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FUNDED BY THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION, THIS WORKSHOP ALSO POSED THE QUESTION OF HOW ARTISTS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO INSPIRE POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY. Anderson shared the story of The Pink House, which served as an arts and culture community hub for several years before it shut its doors in 2016. “The Pink House was a very transformative place for so many,” said Anderson. “What made it so special is art was never a separate thing there. It was everything.” The art of people creating culture and not the other way around was also a central talking point for Anderson. “We need to be very intentional in the arts about equity and having an awareness about the culture we’re creating is very important,” Anderson added. For this workshop, South Florida-based poet, playwright, director and educator Darius Daughtry and Tara Chadwick, whose titles include transformative art catalyst, community cultural consultant, museologist and curator, also led segments and group exercises. “This workshop was about being part of an intentional process to build the capacity of local community in Broward and to bring artists awareness of their participation in community development,” Chadwick said. “ “Putting the art and the artist back in community development is crucial to our next 100 years and next thousand years,” Chadwick said. “We need to relate to each other.” Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, this workshop also posed the question of how artists can work together to inspire positive change in the community. “I work with core artists and building community through storytelling,” said Daughtry, who is also Founder and Artistic Director of the Art Prevails Project, a not-for-profit organization rooted in theater and creative writing designed to educate and inspire through cultural experiences. “We are complete experts on what’s happening in our city from societal issues to social justice. When all else fails, art prevails. We’re being more intentional about the work that’s actually happening and by working together, we’re having varied voices at the table.” Photos by Downtown Photo
CREATIVE + CONSCIOUS CULTURE
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