Create+Engage: Catch Up on All Workshops + Support Upcoming Programming

Help support Create+Engage and stay creatively and civically engaged!

Hello friends-

As many of you know, I’ve been co-running a series of no-cost community workshops this year with my collaborators Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman and Marta Hanson: Create+Engage, focused as a creative antidote to apathy.

We first started discussing this series last fall, knowing that a big election year—both around the world and in the US—can often feel very overwhelming. (I think we can all say it’s been overwhelming and then some!)

We launched Create+Engage to explore how art and creative solutions can motivate us to engage locally, invest in our communities, and feel a stronger sense of agency related to civic engagement—all with a commitment to access, community, and valuing expertise. 

I’m thrilled to share that since our first Create+Engage workshop in March: 

• Over 1,200 people have signed up for the 5 workshops that have been offered free of charge

• The number of participants who say they feel “very creatively inspired” and “very connected to community” consistently doubles—or even triples—from the beginning to the end of each workshop.

• We have given a small honorarium to all 10 guest artists and speakers for their time and expertise.

• Donated to 10 nonprofits selected by our guest artists—over $1,300 as of today!

I’m not usually one for sharing numbers, but I read recently how important it is to share our good news. And in a political and global landscape that so often feels fraught and heavy, these numbers feel like good news to me, particularly as they are a reflection of our values.

During August, we’re taking a little summer break on our Create+Engage sessions, but I want to share both a preview and an invitation to drum up some excitement for what’s coming this fall!

PREVIEW: September Month of Action + October/November Sessions

September Month of Action

All through September, we are going to be doing a weekly series of essays, visual inspiration, and prompts, all focused on celebrating the variety of ways that creative action can be a way to stay civically engaged and dropping right here in the newsletter. Art! Inspiration! Action! 

Thursday September 26, 5-6pm PT: Create+Engage Studio Session

This will be a little more casual than our usual Create+Engage workshops, and we’re hoping that it will encourage you to use this time to come and work on some type of creative action. Make and write some postcards, draw some political poster designs, etc. Sign up here. 

Wednesday October 16, 5-6:30pm PT: Create+Engage October Session

We’ll be announcing guest artists soon, but I assure you that you’re going to want to attend this one. Sign up here. 

Wednesday November 13, 5-6:30pm PT: Create+Engage November Session

Yup, the election will be behind us before we know it. Save the date for now, and more info to come. 

INVITATION: Support Create+Engage + Catch Up on All Past Workshops!

As we plan out the fall—especially the September month of action—we really need your support. While these workshops have been no-cost to attendees, they’re not free workshops—because as we know, nothing is “free.” So far, all of this work has been made possible thanks to Creative Fuel paid subscribers and a small amount of direct financial support.

And so: if you’ve attended a workshop this year and enjoyed it, we invite you to chip in a few dollars to support fall Create+Engage programming. You can do so by becoming a paid subscriber.

You can also support by giving direct financial support in any amount. If every workshop attendee contributed just $5, we’d have funds to triple the artist stipends and nonprofit donations we’ve made so far! (And if you’re feeling abundance and would like to become a $500 sponsor, that could help even more!)

As a thank you, paid subscribers and direct supporters—even if you just give $5 or $10—will have access to recordings of all of the previous Create+Engage sessions during the month of August. Since we’re not hosting a live workshop, we’re hoping that you might take some time to watch one of these on your own time.

Paid subscribers can access all of the workshops here, and if you have supported Create+Engage directly, we will email you a link. 

*Shakes it off* Art! Capitalism! It’s complicated! 

I know that I have said this so many times before but it’s probably worth stating again: it feels incredibly important to me to be able to offer this kind of accessible programming and to pay fellow artists. That is only possible because of all of you.

Thank you as always for bringing this community to life. Have a creative and rejuvenating August, and we look forward to bringing you the September Month of Action!

-Anna

Do you enjoy Creative Fuel? You can support this work by becoming a paid subscriber. You can also order something in my shop, attend one of my workshops or retreats, or buy one of my books. Or simply share this newsletter with a friend!