Studios at The Annual Meeting: Community + Artist = Partnership

I have been involved with ROOTS since 1992. But for the first few years of my involvement, it was as what has been termed a ‘drive-by’ involvement. That is, I came to the Annual Meeting for one purpose only—to perform as part of Several Dancers Core—and then returned to my non-ROOTS existence. Eventually, I found myself more and more curious about what else happened at the Annual Meeting beyond performances with facilitated feedback. When I finally took the ‘leap of faith’ and plunged into attending a full Annual Meeting in 1997, I began to hear about this mysterious program called C/APP. ROOTS’ Annual Meeting and Artists’ Retreat is an opportunity to reconnect, share and recharge. And as a community of cultural workers, we are interested in discovering and celebrating stories and experiences. This year, we are excited about embracing C/APP in all its glories. As ROOTS approaches the beginning of our new strategic direction, informed by the strategic plan developed over the past 9 months, ROOTS members will get a close-up look at (and first-hand experience with) the very centerpiece of the strategic initiative: The Community/Artist Partnership Program (C/APP). As Bob Leonard and Kenneth Raphael wrote 20 years ago when C/APP was formulated: C/APP is a major political/artistic action that provides ROOTS with the opportunity to put into practice its mission of art and artists serving in the community. Through C/APP, ROOTS is able to identify specific places, people and groups with whom to collaborate, explore and develop the practices of art as a community expression. Through C/APP, ROOTS is able to examine the dynamics, mechanics, and necessities of artist/community partnerships. Through C/APP, ROOTS is able to document and share a variety of practical methodologies for artists and community groups to use in their own framework, in their own home. To that end, the studios at the 2012 Annual Meeting will support this vision by, in effect, serving as mini-C/APP projects. Two lead artists have been selected to serve as the principal ‘artists’ (facilitators) for two concurrent projects that will take place throughout the duration of the Annual Meeting: Ebony Golden and Jeff Mather. These two artists will serve as the “Artists” in the “Community/Artist” paradigm, and will be joined by a team of additional artists to bring a variety of disciplinary perspectives to the projects. The “Community”, then, will be the body attending the Annual Meeting, including members and those who are not members. So now is the time to begin your journey to the Annual Meeting. Over the next 8 weeks in the time leading up to the Annual Meeting, you will have the opportunity to respond to questions and to probe within to find your place within the ROOTS community. And, there will be multiple opportunities to discover and learn best practices as a member of a community as well as skill sets that we can bring as artists in this type of partnership. The results of these projects will be shared on Saturday evening. What form will they take? How long will they last? Where will they happen? How will they happen? These questions will be answered by the projects, themselves. Studio Coordinator, D. Patton White