Defining community arts is when you explore new artistic strategies through community dialogue, social activism, and partnerships with outside agencies such as: public/private schools, city/county cultural facilities, nonprofit/for profit agencies, and civic institutions. The community artist is “civically engaged” through partnerships in the understanding and celebration of cultural diversity, socioeconomic concerns, conflict resolution, celebration of past histories, current events that help shape individual communities, and hopes for a productive and sustainable future. These relationships promote a positive outlet for artistic expression, community dialogue, access to social services, reduction of negative behavior, and life-skill exercises in and through the arts. During a core group workshop, I will work closely with students and classroom teachers to discuss issues related to their community. The outcome of these ‘shared experiences’ will lead to a community mural and/or site-specific project that will encompass relationship building for all those involved. This relationship building not only promotes a positive outlet for artistic expression but cross-cultural and community relations among students, classroom teachers, and community members at-large.

Please listen to a recent interview concerning one of my community mural projects in South Dakota at:

http://listen.sdpb.org/post/high-school-mural-class-creates-community-art

Tracy was raised in Japan, Germany, Holland, and throughout the United States. In the early 1990s, Tracy emerged as a community artist primarily working on large-scale murals, creative placemaking, and creative intervention projects; which he has organized and completed throughout the United States. Tracy is also an interdisciplinary artist, national teaching artist, and an award-winning cultural arts programmer with his New Directions Youth Arts program winning the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in 2010. Tracy has collaborated and consulted with artist teams, schools, state, city and nonprofit arts organizations and correctional facilities throughout the United States. Tracy is a roster teaching artist for the State Art Councils of: Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. He is also a roster teaching artist for Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Costa Mesa and Lifetime Arts Inc. in New York.