Small is Beautiful: Creative Placemaking in Rural Communities
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SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: CREATIVE PLACEMAKING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
How does creative placemaking unfold in rural contexts? In this article for GIA Reader, Anne Gadwa Nicodemus explores the topic through the lens of four case studies. In Bakersville, North Carolina, community leaders adopted a regional peer-to-peer learning network to better leverage craft as an industry and physically revitalize their town. In Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, the Penn Center preserves and shares the area’s unique Gullah Geechee heritage, drawing over twenty thousand tourists annually. In New York Mills, Minnesota, a town found new life and relevance as a regional cultural hub and home for artist residencies. In Arnaudville, Louisiana, a cadre of resident volunteers led by an artist reshaped a small town around the arts, its Cajun heritage, and Francophone language preservation.