Civic Imagination Stations

The Civic Imagination Stations pilot program culminated in “Civic Imagination Stations: A Process Map,” developed and written by Civic Imagination Station leadership Willa Taylor, Sara Sawicki and Michael Rohd. It is being made widely available to the ALA network, aimed at supporting libraries across the nation in developing their own librarian/artist partnership processes.

Download the Civic Imagination Stations Process Map

Civic Imagination Stations Pilot Program

The American Library Association’s Civic Imagination Station Pilot Program sought to create a national model for bridging access and opportunity divides through creative practice. It sought to expand libraries’ reach into their communities by using arts and culture activity as an entry point, and increase libraries’ visibility as a path to educational persistence, economic mobility, and civic participation. The program was generously funded by the Estée Lauder Companies WRITING CHANGE initiative. The Civic Imagination Station Pilot Program sought to create a national model for bridging access and opportunity divides through creative practice.

Twelve teams at libraries across the nation consisting of artists and library staff comprised the pilot cohort of the program. The cohort represented a diversity of artistic disciplines, locations, library types, and communities served.

The cohort began their journey together in August 2022, with workshops led by Lead Artists Willa Taylor and Michael Rohd that focused on partnership, collaboration, process-design, and public engagement. Program curriculum focused on supporting the cohort teams in successful cross-sector partnership practice as well as process-driven collaboration (as opposed to product-driven) that supports emergence, surprise, and community input. Over the course of Fall 2022-Spring 2023, each team developed and implemented a short-term project focused on building access and engagement for a specific community in their area. Along the way, the Civic Imagination leadership team, Michael Rohd, Willa Taylor, and Program Manager, Sara Sawicki, hosted additional coaching, learning sessions, and opportunities for cohort collaboration.

Download the Civic Imagination Stations Process Map