ALA’s Civic Imagination Stations Pilot Cohort Announced

CHICAGO — The American Library Association announces twelve artists and library staff teams selected for the pilot cohort for ALA’s Civic Imagination Stations, supported by The Estée Lauder Companies WRITING CHANGE initiative. WRITING CHANGE is a three-year global, literacy initiative in partnership with Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, award-winning writer, and Estée Lauder Global Changemaker. Libraries will partner with local artists to implement arts programming that builds literacy and digital skills. Teams were selected from a national application process conducted in June and July 2022.

From August 2022 to March 2023, the cohort will participate together in workshops and coaching led by Civic Imagination Stations Lead Artists: Willa J. Taylor, Goodman Theatre’s Walter Director of Education and Engagement; and Michael Rohd, founding Artistic Director of Sojourn Theatre and Co-founder of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice. Civic Imagination Station cohort teams will culminate their work with the development and implementation of short-term original arts-based projects. In addition, the Civic Imagination Stations program will model processes by which other librarian/artist partnerships can work together to create locally appropriate and meaningful civic imagination projects.

“Libraries and artists are natural partners and have much to gain and learn from each other,” said ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall. “I envision making library collections and services more visible to our communities as one of the key outcomes of this project. This initiative also seeks to direct the ingenuity of artists, librarians, and library staff on the issue of bridging the digital literacy divide which this current pandemic has starkly exposed.”

ALA’s Civic Imagination Stations Pilot Cohort includes:

Bowdoinham Public Library

Bowdoinham, ME

Dana Legawiec (Artist Co-Lead)

With Kate Cutko (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Brandon Free Public Library

Brandon, VT

John Brodowski & Ethan Nelson (Artist Co-Leads)

With CT (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Burnsville Public Library

Burnsville, WV

Quincy Potasnik (Artist Co-Lead)

With Elizabeth “Beth” Anderson (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Chicago Public Library Thurgood Marshall Branch

Chicago, IL

Mo Phillips-Spotts (Artist Co-Lead)

With Lina Armstrong (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library

Vermillion, SD

Sandra Kern Mollman (Artist Co-Lead)

With Amanda Raiche (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Fayetteville Public Library

Fayetteville, AR

Jasper Logan (Artist Co-Lead)

With Melissa Taylor (Library Staff Co-Lead)

IU Libraries

Neal Marshall Black Culture Center Library & Herman B Wells Library

Bloomington, IN

Dr. Maria E. Hamilton Abegunde (Artist Co-Lead)

With DeLoice Holliday & Willa Tavernier (Library Staff Co-Leads

Memphis Public Libraries Cossitt Branch

Memphis, TN

Lex Phillips (Artist Co-Lead)

With Emily Marks (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Library and Learning Commons, Mount Mary University

Milwaukee, WI

Kelly Saunders (Artist Co-Lead)

With Daniel Vinson (Library Staff Co-Lead)

The People’s Library

Fox, AR

Olivia Trimble (Artist Co-Lead)

With Rachel Reynolds (Library Staff Co-Lead)

St. Louis Public Library

St Louis, MO

Joan Lipkin (Artist Co-Lead)

With Lisa Thorp (Library Staff Co-Lead)

Thomas Memorial Library

Cape Elizabeth, ME

Marie Ahearn (Artist Co-Lead)

With Rachel Davis (Library Staff Co-Lead)

About the American Library Association

ALA is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, ALA has been the trusted voice of libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org.

About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD BEAUTY, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, and the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD.