Artist-Led Community Engagement

Are you interested in finding creative ways to engage the community in your preservation work? You’ve come to the right place!

- Placemaking: Community-led process that uses art and cultural assets to create a sense of place (physical and/or social).
- Placekeeping: Honoring the history, heritage, cultural identity that already exists — and amplifying it.
Regardless of the term used, this kind of work strives for a shared process where creatives, neighbors, and civic leaders co-create space.
Resident-Informed Planning
- Ask people what they want! Artist-designed planning meetings; Artist activations designed to solicit community feedback
Community Ownership in Public Space
- Co-creation! Paint-by-number murals; “Barn-Raising” type events
Digital Storytelling
- Expand your reach! GIS mapping projects; Interactive archives
Storytelling in Real Life
- Meet people where they are! Artist-designed walking tours/scavenger hunts; Site-specific art installations
Definitions courtesy SAIRA Creative
Not sure where to start? Reaching out to your regional arts council or another local arts organization might be a good first step.
Adirondack Lakes Center for Arts
Serves Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton Counties
The Arts Center of The Capital Region
Serves Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady Counties
Arts Council for Wyoming County
Serves Alleghany and Wyoming County
Arts Council of Rockland
Serves Rockland County
ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes
Serves Cattaraugus, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tioga Counties
Arts Center of Yates County
Serves Yates County
Arts Mid-Hudson
Serves Dutchess, Ulster and Orange Counties
Arts Services Initiative of Western New York
Serves Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara Counties
Arts Westchester
Serves Westchester and Rockland Counties
Asian American Arts Alliance
Serves New York City
Auburn Public Theater
Serves Cayuga, Ontario Seneca, Wayne, and Yates Counties
Bronx Council on the Arts
Serves Bronx County
Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc.
Serves Kings County
Chenango Arts Council
Serves Chenango County
CNY Arts
Serves Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Onondaga, Oneida, and Oswego Counties
Community Arts Partnership-Tompkins County
Serves Tompkins County
CREATE Council on the Arts
Serves Columbia, Greene, and Schoharie Counties
Delaware Valley Arts Alliance
Serves Sullivan County
Earlville Opera House
Serves Broome, Chenango, and Otsego Counties
Flushing Town Hall
Serves Queens County
Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
Serves Livingston and Monroe Counties
Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council
Serves Genesee and Orleans Counties
Huntington Arts Council
Serves Nassau and Suffolk Counties
Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council
Serves Warren and Washington Counties
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Serves New York County
New York Folklore
Serves statewide
The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center
Serves Niagara County
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance
Serves New York County
Putnam Arts Council
Serves Putnam County
Roxbury Arts Group
Serves Delaware County
Saratoga County Arts Council
Serves Saratoga, Fulton, and Montgomery Counties
St. Lawrence County Arts Council
Serves Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties
Staten Island Arts
Serves Richmond County
Tri-County Arts Council
Serves Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties

Looking for ideas? We’ve gathered some projects we think might inspire you. Some of these the League was directly involved in, but many of them we were not. However, all of them are good examples of what this kind of work could look like. We’ve broken these examples down into three main categories: 1. Projects done in support of planning 2. Projects done to foster a sense of pride in place 3. Projects done with the intention of advocating for historic places. There is, of course, a lot of overlap between these categories and the three categories we have identified here are by no means exhaustive. Our intention is merely to provide food for thought for anyone thinking about ways they might work with artists in support of their own preservation projects.