Questions about Creative Placemaking? You're Not Alone.

It’s a tricky word, placemaking.

Places don’t need to be made. They exist already.

ABCD, artist insight, community, creativity, tips, toolkitJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 19, 2023blog

For the Common Good: A Community Arts Leader Interview with Andy McGuire

This week’s interview continues to capture the creative and community-centered genius that Andy and Allison McGuire discover and harness in the Mahaska County communities through their work at George Daily Community Auditorium.

artist insight, community, For the Common Good, creativity, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterJuly 5, 2023blogComment

For the Common Good: A Community Arts Leader Interview with Allison McGuire

Back in 2017, I had the very good fortune of meeting Allison and Andy McGuire, two talented and community-centered theatre-makers from the George Daily Community Auditorium in Oskaloosa, Iowa (population 11,463). The Auditorium had just been awarded an Arts Build Communities grant from the Iowa Arts Council to create Home Again, a multimedia variety show to explore and share the many stories of the Oskaloosa and Mahaska County communities.

artist insight, ABCD, community, creativity, For the Common Good, tips, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterJune 26, 2023blogComment

Introducing Pop-Up! A Toolkit for [fun, invigorating, life-affirming] Temporary Experiences

I can't wait to share the fourth Community Arts Toolkit with y'all.

Pop-Up! offers an introduction to the nuts and bolts of planning for and pulling off a pop-up experience, be that an exhibition, a one-night event, an out-of-the-box community experience, or anything in between. Ideally, this toolkit will aid you in being thoughtful about every decision you make so you can squeeze the most mileage out of your event.

artist insight, ABCD, creativity, community, toolkit, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterJune 12, 2023blogComment

#whatsgoodtoday

This Charlie-Brown-looking-tree is What’s Good Today on my street. Read on.

ABCD, community, creativity, personalJennifer DrinkwaterMay 31, 2023blogComment

Meet Benjamin Saulsberry: A What's Good Project Interview

Please make the acquaintance of Mr. Benjamin Saulsberry, the Public Engagement and Museum Education Director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) in Sumner, Mississippi (pop. 310). I met Benjamin in 2019 during an impromptu trip to Sumner to visit the ETIC, and he was gracious enough to agree to be interviewed a couple months later. Please enjoy a few snippets of our 2019 conversation - lightly edited for clarity.

ABCD, civil rights, community, creativity, Mississippi, interviewJennifer DrinkwaterMarch 21, 2023blogComment

For the Common Good: A Community Artist Interview with Akwi Nji

I’m so delighted to feature my friend (and one of my favorite artists, period) Akwi Nji in the community artist interview series, For the Common Good, as she truly encapsulates the essence of what this series celebrates. Each participating artist responds to a series of questions about how their personal and community creative practices align. It’s my hope that these interviews provide insights into how and why artists work with communities, both to artists aspiring to do this work, as well as to communities who strive to engage more creatively with their residents.

Evolution of a Painting, Vol. 1

Painting is hard - particularly at the end of the process. Two steps forward, nine steps back. A great deal more time staring at the easel than actively painting.

artist insight, creativity, personal, tips, processJennifer DrinkwaterFebruary 26, 2023blog Comments

POW! A Plan of Work Template for Community Art Projects

We often don’t know what we don’t know, which can be paralyzing when starting something new. This POW will prompt you to have necessary conversations with yourself, your collaborators, and your community, such as: “What are we really trying to do here? Why does it matter? What is our timeline/budget/materials? Who’s doing what by when? How do we know if this has been a successful effort?”

community, artist insight, creativity, toolkit, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterFebruary 13, 2023blogComment

Marks Mule Train & Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign (Marking the Mule Train Cultural Trail)

“On May 13, 2021, history was made once again in Marks, Mississippi. After three years of planning and hard work… the Civil Rights Marks Mule Train Interpretive Trail was unveiled to commemorate the 53rd Anniversary of the 1968 Mule Train & Martin Luther King, Jr’s Poor People’s Campaign.

