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Leveraging Arts and Culture Practices to Advance Racial Justice: An Interview with Michelle Johnson from The Kresge Foundation

Sara Brenner interviewed Michelle Johnson, senior program officer with Kresge’s Arts & Culture Program, to discuss why Kresge invests in arts and culture organizations, how the foundation is supporting BIPOC leaders, and what other organizations can learn from arts and creative practices to advance racial justice.

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Equitable community planning and development embodies the culture and voices of the community and focuses on racial justice. This is a core principle of Kresge’s Arts & Culture Program that applies its Creative Placemaking approach to elevate arts, culture, and community-engaged design as central elements of community development and planning. In late 2020, The Kresge Foundation hosted a virtual event that gleaned the collective wisdom of 27 community development, arts, and culture organization leaders and provided space for connection and peer support.

Sara Brenner interviewed Michelle Johnson, senior program officer with Kresge’s Arts & Culture Program, to discuss why Kresge invests in arts and culture organizations, how the foundation is supporting BIPOC leaders, and what other organizations can learn from arts and creative practices to advance racial justice. Watch highlights from their conversation below.

About the work

Convening arts and culture organizations

Learning from arts and culture organizations, part 1

Learning from arts and culture organizations, part 2

Investing in BIPOC leaders, part 1

Investing in BIPOC leaders, part 2

Reflecting on the work

 

To read more takeaways from last year’s convening, read “Advancing Racial Justice: 5 Practices to Adopt from Arts Organizations.”

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