SKETCH’s founding Directors Rudy Ruttimann and Phyllis Novak share their top 10 challenges and celebrations of running a community arts organization for the last 25 years.
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Our Studios at 180 Shaw Street before our build in 2014
CHALLENGES
- Embedded realities of patriarchal, colonial, heteronormative, white supremacist, and capitalist ideologies and practices in the charitable system.
- Limiting beliefs, stigma and homogenized/generalized views of young people who navigate the margins
- Moving forward with ideas even if you don’t have all the information or resources you need; Balancing risk;
- Working with constant cycles of insufficient/limited resources – trying to do an ongoing work with short term funding;
- Communications – clarity; honouring many languages and truths; dialogue and interactions – constant
- Remaining calm in periods of turbulence; keeping your centre; your ‘why’; taking care of yourself
- Learning that we don’t have control; and that control is not what we should be trying to have; don’t try to ‘manage’ the creativity
- Confronting reality – problems are only dealt with if you face the facts; embracing failure and mistakes
- Making decisions – gathering all the info you need; understanding the full picture; exploring possibilities; taking a leap/lead in charting a direction – sometimes into the complete unknown
- Saying what needs to be said – telling the truth regardless
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Community Dancing with UNITY Charity at our 20th Anniversary Celebration in 2016
CELEBRATIONS
- The sheer ART of it all! All the CREATIVITY! Diversity of expression;
- Endless imagination and entrepreneurship; untapped possibilities
- Real strategies, intentions and strong concepts for building inclusive, just and healthy futures
- Place-making for shared stories, ideas, perspectives, dreams, successes and learnings;
- Building together – Collaborative creative community building;
- Learning from mistakes – getting stronger in leadership; growing; continuous curiosity
- Taking risks – and having it be absolutely worth it;
- Hearing from people that they experience support from you or learn with you;
- Spaces and People – so many people came together to make this happen
- So much serendipity!
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