What do you get when you place an artist in municipal government to work closely with employees, elected officials, and local artists on urgent issues like racism, immigration, gentrification, and more? The incredible work of Marty Pottenger who, for over 25 years,  has been utilizing art as tool for connection, exploration, and understanding—breaking barriers and fostering transformative dialogue around the country and specifically in the city of Portland, ME.

This month, continuing our Artists & Communities series, Marty is in conversation with Art in Praxis Director Jess Solomon, who is uses arts & culture, storytelling, and co-creation to help organizations and communities build their capacity in more intentional, strategic, and creative ways.

In their conversation, Marty and Jess touch on: the challenge of honoring artistic history while staying open to new ways of creating, the importance of listening and relationship building in all civic engagement and community-based work; the necessity of building teams among community-based artists and arts practitioners; and much more!

Read an excerpt from the conversation below and check out the full publication here.

JS:           I’ll start with the big question: what is your vision for artists working to achieve healthy, equitable, vibrant communities today—and even in the future?

I know that with Art in Praxis, our focus is on increasing impact of progressive organizations and communities. We envision a world where artists are in dialogue with these groups as provocateurs, weavers, and capacity builders. Together, they are cultivating more open and creative places to work and live. Because these conditions exist, the skills and capacities needed in those communities are able to grow. I’m also curious to know how you define “communities” because often times in our work people throw that word around a lot.

MP:        Well, I feel like we could have a whole hour conversation—and a fun one—about defining community.

In terms of my vision for artists working for healthy, equitable, vibrant communities, there’s been a seismic shift in the past 10 years of art people, and people who are involved in art-making, focusing on the ongoing challenges that exist in our communities. At first I was very skeptical when universities began starting programs in social practice and arts practice. I’m aware of the capacity that any large institution has to co-opt—certainly in education—taking things over, turning them inside out, and even making them less able to have the kind of impact that they could in the real world. But I don’t know that that’s happened. Instead, I see thousands of arts practitioners getting a chance to think with each other, learn together, and learn about work that’s come before them. They’re now thinking about where art belongs and what art does from a radically different perspective, certainly in the United States. I’m excited. It’s not a minute too soon. And I think, understandably, a fair amount of the work being made is not as sharply focused on the impacts and outcomes that are possible in that process, but I think that will come with learning. And with doing.

Marty Pottenger has worked since 2007 as the founding Director of Art at Work in the city manager’s office of Portland, ME, exploring how arts projects can deliver solutions to problems that have everything to do with relationships and nothing to do with the arts. Marty has worked with hundreds of local artists, municipal employees, elected officials, and residents—together creating more than 500 original works and engaging tens of thousands of Maine residents. Marty is currently working as a consultant to Boston, MA; Holyoke, MA; Broward County, FL; and Portland, ME.

Jess Solomon is an organization development practitioner and cultural worker with roots in Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. As the Director of Art in Praxis, Jess partners with organizations and communities to build their capacity to be more intentional, strategic, and creative. Her communities of practice include Alternate ROOTS and the U.S.Department of Arts and Culture.