Engaging Community: Understanding the Basics

1.5 units

What does it mean to engage in community as a creative practitioner? Community engagement must be grounded in authentic relationship building and an ability to understand and act within the historic context and systems that impact communities. We will practice the skills of listening, observation, reflection, and improvisation. We will cultivate mindsets that focus on community assets and self-determination. Workshops will teach facilitation and power analysis, with the intention of upending the power dynamics between community and creators. It may count toward the minor in Creative Practice for Social Change if bundled with You Are Here: St. Louis' Racial History Through Sites and Stories.