Littleglobe held its first gathering of southwest cultural workers (working in a variety of ways in their communities) on January 21, 2012. Based on two years of research, dialogue, writing and collaborative exploration, this was the first step towards offering professional development workshops in the arena of creative community engagement. There is a need for creative, effective, and successful models for site-based, community engagement work that involves the entire spectrum of the population --children, youth, families, adults and elders as well as artists, planners, organizers, health care workers, educators, and others. This inter- and cross-disciplinary approach is complex, rigorous, and demanding, requiring a range of skills in creative collaboration, civic dialogue, conflict engagement, facilitation, and more. The “Littleglobe Center for Creative Engagement (CCCE)” is looking at skillful and effective models of arts-based civic engagement programs regionally, nationally, and internationally. At the same time, Littleglobe is aware that significant work of this kind is being done in the southwest and that southwest-based approaches are particularly potent. The breadth, depth and diversity of southwest communities--reflecting centuries of conquest, intolerance, cooperation AND collaboration between Native, Hispanic, White, mixed-race and other peoples--have generated complex models for effective community engagement. The CCCE will draw on the best of these regional, national and international models as well as Littleglobe's experience with its many community projects. The CCCE is part of a larger vision supported by the New Mexico-based McCune Charitable Trust. Institutional partners include the University of New Mexico (UNM), the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIAI) and the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC).

On January 19-20, 2013, Littleglobe and the Santa Fe Art Institute presented a two-day hands on intensive exploring best practices in planning and leading community engagement through creative and artistic practices. This workshop consisted of 36 artists and cultural workers from New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California who studied the theory and practice that underlies meaningful and successful projects. Working in an ensemble format, participants explored how to facilitate and practice creative engagement work that builds individual and community capacity. It was a remarkable gathering, and a great opportunity to share good practices in this work, to provide support for this now growing network of community engagement folks, and to hold a space to ask the questions about this work. It was as profound for the facilitation team as it was for the participants. This workshop was co-facilitated by two core members of Littleglobe's artistic team, co-founders Molly Sturges and Chris Jonas as well as Daniel Banks of DNA Works (NYC and Santa Fe) and Logan Phillips of Dirty Verbs (Tucson, AZ) Quotes from intensive participants: "When we operate independently, it is difficult to self-edit or self-evaluate. Littleglobe created a venue to share project ideas, learn, and be inspired from others' successes. Feedback and critique injected new meaning and provided helpful direction." "I realized many more ways of enabling, empowering, and creating connections with others through some the exercises and activities we did as a group. I also feel more supported in my own work, having had the chance to spend time alongside other people with similar values and projects/plans. It's validating and encouraging to have that camaraderie in a unique line of work." "Being part of a loving and caring group of people/activists for two days brought me a renewed sense of purpose, meaning and vitality, for which i am very grateful." "…A weekend full of priceless lessons in creative collaboration techniques, and an opportunity to reflect on the value of my work and whether or not it was true to my authentic self." "…A space to feel our strengths and our weaknesses, to renew and refine our vision and our work, to meet new allies and collaborators, and to support and challenge ourselves and each other, by listening and expressing and playing." "…There is a way to work in the world that is both creative and engaging, listening and expressing, supporting ourselves and also changing our world in some way - that this is also a way of being in our lives, and not being isolated in this work, being part of something larger and staying connected over time and building on each other's talents and skills." VIDEO BY Sara Schultz Made possible by the McCune Charitable Foundation, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe University of Art and Design, Littleglobe's Center for Creative Community Engagement