Our weekly 1-hour sessions are largely hybrid, both in-person and online to help connect our artists and community builders. Join us at most Tuesday evenings at 6 PM at 117 Church Avenue, SW, or online here.
2025: COMING SOON
January 7: 2025 Public Sculpture Calls
We’re kicking of the new year on January 7 at 6 PM with a conversation on two current calls for sculpture.
1. Wasena Rebar Redux – www.roanokearts.org/redux
2. Elmwood Art Walk – Larger than Life – www.roanokearts.org/artwalk25
January 14, 6 PM – Daisy Activation Team
In January we’ll return with public zoom conversations of the Daisy Activation Team on January 14.
The following winter and spring schedule leads us to the May 10 Daisy Art Parade. Lead artist Brian Counihan will lead the sessions catching us up on a multifaceted project that serves as our leading engagement tool this year.
DAISY ACTIVATION TEAM Public Zoom Meetings:
January 14
February 11
March 11
April 1
April 29
January 18 – Tentative – 830 Moorman Avenue – Hunton Lifesaving Crew Mural Celebration
January 21, 6 PM – The Tinker Creek Project – Join us in the very early stages of our Tinker Creek public art project, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and the City’s newest stretch of greenway. Together, we’ll read the book; hear from guides (close readers who have spent time with the text); and explore potential public art projects.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was published by Harper’s Magazine Press in 1974, winning the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction). We’ll have online discussions and get out on some visits to the site from the 13th Street NE trailhead to Mason Mill Park. Join us as celebrate the role of the natural world in teaching us to see, exploring together how we might pass along the works sense of curiosity and wonder.
Learn more about the project’s inception in this Cardinal News article.
January 28, 6 PM – The 2025 Arts and Cultural Planning Process
RAC Planning Chair John Cornthwait will lead us in an exploration of the emerging strategy to get a big picture on arts and cultural investments and strategies that can take us into the next decade.
Feb 11
Mar 11
April 1
and
April 29
February 4
Feburary 11 – Catch up with the Daisy Art Activation Team
February 18
February 25
March 4
March 11 – Catch up with the Daisy Art Activation Team
March 18
March 25
April 1 – Catch up with the Daisy Art Activation Team
April 8
April 15
April 22
April 29 – Catch up with the Daisy Art Activation Team
May 3
May 10 Daisy Art Parade!!!
RECENT RECORDINGS
12/17/24, 7 PM
A Shared Reflection on 2024.
You’ve done a lot this year. Let’s mark progress and share our best practices for 2025.
TUESDAY, 12/10/24 at 6 PM
Daisy Art Activation Conversation
All are welcome to join the team as they continue exploring art-based neighborhood activities. Catch up in the video below: https://youtu.be/GvD8rL5XwL0
11/12/24
Emerging Neighborhood Vision Report and Main Street Strategy
With Mandy Cribb, City of Roanoke Economic Development
– Emerging Neighborhood Vision Report (2022)
– Gainsboro Vision Report (2022)
– Conversation Video
– Virginia Main Street
10/15/24
From the Round Table: Small Business and artist support strategies
with Artist in Residence Katherine Devine and Tom Tanner from the Roanoke Small Business Development Center
Meeting Video
ARCHIVE
Our 2024 Sessions
January 9th – Sharing Our Values
Video
Notes with updates & links
JAN 23, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday: Artspace
Video
Notes with updates & links
JAN 24, 6 PM – FREE BUZZ Arts Connect Neighbors Watch Party, at the Grandin, celebrating Anstey Hodge
JAN 30, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday The Roanoke Cultural Endowment (hybrid – online & 117 Church Ave.)
Video
Notes
FEB 6, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday Connecting Neighborhoods
Video
FEB 13, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday The Daisy Art Parade
What to expect in the 2024 Daisy Art Parade (video)
2024 Presentation Slides
What Daisy Art Preparations Look Like (Studio Video)
Introductory Studio Video from 2023 Meeting
Daisy Art Parade Registration
FEB 27, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday: Healthy Homes in Strong Neighborhoods (video)
Contact: Katie.kennedy@roanokeva.gov
Website
MAR 5, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday – Strengthening Roanoke’s identity through the Arts, Guests: Sunny Nelson, Taubman Museum of Art & Aaron Kelderhouse, Jefferson Center (Video)
MAR 12, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday Book Club – Making Change: Teaching Artists andTheir Role in Shaping a Better World – Emphasis: Part One: Pages 1 – 39. (Video)
MAR 18, 6 PM – Gallery Talk for It’s Here: The Arts,Entrepreneurship + Placemaking in Roanoke, VA.
