Frontier Fellowship

(My Frontier Fellowship with Epicenter is complete. For a full recap of my work in Green River, click here.)

I’m thrilled to announce that I’m embarking on a rural art fellowship with Epicenter. Over four weeks, I’ll be working in the town of Green River, UT (pop. 950).

Some of the work I’ll be doing involves youth engagement. I’ll be working with students to create an intergenerational project in the town. Stay tuned for updates on that.

I’ll also be researching processes and practices for community engagement. How can artists, citizens, and community leaders work better in our rural communities to create the future we desire? How do we design processes that are inclusive and welcoming for all citizens to participate? These are some of the questions I’m asking. In my research and practice in Green River, I hope to leave with new strategies for rural community work.

This collection of rural design books was set out for me to check out while in Green River.

On day 1 of the fellowship, I’m already feeling welcome. This selection of books set out for me is some of the material I’ll be using during my time here. Two of these books I had already planned on reading. Epicenter folks are telepathic.

Epicenter is a rural community design center focused on the people and landscape of Green River. They’ve created a Fix It First program to rehab the local housing infrastructure (here). They’ve worked on campaigns to help draw people off the interstate and into town (here). And they’ve put together an amazing downtown revitalization document for their community (here). Check out all of their projects at their website, www.RuralandProud.org, and get some inspiring ideas for your rural community.

UPDATE – Want to see the project I worked on with community members in Green River? Check out the summary here.