Mission
Values
Vision
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.”
- Margaret Wheatley
Photo: Ember Photography
OUR MISSION
We bring people of all ages together in projects that activate their creativity to imagine and build more just and thriving communities.
OUR VALUES
What we apply to all of our work all of the time.
Creativity
We learn by iterating; embrace failures along with successes; revise strategies as we go; and engage with and celebrate the interplay of multiple viewpoints to discover innovative solutions and delivery methods for our programs.
Belonging
We cultivate empathy and an environment of care and compassion. We ensure individuals feel accepted for who they are and the assets they bring; build connections to both purpose and people; and embrace, recognize, appreciate, and value each person.
Boldness
We act with visionary, imaginative and joyful character to fearlessly explore ways to change our collective story.
Partnering
We listen to and act with the communities we serve; build equity leadership and accountability; and ensure that individuals impacted by our work are involved in the process of designing the work.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
To support a full creative life for all, Community Engagement Lab commits to championing policies and practices of racial and cultural equity that build more just and thriving communities.
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Acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
Everyone deserves equitable access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
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We believe in the transformative power of creativity, innate in all people, and in its flexibility to be guided into activities that create lasting change.
Art and culture can build empathy, create a sense of belonging, and activate the social imagination and civic agency needed to make real change.
We believe teaching artists can help people come to know each other, to build trust and respect, to foster creative problem solving, and to change our collective story.
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our vision
We envision a New England that fully embraces the power of our collective creativity to imagine and co-create solutions that drive real change toward more just and thriving communities.
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To address today’s challenges and opportunities, our strategy will build capacity and connective tissue among committed teaching artists, young people, educators, cultural organizers, businesses, policy-makers and community leaders.
We will develop the nation’s foremost regional teaching artist network, and strengthen the skills and capacities of New England teaching artists to be community leaders and catalysts for civic change.