Civic Imagination Stations: Libraries Partnering with Artists to Create New Approaches to Building Literacies
Saturday, January 28, 2023
10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 391-392
Level of Participation: Medium
How can librarians and artists come together to expand the literacies and knowledge areas that our communities demand? This session focuses on the early outcomes of ALA’s Civic Imagination Station grant initiative generously supported by The Estée Lauder Companies WRITING CHANGE program, a new collaboration with National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman. As part of the Civic Imagination Station pilot, a cohort of twelve libraries across the nation have partnered with local artists to implement short-term arts-based interventions that engage local residents and build traditional and digital literacies. In addition to these pilot projects, a process map will be widely disseminated to support other library staff/artist partnerships in working together to create locally appropriate and meaningful collaborative projects of their own. The Civic Imagination Station session will feature co-designers/co-facilitators Willa Taylor, Michael Rohd, and Sara Sawicki alongside some of the national cohort members as they describe the program, share learnings, and offer insights into creative partnerships that make local library and community impact.
This session features: Willa Taylor, Civic Imagination Stations Lead Artist Walter Director of Education and Engagement, Goodman Theatre
Michael Rohd, Civic Imagination Stations Lead Artist Director, Co-Lab for Civic Imagination @ University of Montana
Sara Sawicki Program Manager, Civic Imagination Stations
With: Project Team from Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library Project: Vermillion, SD Amanda Raiche, MLIS Library Staff Co-Lead, Civic Imagination Stations Youth Services Coordinator, South Dakota State Library
Sandra Kern Mollman Artist Co-Lead, Civic Imagination Stations Rural Co-creator, Community Engaged Interdisciplinary Artist
Project Team from Fayetteville Public Library Project: Fayetteville, AR
Melissa Taylor Library Staff Co-Lead, CI Stations Manager, Fayetteville Public Library's Center for Innovation
Jasper Logan Artist Co-Lead CI Stations Community engagement manager for KUAF Community engagement consultant for Paragon Media Strategies
Project Team from Indiana University Libraries, Neal Marshall Black Culture Center & Herman B Wells Library: Bloomington, IN DeLoice Holliday Library Staff Co-Lead, Civic Imagination Stations Head, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library, Multicultural Outreach Librarian – Librarian for African American African Diaspora Studies
Maria E. Hamilton Abegunde, Ph.D. Artist Co-Lead, Civic Imagination Stations Assistant Professor, Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies
Learning Objectives:
explore and imagine opportunities for a Civic Imagination Station project in their own library to enhance community engagement, art appreciation and digital literacy.
apply the recommendations of speakers to identify and work with local artists, especially those whose work is often under-represented in mainstream settings.
participate in a community of library professionals who bring art into their libraries for a variety of purposes.
share best practices and suggestions for initiating and deepening community relationships and partnerships.
share programming ideas for communities of all economic levels and in all types of libraries, especially those that have experienced generational underfunding, limited arts education and engagement, and limited digital literacy.
have provide guidance materials which will enhance community relationships and partnerships.
provide create programming ideas to for communities of all economic levels and in all types of libraries, especially those that have experienced generational underfunding, limited arts education and engagement, and limited digital literacy.
