The Regional Arts Commission's Community Arts Training Institute's mission is all about change for the better; each year, they identify people in the community who are using art to push for social change, then help them further their work by providing them with fellowships that provide 55 hours of training on art and the community. (Go here to see the directory of past fellows on RAC's website.)
RAC's announced their fellows for 2008-2009:
-Aaron Burnett, Organizer with Missouri Jobs for Justice -Keith Buchholz, visual artist and arts educator -Beth Drouant, applied behaivorial analysis therapist, Growing Ameican Youth Advisor, visual artist -Dorlene Dunne, outrech specialist for Community Alternatives, Inc., visual artist -Howard Gaines, visual artist -Emily Hemeyer, visual/craft/sound installation artist, arts educator -Erica Hinton, training coordinator for Grace Hill Settlement House Head Start -Liz Hoester, social research analyst for Children at Risk -Apama Kalyanaraman, dancer and arts educator -Asma Kazmi, sculptor and visual artist -Jessica Laney, performing artist, Community Relations Coordinator for Cultural Festivals -George Sample III, rap artist and youth mentor -Katrina Shannon, photographer and arts educator -Emily Task, program director for Diversity Awareness Partnership -Joshua Walehwa, associate director for Residential Life at Wash. U. -Stefani Weeden-Smith, art therapist -Ben West, Community Arts & Media Project (CAMP) board member, design staff for pplDevices -Keith Westbrook, visual artist and SLPS arts educator
Speaking of RAC and the good work that they do, note that they are hosting a poetry reading on Friday November 14, featuring Amy Debrecht (former organizer of River Styx's Hungry Young Poets series), Robert Lowes, Nancy Powers, Eric Schramm, Eammon Wall and Catherine Rankovic. The reading starts at 7 p.m. and is free. I'm not familiar with all the poets, but the ones I do know are stellar. If you can't wait that long to get your poetry fix, also note that this Thursday is Observable's monthly reading, featuring four out-of-town women poets: Nikole Brown, Erin Keane, Kristy Maxwell and Cindy King. –Stefene Russell
