Resident Artist & Program Manager

Summer of 2018 - March of 2022

I was the resident artist and program manager of Creative Discoveries Studio, a military art program. This was funded through contracts with the National Endowment for the Arts as a part of their Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network learning endeavor. We were one of 11 sites from around the country to participate. You can read more about Creative Forces here.

I started as a co-resident artist in the spring of 2018 and was the sole full-time resident artist by that summer.

The goal was to build a continuum of care for military service members between clinical therapy and community art programming. I coordinated with the Creative Forces art and music therapists at the Intrepid Spirit Concussion Recovery Center on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. In addition to that continuum of care for active service members, the program was available for veterans, guardsmen, military spouses (to include widows and ex-spouses), partners, children, and/or caregivers as well.

The program started with a free weekly open studio where members could come in, create as long as they liked and enjoy being in a non-judgmental environment where they could enjoy the therapeutic benefits of creativity. Members could bring their own projects and supplies or use what we had available at the studio.

In the years I was there, I broadened the program to include virtual programming and an online community, workshops, photography walks, musical offerings via our partnered music therapist, and gallery opportunities.

Before the pandemic lockdown in the Spring of 2020, between 30 - 50 people were coming to the open studio sessions, many of them new. The workshops were consistently at or over capacity.

The in-person program was on track to outgrow the facility it was housed in. The virtual space created during lockdown had around 200 members before March of 2022.

I regularly received feedback from the members of Creative Discoveries Studio that the programming was impactful and beneficial.

Below is a brief summation of what I did while I was the resident artist and program manager.

I created and led both in-person and virtual arts engagement activities every week (open studio, live video instructions, community Zoom sessions, etc.)

I listened to and centered member feedback. This shaped all of the program’s offerings.
Created and implemented open studio best practices tailored to meet member needs.
Taught art workshops in person and virtually
Created workshop and event surveys
Authored guidebooks to accompany the workshops for members to keep
Coordinated workshops taught by program members
Managed the virtual group and all the social media accounts (comment moderation, content creation, graphic design, event scheduling, etc.)
Managed email newsletters (sign-ups, graphics, links, copy, etc.)
Managed the physical studio space
Made sure the studio was as accessible as possible given the parameters I had to work within
Coordinated the widening of studio doors to accommodate wheelchair access
Educated myself in art techniques and supplies, military cultural competency, pedagogy, trauma-informed practices, adaptive art processes, and more.
Kept informed of both local and national resources for our population (art, wellness, etc.)
Collaborated and communicated with other community engagement projects in the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network
Presented in multiple webinars including the Creative Forces Webinar Series: Community Outreach and Partnership Strategies viewable on YouTube or below.

Authored guidebooks for how to build and facilitate a community military art program for in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats
Managed the creation and distribution of creative supply kits that were distributed nationwide during the pandemic in 2021.
Authored volunteer and guest artist training guides
Implemented volunteer and guest artist training
Communicated regularly with our partnered art and music therapist from the Intrepid Spirit Concussion Recovery Center on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Collaborated with our partnered art and music therapist to create best practices for a continuum of care from clinical spaces to community arts engagement programming for in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats
Communicated regularly with the Creative Forces liaison, who was the executive director of the arts council (where the program paid facility rental to)
Was a consultant for the creation of a logic model for Creative Discoveries Studio.
Regularly led and attended meetings and took minutes for all of them
Created a presentation for the art council board of directors to educate them about the program
Coordinated an annual gallery show event featuring the creations of program members
Rebranded the program (name change, language for website, custom logo, all graphics for digital and print media, etc.)
Talked with other arts council executive directors and other community art professionals about how to start a program like Creative Discoveries Studio in their area

Volunteer work at Arts council:

2018 - March of 2022

Below is a brief summation of the work I did as a volunteer at a North Carolina Arts Council.

Photographer (documentation, events, social media, etc.)
Social media manager (events, posts, link management, videos, messaging, etc.)
Created the #KeepOnslowCreative hashtag to encourage local arts support and engagement
Maintained email marketing/newsletters (sign-ups, graphics, links, copy, etc.)
Created graphics and other media for both digital and print formats for gallery shows, events, festivals, meetings, webinars, presentations, signage, etc.
Streamlined and designed processes for art submissions and data collection
Implemented QR codes to connect gallery visitors to displaying artists and other council activities
Helped coordinate and set up events/gallery shows
Helped with area outreach events (set-up, creation of printed marketing, photography, social media, clean-up)

Communicated with the executive director about local community resources and potential community partners
Worked on the website (photography, copy, graphics, calendar, etc.)
Communicated to the executive director the need for professional website maintenance
Listed events on the local newspaper website as well as the NC Arts Council artist opportunity site.
Coordinated volunteer workdays
Created a quick fact sheet for volunteers to use when greeting council guests
Donated technology, office supplies, etc.
Funded and facilitated some building upgrades (removal of walls, widening of a door, etc.)
Documented hurricane damage and helped clean it
Cleaned, painted, and moved things in the space (when I was physically able)