When Choreography and Secrets Collide

A Collaborative Art Project Seeks to Turn Community Memories Into Dance

Does a work of art have to be created by one person with a singular vision? Our experience says “no.”

Art-making also works when a group of specialized artists—or even artists of different mediums—come together. We re-learned this important principle last year when we collaborated with other dancers for a performance at the Afterimage Gallery in Riverside. Our piece was part of an exhibition called “Hanging Out” that featured music, spoken word, and fine art as well as dance.

“On the Line” is an ongoing project by scholar and artist …

Bankrupt San Bernardino is Rich in the Arts

To Advance Its Revival and Change the Narrative, the City Should Invest in Creativity

The arts could help revive San Bernardino—its streets, businesses, neighborhoods, and urban core—by encouraging visitors, sparking new development, and giving the city new narratives.

That was the conclusion of a panel …

Struggling Cities Can Find a Voice Through Art

Accessible Spaces for Creativity Can Change a Community's Narrative from Within

In 2012, San Bernardino, California, filed for bankruptcy with more than $1 billion in debt. The city, about 60 miles east of L.A., is still climbing out from the devastation …

How a City Hopes to Fulfill New Dreams

San Bernardino Is Creating Space and Community for the Arts

In Southern California, most people know about San Bernardino and its ongoing municipal bankruptcy. Last summer, the L.A. Times called the city a “symbol of the nation’s urban woes.”

But most …

Nourishing Native American Community Five Days a Week

We Teach the Fundamentals of Health by Treating Everyone Like Extended Family

How do you empower a community to care for each family’s health when the odds are stacked against them? This is a question that we think about every day in …

I Love My Town, So I Want to Help My Neighbors Use Their Gifts

By Singing Together, Stockton, California Can Become Proud of Itself

My hometown of Stockton, California, has a bad reputation, and not without reason. In 2008, we became the biggest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy (Detroit later surpassed us) and got …