Projects

The Madisonville Community Studio is an ongoing project co-created by Madisonville residents and Design Impact to explore key questions about the inclusiveness of neighborhood changes. The project is supported by the Kresge Foundation. To improve interracial relationships in Madisonville and increase Black residents’ power, influence, and representation in the neighborhood’s development decisions.

Out of Hand was started in 2001 to create a new kind of theater, a theater that reaches new audiences and meets people where they are with a strong commitment to ant-racism. Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social justice, and civic engagement. The theatre works to spark conversations to build a better world by using the tools of theater to support and enhance the work of community partners. Out of Hand has four program areas: Equitable Dinner, Shows in Homes, Community Collaborations, and Education

In 2018, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) used a portion of their ArtPlace grant to support the purchase of the Hotel Daimaru, a residential and traveler hotel, in order to preserve its stock of single room occupancy (SRO), low-income housing. 341 FSN is a collaborative space in the hotel, which aims to promote artistic and cultural experiences that protect the cultural and historic identity of Little Tokyo; share community members’ voices and stories to promote and empower Little Tokyo; inform participants about the Little Tokyo neighborhood, its history, and ways to help shape its future; and build connections between artists, community members, and organizations; and incorporate creative practices to positively impact Little Tokyo. Project partners include the Japanese American National Museum, Little Tokyo Community Council, Little Tokyo Service Center Small Business Assistance, Sustainable Little Tokyo – Arts Action Committee, and Visual Communications.

An asset mapping process identified transportation in Worthington as a major concern; with misperceptions on who can access public transit, and a lack of transit options for night shifts at the meat processing plant. Transportation can be a challenge for residents of SWMHP properties in Worthington and is also a factor contributing to economic and racial disparities in the community. A team of local artists purchased a decommissioned bus and created the Artmobile. Artmobile provided opportunities for community engagement to some of the most under-represented community members, including residents of Grand Terrace Apartments, an SWMHP community. The project drew over 1,500 people into neighborhoods, sharing and creating together. Artmobile used creative strategies to educate the community on transportation options. Their research found that 60% of those participating in engagement activities with Artmobile were unaware of public transportation options. Nearly 50% of community members said they were more likely to use public transportation in the future.

The Learning Circle engages over 20 organizations from across the country that center culture as a strategy for advancing equitable development and preservation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the country. Together, these organizations share their ideas and experiences toward improving their own practice, while also helping to elevate awareness within the creative placemaking field of the unique strategies and values that drive creative placemaking in AAPI communities across the country. This initiative was conceived in partnership with Asian Economic Development Association, Chinatown Community Development Center, Hawai'i Alliance for Community Based Economic Development, Little Tokyo Service Center, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

The "One Love Gainesville" Mural was painted during the initial COVID-19 lockdown. The wall was donated to us by a local business owner and we decided to paint this mural in the hopes of creating public art that would help cheer up our community during uncertain times and as a gift to our community. I can remember moments while painting this mural how Gainesville felt like a ghost town, there where no cars or people on the road. Police officers kept stopping by to ask about what we were doing and after a quick conversation, the officers would say "Keep up the good work" and continue on their way. "One Love Gainesville" can be seen on 10th Ave & N Main St where it continues to uplift the community with its bright yellow background. The "Push For Peace" mural wall was awarded to us by the City Of Gainesville Parks Recreation & Cultural Affairs as part of the Gainesville Social Justice Mural Project. This mural is at Possum Creek Skate Park and is dedicated to the skate community in Gainesville and around the

Nia Tero, a Seattle-based foundation focused on securing Indigenous guardianship of vital ecosystems, and Amplifier have come together to launch the THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES. media campaign in honor of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The THRIVING PEOPLES. THRIVING PLACES. campaign uplifts the stories of nine Indigenous women leaders from locales spanning from the Philippines and New Zealand to the Brazilian Amazon and the Arctic.

In collaboration with Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine and also the Program in Arts, Health & Humanities, the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab are co-producing a Racial Justice Concert Series. This free virtual concert series harnesses the power of music to support racial justice in Baltimore. The first concert of the series featured the Baltimore Boom Bap Society in support of Baltimore Ceasefire; the second concert featured Mt. Vernon Virtuosi in support of the Family Survivor Network. Both events included meaningful dialogue about ways that music can help bring people together to heal and address social injustice.  

The website allows professionals in the arts to learn about the arts and their effect in society. It provides resources to include them in the professionals' work as part of an anti-racist movement.