215 Church Ave. SW
MAR 19, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday Book Club with guest, author Eric Booth: Making Change: Teaching Artists and Their Role in Shaping a Better World
MAR 26, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday Book Club – Making Change: Teaching Artists and Their Role in Shaping a Better World – Wrap-up conversation (Video)
APR. 2, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday – The upcoming Lansdowne Street Mural! (hybrid – online & 117Church Ave.) (Video)
APR 16 – Arts Connect Tuesday Stories of Love & Joy – Share your Daisy Art Parade experiences (Video)
APR 23, 7 PM – Kegley Lecture Series – Exploring Roanoke’s African American History
APR 30, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday – Healers of the H.O.O.D.: Using radical healing to transform our community. Antonio Stovall guides us in a presentation and conversation on the role of the arts in community healing and transformation. Video here
MAY 6, 6 PM – Setting up Your Arts-Based Business, Grandin Co-Lab, in person, no video
MAY 7, 7 PM – Arts Connect Tuesday – Project Updates! (hybrid–online & 117 ChurchAve.) Video
MAY 14,- Arts Connect Tuesday – Video
MAY 21, – Arts Connect Tuesday – Teaching Artistry for Social Practice & Updates Video
MAY – Consider joining Roanoke artists as we explore the online course from the International Teaching Artist Collective (ITAC), “Teaching Artistry for Social Impact.”
– Learn more about ITAC here
– Learn more about the course here
– Register for the course her
JUNE 3 – Setting up Your Arts-Based Business, Grandin Co-Lab, in person, no video
JUNE 4 – Arts Connect Tuesday – Jane Gabrielle McCadden – Video
JUNE 11 – Courthouse Youth Art Project with Heather Marshall and Judge Ferguson – Video
JUNE 17 – On Collaboration with Dr. Richard Guerrant – Video
JUNE 24 – In person at Dumas Center: 6:30, Roanoke Public Libraries event
JULY 2 – Resident Artists: A look at the program with current artists – Video
JULY 9 – Arts Connect Neighbors Facilitators Video (July 16 No Session)
JULY 23 – BUSK ROANOKE! Show Notes Video
AUGUST 6 – National Night Out – No video
AUGUST 13 – Southeast Roanoke’s emerging art projects with Molly Kernan VIDEO
AUGUST 20: Thanks for celebrating our work with old and new colleagues and friends at our Mill Mountain Park Potluck.
SEPTEMBER 10 – Kick off! The big picture on the coming year + STORY CIRCLES. VIDEO
SEPTEMBER 17 – Collective Arts Presence at GO-Fest + Mural Update! VIDEO
SEPTEMBER 24 – Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge Artist Directory with Cheryl Morales VIDEO
OCTOBER 8 – The neighborhood strategy with Brian Counihan
OCTOBER 15 – From the Round Table: Small Business and artist support strategies led by Katharine Devine. VIDEO
OCTOBER 22 – Melrose Plaza neighborhood tour with Artist in Residence Robyn Mitchell (in person only)
OCTOBER 29 – Neighborhood focus – Building a Learning Community (No conversation video, but grab important documents below:
+ Mary Catherine Bateson Conversation prompt video
+ Emerging Neighborhoods past conversation
+ Emerging Neighborhoods Report
NOVEMBER 5- Election Day: No Arts Connect Tuesday
NOVEMBER 12 – Neighborhood Focus + Main Street Strategy with Mandy Cribb, City of Roanoke Economic Development: VIDEO
– Emerging Neighborhood Vision Report (2022)
– Gainsboro Vision Report (2022)
– Conversation Video
– Virginia Main Street
NOVEMBER 19 – Domestic Violence Embroidery Session
DECEMBER 10 at 6 PM – Daisy Art Activation Conversation
All are welcome to join the team as they continue exploring art-based neighborhood activities. VIDEO
DECEMBER 17, 7 PM – A Shared Reflection on 2024. You’ve done a lot this year. We mark progress and share our best practices for 2025. VIDEO
Our 2023 Sessions
(Scroll down for 2022 Trainings)
JAN 17 – 2023 Kick-off & Call Overview (online)
Project progress, calls for new projects, and an overview of our winter and spring events! Watch the video here.
