Filling the Well

Have a challenge that needs a creative solution? Rural arts practitioners Ashley Hanson and Anne O'Keefe-Jackson have a simple idea: ask your neighbor! Learn about their collaborations and ideas to improve quality of life through resource-sharing. Spoiler, you can do it too! After the episode, go deeper into ways to test these approaches in your own community. 

At a time when there's so much need, how can we best advocate for the arts and make changes that last? For two leading advocates, Emily Ruddock and Michelle Ramos, the answer is to start by showing up for others first. After the episode, explore more about how you can shift to solidarity and make meaningful changes to improve everyday lives. 

What does it mean to be a truly welcoming organization and how can arts leaders be more inclusive hosts who foster belonging? Dig into a discussion with two artists who regularly tackle these questions, Ananya Chatterjea and Marcus Young. After the episode, go deeper and explore tangible tools to apply in your own spaces in this article by Welcoming America.

For any non-profit, funding is a perpetual worry. But what if philanthropy shifted power and encouraged organizations and communities to dream big? Explore trust-based funding models with two thought leaders, DeAnna Cummings and Tish Jones. After the episode, go deeper and consider how you could shift power and unlock creativity in your organization and beyond over in our Ideas Hub.

Creativity can be an antidote to challenging times, but we can't show up for our communities if we're burnt out. Dive into the art of taking care of you with two radical self-care strategists, Dr. Joi Lewis and Joe Davis. After the episode, go deeper and explore ways to put self-care at the core of your organization's culture in this article from Joe Davis.

Filling the Well is a new podcast from Arts Midwest created to nourish, provoke, and inspire artists and arts leaders. Hear from creative changemakers as they share their takes on how to shift power dynamics, avoid burn-out, build authentic community, share resources, and advocate for support. With each episode, you'll find links to explore these ideas further and act in your own community. (Filling the Well is a forum for dialogue, conversation, and learning. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Arts Midwest or the Barr Foundation.)