Sustainable First Mondays

Arts and Sustainable Community at December Sustainable First Monday

About 35 people attended December SFM, many from our local arts community.  (If you have ideas and/or are interested in participating in follow-up conversations about possible collaborative arts-and-community projects/programs, please send an e-mail to info@sustainablebridge.net.)    In partnership with the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council (Zon Estes and Ellen Bush) and the Bainbridge Island Creativity Center (Pam Christiansen), Sustainable Bainbridge hosted Bill Cleveland, local author and pioneer in the community arts movement, who presented  “Between Grace and Fear:  The Role of the Arts in a Time of Change.”

At the beginning of his presentation, Bill offered a beautiful vocal musical story of a young man whose troubled life was transformed through the power of art.  Bill shared true stories from this latest book, “Art and Upheaval,” about creativity and imagination as channels for transformational change under the most challenging of circumstances.  Several people in attendance participated in a reading from a play, “The Wedding,” written by and for Protestants and Catholics in the face of the conflict in Northern Ireland, which had torn apart communities and families; Bill finished his presentation with another touching musical tribute to “Fathers and Sons,” accompanied by a visual display of the incredibly revealing artwork created by men in prisons.

Bill led a stimulating discussion about the vital role of creativity, story-telling and art-making in a community’s approach to sustainability.  Participants explored questions dealing with how citizens might bring creativity to civic events, such as City Council meetings, and introduce the arts as a new way of dealing with tough issues, such as affordable housing, preservation of our environment and the divisiveness of city politics.

This gathering generated interest in further dialogue and exploration of collaborative projects/programs we might create, and Bill has offered to work with us.  Please

Bill offered a number of resources for further consideration and inspiration:
 

  • “The Water Project Case Study:  Northern Lakes Center for the Arts,” a project “which demonstrate[s] how the arts can be a critical resource in contributing to the promotion of new ways of thinking and greater understanding of critical community issues.”  (This was a 2001 project of the Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, which “commissioned and produced a series of arts activities to frame community dialogues about issues of water usage and pollution related to growth and development, use of farm chemicals, and recreational use of local rivers and lakes in Amery, Wisconsin.”
  • Animating Democracy – “A program of Americans for the Arts Institute for Community Development and the Arts; fosters arts and cultural activity that encourages and enhances civic engagement and dialogue. It is based on the premise that democracy is animated when an informed public is engaged in the issues affecting people’s daily lives. The arts and humanities can contribute unique programs, settings, and creative approaches that reach new and diverse participants, stimulate public dialogue about civic issues, and inspire action to make change.”
  • “Between Grace and Fear: The Role of the Arts in a Time of Change” – Co-authored by Bill Cleveland and Patricia Shifferd, this article “stems from the findings of a research project that invited a range of writers, artists, politicians, scientists, community leaders, theologians and social theorists to engage the following question: If a major shift in worldview is taking place, what role might society’s arts and cultural resources (artists, arts institutions and cultural creatives) play?  
  • The Center for the Study of Art and Community – (Bill is founder and Executive Director).  “CSA&C is an association of creative leaders from business, government and the arts who have succeeded in building bridges between the arts and a wide range of community, public and private sector interests.”

And…our co-sponsors –

Contact Info
Phone:  206-842-7901
E-Mail:  office@artshum.org
Location:  221 Winslow Way W, Suite 201 (Marge Williams Center),

Contact Info
Phone:  1-800-884-2168
E-Mail:  info@bainbridgeislandcreativitycenter.org
Two locations:
- Main Creativity Center is located at 9463 NE Business Park Lane (across from Sakai School)
- Extension, with four new classrooms, at Island Music Guild Building, 10598 NE Valley Road