JAN 24 – Eureka Park Input Session, 6:30 PM, in person
Join Artist in Residence Robyn Mitchell and the Eureka Park Redevelopment Team of Play Roanoke to hear what the community wants its new center in Eureka Park. How can art help engage residents and shorten the distance between the public and the decisions that affect them? Join us and be part of the exploration. Just show up! No registration needed. Roanoke Academy of Math and Science, 1616 19th Street NW
JAN 31 – Daisy Art Parade Artmaking Night, 7 PM at Art Rat Studios (VIDEO here)
Join Artist in Residence Brian Counihan for a hands-on introduction to the Daisy Art Parade. Connect with other artists and make art while getting a taste of what’s in store for the community with the Inaugural Daisy Art Parade on April 15! Learn more about the Daisy Art Parade and sign up for the newsletter here. Art Rat Studios, Building 10, Roanoke Industrial Center, Roanoke S.E, Roanoke, VA 24013.
FEB 4* – Building from Our Strengths Facilitation Training, (Saturday, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM)
Take advantage of this free facilitation training with a group of your YOTA colleagues. The session will help you be more confident in managing group processes related to your current projects and prepare you to respond to future community arts opportunities. Mountain View Recreation Center, 714 13th St. SW
FEB 4* – Building from Our Strengths Facilitation Training, (Saturday, 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM)
Take advantage of this free facilitation training with a group of your YOTA colleagues. The session will help you be more confident in managing group processes related to your current projects and prepare you to respond to future community arts opportunities.
FEB 7, 6 PM* – The Silver Lining in Grey Skies: Turning Challenges into Stepping Stones. The creative spirit loves to see life through the lens of curiosity, exploration, and the courage to make something new. Learn how to use these natural gifts to accept and move through times of growth and change. Hosted by Kathryn Schnabel.
FEB 15, 6 PM – Dance Español for Artists, (video)
Join Coach Pedro Szalay of an interactive look behind the scenes at Dance Español, a project the artistic director of Southwest Virginia Ballet developed to engage Roanoke 4th graders in exploring the community around them through movement and the Spanish language. Watch the video here.
FEB 21 – Municipal Building Gallery Talk: St. Lo, France, 6 PM
Join Roanoke Valley Sister Cities and our Roanoke self-portrait artists for a conversation about how art builds bridges around the world and in our city. There will be more sessions in subsequent months on the third Monday of each Month. We meet in the lobby of 215 Church Ave. SW. Self-portrait artists: sign up to talk about your work here.
FEB 28* – Local Food, Local Art, watch the video here.
Join YOTA Coach, Katie Trozzo, and Maureen (Mo) McGonagle of LEAP (Local Environmental Agricultural Program), both on the leadership team of the Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN), to hear about the RFN and the intersections of art and food in our community. This conversation will feature a number of YOTA artists already working in this area and upcoming opportunities for artists to engage in work that supports food systems in Roanoke.
MAR 7 – Art and the Neighborhood: Activating emerging centers – VIDEO
In December, City Council approved the Emerging Neighborhood Centers Vision Report. This spring we’ll stick our toes in the waters of this study and its recommendations. Guided by Artist in Residence Polly Branch and Assistant to the City Manager Wayne Leftwich, we take a look at what’s ahead and how art can play a role in getting things started. Watch the conversation here.
MAR 14* – Finding Agreement: Decision-Making Processes for Greater Success, 6 – 7:30 PM. Learn simple facilitation techniques that ensure all voices are heard and that decisions reflect the needs of those most affected by your work. We’ll explore the what, why, when, and how of participatory decision-making process and will provide an opportunity to practice during the session. YOTA coach and Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN) leadership team member, Katie Trozzo, will lead this workshop open to both the YOTA and RFN communities. Katie learned participatory decision-making approaches through her graduate work at Virginia Tech and has facilitated processes with groups and networks for the last 10 years. Grandin CoLab, 1327 Grandin Road, SW,
MAR 22 – (Special this week – YOTA Wednesday!) Dance Español at Berglund Center
Following up on YOTA Coach Pedro Szalay’s (DATE TBD) presentation, we’ll join Roanoke fourth graders and their families as they take to the Berglund Center Performing Arts Theatre Stage. Don’t miss this free and powerful celebration of our youth and movement in exploring and bettering the community around us. Get ready by going behind the scenes with YOTA movement coach Pedro Szalay!
MAR 28 – Your YOTA Project in Review: Reflect on the Work, Recognize the Meaning
The session will present a process for considering the work that has gone into the project and assessing the challenges and accomplishments both personally and professionally. We’ll look at how to find meaning and value where it might be hidden, and how to use these aspects to move forward with our work. Online at 7 PM, No registration needed.
APR 4 – Make Soul Boxes with Gun Violence Artist in Residence Jane Gabrielle. Check out the new EnVision Center and learn about the national Soul Box project with Jane. She’ll offer two sessions. One at 4 PM and one at 6 PM. No registration required. Come on out to the EnVision Center at 2607 Salem Turnpike, N.W.
