About The Arts & Culture Program

As a national program that supports place-based activities, our vision is that creativity is valued widely as an integral resource for healthy and sustainable places and for residents of color to live abundant and self-determined lives.

Our core beliefs include:

• Residents possess the imagination, wisdom, and lived experiences necessary to create enduring community solutions.
• Asset-based community development approaches that involve artists and creative practices offer the most significant potential for healthy, sustainable, and economically just outcomes.
• Cross-sectoral strategies inclusive of creative practices and practitioners can contribute to shifting the narratives, systems and policies that support climate-resilient neighborhoods and the health and well-being of residents – especially those of color with low incomes.

These beliefs anchor our priorities for investing in creative strategies — in place, with people and through partnerships – that advance the pre-conditions for long-term change. This includes resident agency, narrative change and collective action. There are countless examples of how culture and creativity (and creative practitioners) have contributed to the civic, social and cultural infrastructure that enable long-term change.

• They Reframe problems through different lenses and apply creative, place-based and human-centered processes that contribute to more equitable, healthy and sustainable solutions.
• They Restore the social fabric and support interpersonal engagement and trust, such as interactions with neighbors or informal community-building activities.
• They Reimagine how the arts, community development and planning (and related) fields work harmoniously to promote more resilient communities and just practices.