This historic trail showcased eleven markers, displaying the history and activities, which took place fifty-three years ago of Dr. King’s visit to Marks/Quitman County, and earned Marks the duly distinction of being known as the ‘Home of the Mule Train.’ ” Text by Velma Benson-Wilson and Cynthia Goodloe Palmer

civil rights, community, creativity, MississippiJennifer DrinkwaterJanuary 15, 2023blogComment

A Primer on Artist Relocation Programs

Say what?

Artist who?

In a sentence, Artist Relocation Programs attempt to lure artists to live and work in their communities, knowing full well that artists can transform places.

ABCD, community, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 22, 2022blogComment

The Power of Artist-in-Residence Programs for Artists and Communities

If you’re a civic leader, or part of a community organization, you may consider the benefit of inviting a local artist to be a part of what you’re doing. Or you could invite a non-local artist to live in your community for bit. We creatives thrive on transforming a set of challenges into a new possibility. Our brains are wired to see potential, to see something better.

community, creativity, artist insight, tips, toolkit, AIRJennifer DrinkwaterNovember 12, 2022blog Comments

How to Actually Hang Art on Your Walls

Greetings! In this final installation (see what I did there) of how to hang art on your walls, we’ll be going over the nuts and bolts (ha) of the hanging part, i.e. what tools you need, measuring formulas, and best practices for showcasing your work in the best light possible (it’s just too easy).

art collection, creativity, tips, artist insightJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 16, 2022blogComment

Evolution of a Painting, Vol. 5

My awesome intern Paige created this short video about the evolution of Deep Roots, the final painting inspired a conversation I had in 2019 with Drick Rodgers and Julia Rodgers Clark in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

artist insight, art collection, creativity, process, MississippiJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 11, 2022blogComment

How to Curate a Space

Placing art within a space can be intimidating, particularly if you’re a newbie. Where should it go? How do you create a meaningful visual experience in your home? Do you need all new furniture to match new work? And finally, how do you hang art, particularly if you’re allergic to power tools?

Let’s walk through some of these questions one by one.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterOctober 4, 2022blogComment

Alternatives to Traditional Framing

Last week, I wrote a little about discerning whether you need a frame or not.

And you may have thought “I just spent a bunch of money, so it’d be great NOT to frame” or decided “I want to display my cool postcard or print collection and I do NOT want to wait until I can afford frames for all 78 of them.”

Congrats! You’re not alone! And you have lots of options!

art collection, creativity, tips, artist insightJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 18, 2022blogComment

Whether to Frame?

I once taught a class at Iowa State University on how to run a gallery and how to use the gallery to engage the local community. One of the first classes each semester was on how to install an art exhibition. This involved spreadsheets, cleaning supplies, post-it notes, levels, drills, and lots of math. I get a lot of questions from friends and family on the reg about where and how to frame and hang their art, so I thought I would share some insight.

art collection, creativity, artist insight, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 11, 2022blogComment

Buying Art: (mostly) Do's and (a few) Don't's

Welcome back! For the past two weeks, we’ve discussed why you should begin an art collection, and how to start an art collection. This final segment is a best-practices-approach to buying art: connecting with artists, supporting their practice, and purchasing their work.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterSeptember 6, 2022blogComment

How to Start a Meaningful Art Collection

Maybe you definitely would like to support more artists and buy more art, and you have no idea where to begin. You’re in luck! Here are a couple steps to get you clear on the art and artists you’d like to support, plus a few ideas on how to find these wonderful folks.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tipsJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 30, 2022blogComment

3 Reasons to Start an Art Collection Pronto

True confession: It took me 34 years to call myself an artist. I’m embarrassed to say that I associated that label with a whole mess of bad connotations that I mistakenly bought into and wanted to avoid. I also had major imposter syndrome, and being told by a former professor that I didn’t have any talent really didn’t help matters.

art collection, artist insight, creativity, tips, personalJennifer DrinkwaterAugust 24, 2022blogComment

THOUGHTS