APR 15 – DAISY ART PARADE!!!! We’ll see you there!
APR 18 – Poetry in Place Workshop with Art Matters grantee Amanda J. McGee. Many great poems have been grounded in place. In this workshop, we will review examples of poetic works from around the world and the places that inspired them, then use our own surroundings to prompt new work. Come prepared to learn about poets such as Pablo Neruda, Mary Oliver, Li Bai, and more! Bring an image prompt or use provided images and prompts from the community to write your own verses at the end. Share them if you want! Space is limited. Register here.
APR 22 – Earth Day Movement Workshop at Gainsboro Library. 2 PM with YOTA Movement Coach Pedro Szalay. No registration necessary. Come on out to the library at 15 Patton Avenue NW.
MAY 2 – YOTA TUESDAY (online), 7 PM – What we’ve learned, where we’re headed. Join YOTA Coaches for an interactive conversation on how we’re going to measure and promote our collective work. Watch the video here.
MAY 5 – Art by Night. Learn more at the Downtown Roanoke Arts Collective.
MAY 9 – Behind the scenes with THE ARLINGTON ART TRUCK (online), 7 PM. Join guest Cynthia Connolly online for a look at Arlington’s community art resource. Click here at 7 PM.
Learn more about the Arlington Art Truck here.
MAY 13 – POETRY IN MOTION. LARK ASCENDING Deaf Accessible Ballet, 5 PM, Mill Mountain Theatre, Trinkle Stage. Get Tickets available for purchase at the Center in the Square Box Office, 540-224-1200 (Tickets for the 5/12 dress rehearsal tickets available for free for the deaf community.)
MAY 16 – *Artists, Makers, Movers & Shakers Business Start-up Roundtable. Join Katherine Devine and other members of our diverse creative community for an informal gathering to learn about resources available in the City of Roanoke to grow your small business. LEAP’s Gathering Space, 6-7:30 PM, 1027 Patterson Ave. Register Here*
MAY 23 – YOTA Greenway Walk and Ice Cream Break, 6:30 PM, Hang Ten, 805 Winona Ave. SW. Fun, casual connection time out of doors with frozen treats!
MAY 27- 3-D Printing Workshop with John Woodrum, Williamson Road Library, 1-3 PM, no registration necessary. 3837 Williamson Road NW Roanoke, Virginia 24012.
2022 ARCHIVES
WINTER 2022 Sessions
Jan. 25 – YOTA 1: Kickoff – Program Overview
Feb. 1 – YOTA 2: Artists at the Table and in the Community
Feb. 8 – YOTA 3: The Artist as Leader
Feb. 15 – YOTA 4: Partnerships & Collaborations
Feb. 22 – YOTA 5: Building on Assets & Resources
Mar. 1 – YOTA 6: Creativity and Well-being
Mar. 8 – YOTA 7: Artist in Residence Opportunities
Mar. 15 – YOTA 8: Artist in Residence Opportunities 2
Spring 2022 Book Discussion
April 11 – May 9 – Designing Creative Communities (Notes here)
2022 ARCHIVES CONTINUED
Session 1, June 7 – Artist Groundwork from HANDBOOK section one
Session 2, June 14 – Artist Groundwork from HANDBOOK section one
Session 3, June 21 – Community Groundwork from HANDBOOK section two
SEP 13 – Intro to Coaches & Resources (Video)
SEP 20 – Art Matters Projects (Video) – an introduction to a number of Art Matters grantees and projects
SEP 27 – Project Scoping & Planning (Video) – Getting started on creating community change! We dig into some of the basics of planning your project to advance our community.
OCT 4 – Building a Budget (Video) – Your #1 planning and management tool.
OCT 11 – From Artist to Business Owner (In person, video not available)
OCT 18 – Hosting Effective Meetings as Community Artists (Video)
OCT 25 – Expanding Your Work as an Artist & Collaborator (In person, video not available)
NOV 1 – Coaches’ Call 1 – (Video)
NOV 8 – Art as Creative Problem Solving – (Video)
NOV 22 – Meet the Artists in Residence – (Video)
NOV 29 – Art to Business: Steps to Opening up Shop in Roanoke* – (In Person, no video)
DEC 6 – Art Matters Q&A – (video) –
DEC 13 – YOTA Winter Social – (In person, video not available)
Register here to show your interest, and we’ll make sure to include you as we build our cadre of community artists. The Year of the Artist is funded by the City of Roanoke and the National Endowment for the Arts.
