community activism tagged posts

Introduction

In previous papers, the creation and planning of the Columbus, GA Arts and Music community initiative has been explored in depth.  In this paper, the long-term existence of this project will be explored through the following areas:  sustainability, maintaining gains achieved, approaches to support well-being, and acknowledging and celebrating gains and victories.  While this initiative is still a hopeful dream in the vivid writings of the author, the dreams are practical and sustainable as the direction of former papers has indicated.  This paper will be no different.  To succeed at such an initiative as this will require more than the work of one or two individuals. And while someone may be necessarily needed to direct its successful formation, this may not necessarily be the case in light of the desire for a communitarian collective that takes in the contributions of a community and utilizes the skills and enthusiasms of each contributor.  Ideally, this will be an initiative directed with hopeful and creative collective views in mind and action.

Introduction

Members of the Columbus, GA community continue to inform me that an arts and music collective is vitally needed. Yet, some of them continue to cite examples of independent music and arts businesses (independent from the mainstream cultural institutions in Columbus and the surrounding community) that have failed in the recent and distant past.  However, all of these previous ventures were individual for-profit projects, rather than collective community ventures that involved a significant portion and cross section of the city’s population.  Additionally, there are arts that are not even included in the mainstream cultural institutions that should be considered, including film and pottery crafts as well as homesteading.  While I have explored the practical possibilities of creating this and understand what appears to be general resistance and only understand it as someone who recently moved to and away from the city, I also understand the hope that many have that this will change.  I look to the recent private venture, the Estate, a live music venue featuring many local and traveling artists and bands.  What makes this private venture different from previously failed ones is the venue leadership’s active requests for participation, solicited from the local live music attending community and local arts and music creators.  I believe that the establishment of this venue has created a favorable atmosphere that is ripe for the introduction of this project, an arts and music collective that can succeed, that periodically works in collaboration with the Estate and, perhaps, utilizes the same space part time until the collective can become established.