Are you interested in helping Kentucky communities grow local creative economies? Do you have a long-term vision for increasing the value of art and creativity in communities?
The AIR Institute of Berea College, in partnership with MACED and the Kentucky Arts Council, is recruiting facilitators interested in conducting AIR Shift Workshops that empower Kentuckians to become active in their communities and network together to support local small business development.
Shift Workshops are for artists and creatives, unique small businesses and cultural heritage nonprofits, and governmental and social service staff. Over the course of three days, participants use the design thinking process and a business canvas to create a small ($10,000 or less budget) project for their community that is locally implementable within a year. Small teams work with a trained AIR Facilitator to design and achieve consensus on a local, cross-sector project that uses the arts or creativity to address a local issues project.
Applications are being accepted for a facilitator training that will take place May 8-10 in Berea, KY. Details and application available here. Apply by 5 p.m. Monday April 15.
There is no charge for the facilitator training, but you will need to cover travel and lodging. Specific details will be provided if your application is approved. Find the full agenda and sample materials for the Shift Workshop here.
More information about AIR:
AIR has trained 50 facilitators in South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio this year. They are all actively planning and implementing Shift Workshops.
Here’s a video that Patrick County, Virginia, produced about their first Shift Workshop last year:
Because the projects are small scale, they get implemented. And if they don’t work out as expected, the risk is very low so people learn that making mistakes is part of learning and improving.
Here’s a video from Patrick County about one of the three projects that got implemented from their first workshop last spring. This project focused on getting kids to feel like they can stay in their county.
After monthly summer markets and a holiday market, this program was officially adopted by 4H so it has a permanent home in the community.
Please contact Emily Moses (EmilyB.Moses@ky.gov) at the Kentucky Arts Council with questions about the application process. You can contact Beth Flowers (flowerm@berea.edu) at Berea College with questions about the training.
