"Our programs are really robust... one is supporting individual artists and helping them figure out how to make a living in a life and some of that work looks like professional development workshops that help artists do business planning. We have legal resources to help them navigate some of the copyright and contract issues they might be facing and a lot of other things just kind of on the individual entrepreneurial side. And then the other kind of half of our work is in involving artists in community and economic development challenges and opportunities...we really believe that artists need to be included in in planning and in dreaming what's possible for our communities.
The Rural Arts and Culture Summit really falls at the intersection of both of those areas of work because a lot of the content is really acknowledging what individual artists in rural communities need and howtheir ability to make a living is maybe just a different, unique approach than if you live in a metro area. But then we also have a lot of examples of artists working across sectors. So there's sessions about artists working in affordable housing and in equity and and supporting immigrant populations...The Rural Arts and Culture summit really embodies everything that Springboard does." - Michele Anderson on the work of Springboard for the Arts and how it connects with the upcoming Rural Arts and Culture Summit
Michele Anderson is intimately connected with the arts world. A composer and musician herself, her day job as Rural Program Director for Springboard for the Artskeeps her engaged in many aspects of the impact arts has on individual lives and whole communities. We spoke with her on the morning show about a unique and important event she and Springboard for the Arts are organizing: the upcoming Rural Arts and Culture Summit taking place in Grand Rapids October 3rd thru 5th. In addition to providing a platform for connections and idea sharing, the summit will offer presentations and panel discussions relevant to growing individual artists' businesses, engaging communities with artists for enhanced sense of place and much, much more.
For a complete listing of offerings at the summit, to the theRural Arts and Culture Summit website.
KAXE is happy to be part of the open house tour happening Thursday, October 3rd from 3-7pm. We'd love to see you at the open house and at the Summit! To register for the summit go here!
"... arts really bridge the relationships that are needed to come up with the most authentic and homegrown and creative solutions to some of the challenges that they might be facing. And the reason for that is that artists help us kind of reflect on are the stories that come out of those challenges and the human centered framing that we really need to to address those issues...
Artists... really help us hold multiple truths. So when a community is perhaps divided on an issue artists can really use their work whether that's through an exhibit that you know shows a lot of different viewpoints or through songwriting or poetry they can really help us see that those those multiple truth are what make us stronger and if we can really hold a place for those I think we can get further in our communities." - Michele Anderson on the impact of including artists in community development.
