LITTLEGLOBE CENTER FOR CREATIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Littleglobe, together with a range community partners, is creating a training initiative that will develop a pool of skilled artists and organizers to promote arts-based civic engagement. The CCCE will provide practical skill-building residencies and workshops that will expand the base of capable practitioners in the region. It will also build bridges between organizers, cultural workers and artists by introducing them to each other and facilitating cross-sector work.

Littleglobe held its first gathering of southwest cultural workers (working in a variety of ways in their communities) on January 21, 2012. Based on two years of research, dialogue, writing (learn about the MICA project, below) and collaborative exploration, we will begin offering professional development workshops later in 2012.   Register for workshops

There is a need for creative, effective, and successful models for site-based, community engagement work that involves the entire spectrum of the population --children, youth, families, adults and elders as well as artists, planners, organizers, health care workers, educators, and others. This inter- and cross-disciplinary approach is complex, rigorous, and demanding, requiring a range of skills in creative collaboration, civic dialogue, conflict engagement, facilitation, and more.  

The “Littleglobe Center for Creative Engagement (CCCE)” is being developed by looking at skillful and effective models of arts-based civic engagement programs regionally, nationally, and internationally. At the same time, Littleglobe is aware that significant work of this kind is being done in the southwest and that southwest-based approaches are particularly potent. The breadth, depth and diversity of southwest communities--reflecting centuries of conquest, intolerance, cooperation AND collaboration between Native, Hispanic, White, mixed-race and other peoples--have generated complex models for effective community engagement. The CCCE will draw on the best of these regional, national and international models as well as Littleglobe's experience with its many community projects.

The CCCE is part of a larger vision supported by the New Mexico-based McCune Charitable Foundation. Institutional partners include the University of New Mexico (UNM), the Institute for American Indian  Arts (IAIAI) and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC). UNM students are already serving as interns and graduate assistants on projects and have participated in the Littleglobe’s first course on racial healing, led by Martínez and Sturges. 

Littleglobe was also chosen, in late 2010, to be one of five national writing and convening fellows by the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). A collection of twelve short essays, by Littleglobe core and affiliate artists, has now been published on the MICA website: mica

UNM and the NHCC will be our Albuquerque hosts for workshops and gatherings, offering professional development to local, regional and national artists, cultural leaders and community organizers. Other organizations will lend experience and expertise, developing learning exchanges and professional development programs that honor the wisdom of participants while offering deep learning across theory and practice of arts-based community engagement. 

Watch a video here http://vimeo.com/38063032