

"Artists are used to dancing in the complexity. We like to make something where nothing exists; to explore new language around a struggle; to listen profoundly; to create new ways to see the world. Why not put artists in problem-solving roles?"

A recent article on the Oakland Museum of California tackles the challenges and outcomes the institution has faced in the process of understanding and measuring the museum's impact on the local community.

A white paper released by Kresge Foundation explores creative placemaking initiatives and the assessment of community development strategies. The latest white paper on creative placemaking, penned by Maria Rosario Jackson, makes the case on how the field could benefit from a more nuanced understanding of the roots of urban inequality, and improved ways of tracking change in communities.

The Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI)'s AmbitioUS is an initiative designed to act as an experimental arm of the artist-support sector.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announced the expansion of its Regional Regranting Program to Cleveland and Denver where it will be administered by the non-profit arts organizations SPACES and RedLine respectively. Baltimore’s program, The Grit Fund (TGF), will come back on line after a one-year hiatus under the new administration of Baltimore Arts Realty Corp (BARCO).