Built to Belong: Creating a Creative District Through Collective Art Tour
We can’t wait for IN THE GAME, April 1-4 in Grand Junction. And we know you’re excited too. This is not only a chance to network, but to learn best practices and the tools being utilized by communities around Colorado to increase their economic vitality.
We asked the folks leading the IN THE GAME sessions to tell us a little bit about their session. Today, we are highlighting Built to Belong: Creating a Creative District Through Collective Art Tour.
Wednesday, April 1, from 10:30 to 12:30, led by Chelsea Gilmore, of Chelsea Gilmore Art.
Come to this session with an open mind, prepared to do a little walking, and ready to get a little artsy. This is a hands-on experience-driven session that will result in a piece of art installed on Main Street.
This is a session not only about art and led by an artist, but about community collaboration and improving cultural vitality through local partnerships. Even those individuals and organizations in noncreative fields can build bridges with local artists to improve overall pride in place through artistic popups and activating downtown spaces.
“Everyone has a story, every voice matters, and when given the chance to be seen, heard, and acknowledged, these people feel a greater sense of identity, stewardship, and pride in place than before,” says Gilmore. “We can do this through art!”
In this session, the attendees will work with local artists to create a simple yet effective creative activation and colorful outdoor installation. It will be a lived experience crafted with the intent that each attendee leaves with a better understanding of how easy it can be to use local assets (artists, studio spaces, unused shade structure) to create a lively and involved activation.
A personal story from Gilmore helps illustrate the work.
“From small scale to large scale, art brings people together and allows stories to be told. I worked with DCI in Fort Morgan in 2021 on a mural project. This mural project connected me to the local economic development department, tourism department, and historic trails people. Through these connections I also started working with the local high school in a separate mural project. The school received a state funded grant for rural schools in the arts and was able to create this mural for an up and coming area of town that was encouraging people of all ages to come, connect, eat together, share art and music together, etc. This space was an incubator space for new businesses as well as a new ‘watering hole’ of food, drink and cultural opportunities. I was welcomed into the community and immediately saw how everything CAN be connected, and how the ARTS allowed it all to unfold in front of me.”
Photo by Chelsea Gilmore during community art project in Denver, CO
Thank you to Chelsea Gilmore for providing this information on her session.
Written by Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer, HeidiTown Consulting, LLC