Reflecting on RAC: The 2015 Rural Arts & Culture Summit
It is hard to explain the spirit of over 360 people brought together from rural place, with rural stories, and with playfully imaginative ambitions for transformation and positive change. Such a gathering creates a palpable, contagious energy disseminated through excited conversations that can only be shared by those who know what it is like to really know your neighbor and to live in a small town. The arts leaders in these isolated and often underserved places are resourceful. They are scrappy. They have big hearts and unreasonable imaginations. And while many of these rural arts organizations are separated by many miles, they come together every other year for the Rural Arts & Culture Summit to share their stories and experiences, learn from one another, and collectively define what it means to be a rural artist, organizer or creative thinker.
The 2015 Rural Arts and Culture Summit in Morris, Minnesota was all of those things, and as a first time attendee, I was astounded by the sense of community and collective energy that I found there. Many different themes and conversation topics were packed into just two days, enough material to stretch out the conference for a week. Topics included creative placemaking, the role of artists, rural/urban divides, policy, rural narrative, culture and agriculture, multidisciplinary collaboration, and the future of rural America, among many others.
As one would expect, concepts of place were at the center of much conversation, emphasizing the unique capacity within small towns to be creative and inventive. My own research explores the hypothesis that rural place is more conducive to experimental creativity because of its separation from the grid, its freedom from expectations and restrictions. In these places artists have the open space to explore an open mind. They can benefit from a certain authenticity and genuineness associated with small towns that is rooted in place. It all comes right back to the land. Rural is rural because of how the land is used. A metropolis is urban because of how the land is transformed. Artists have the opportunity to be inspired by and to respond to strong place identity. The combination of open space and individualistic rural frame of mind, combined with strong place identity provides fertile ground for the cultivation of artistic imagination.
Attending the conference greatly expanded my understanding of the role of the arts in rural America. Over the course of a few days I heard about endless projects across the country that influenced health and wellbeing, improved quality of life in communities, cultivated civic stewardship and pride, affected positive change, assisted in the passing down of traditions, and orchestrated collective mobility. Common themes included encouraging adaptability and learning, creating opportunities for dialogue, creativity and connectivity between people and groups within communities. Our ability to be creative seems to be one of the best problem solving mechanisms that we have.
One of the most robust topics of the summit, led by the Center for Small Towns, was how arts can play a role in changing the rural narrative, and how that might help secure a place for small towns in policy and decision making. The rural is plagued by unfounded assumptions that present small towns as places that are dying, places where no one wants to live, and that lack cultural vibrancy and life. This is incredibly harmful to the progress of rural communities. This kind of negativity can even seeps into locals, further preventing growth and cultivating a sense of hopelessness. The arts can help tell the other side of the story, recognizing and physically manifesting the wealth, beauty and vibrancy of rural place. They can give people the agency to improve their own communities, building on existing strengths and assets. Art can relay this message outside the community, bringing positive press and putting a small town on the map. Using art to tell the story of place, activating communities to recognize their own strengths, and cultivating cultural vibrancy can draw in new residents and instill greater sense of pride, initiating positive momentum. With such momentum, it is more likely that policy and decision makers will see that the rural actually is not fading. It is very much alive and it needs to be considered as equally vital as the city. This barrier between urban and rural is especially apparent in states such as Minnesota where there is an extensive metropolis center in the Twin Cities and many rural communities scattered throughout the state, a similar story in many other parts of the country. When we talk about one part of the state versus another, it weakens the whole.
The summit closed with a conversation on the future of rural America. The convention had stimulated many rich discussions of strengths, challenges and opportunities for rural place and people throughout the few days we were all together. The summit greatly informed my own work, reinforcing my sense of purpose and reminding me why I am an advocate for the arts in rural place. I left Morris bewildered by what Minnesota has been able to accomplish and how much the arts are a part of its social fabric. I also left with the determination to take a little bit of that creative energy and transplant it back into my home state of Montana. As we gathered in the auditorium for the closing session, that same collective energy found its way to the surface, projected among many voices. The arts have power. We have the power to implement the arts. We cannot do it alone but we can do it together. Collectively we can figure out how to build on the Minnesota rural arts movement and make it national.
