The importance of strengthening our communities has never been more collectively emphasized. Everyone is talking about it. As an artist, this seems like the #1 piece of advice to make it through these times: lean on your creative community.
Okay, cool! But how does one actually build one?
To get to the bottom of this, we inquired within our brilliant staff of artists, performers, and makers to share what they've learned about finding and building their creative communities over time. Here are their reflections!
🤯 the “aha!” moment
We first asked our staff about a moment, person, or place that first made them feel like part of a creative community.
Emily Kasak, who has worked for years in the film industry, felt it in Liverpool. "The arts and culture community doesn't just exist. It's built, collectively, from the ground up," she writes. "The city has a long history of turning hardship into creativity, transforming empty buildings and forgotten industrial spaces into studios, venues, and galleries that belong to the people who make them." What stayed with her from her time there was the quality of what people made: together!
For one anonymous contributor, the moment was quieter. In an acting class led by a Latino coach, mid-audition, he stopped them. "'I know why you are doing that’” he said. “‘You don't have to do that here.'" It was, they write, "the first time that I felt truly SEEN by a teacher."
Yz Jasa, a theatre maker who currently works with The Public Theater in New York, traces their community back to a series of small leaps of faith. At an audition for a Shakespeare company, an older fellow Asian actor spotted that they were just starting out. "He gave me his contact information and encouraged me to connect with him in the future." Over coffee, that mentor spent hours walking Yz through the landscape of their field: people to know, events to attend, and doors to knock on. "This mentor helped me connect with people that I still work with and have given me jobs and opportunities to this day."
Then there's A., a dancer and multimedia artist, who noticed a shift at a pole showcase after more than a year of showing up to the studio alone. "I knew and recognized so many people that were both performing and were in the audience. It truly felt like I was seeing the seeds of community that I had planted so long ago start to bloom."
For an anonymous musician who came up in New York's live music scene, the moment was a similar slow accumulation of familiarity. "I would start recognizing faces at shows, in the audience, backstage, and behind the soundboards. I started to realize people knew my name, and I knew theirs." Community, they learned, "is the entire infrastructure of the musical world."
🫧 what actually works is annoyingly simple
"Showing up!" said Abby Frank Taylor, who makes work across dance and visual art. "Attending events, taking classes, reaching out when you see someone's work that you appreciate." Madeleine Cutrona, multidisciplinary visual artist, agrees. "Showing up, attending workshops, events, supporting other artists when they share their work. I'm also a big fan of inviting others to collaborate on projects." Even more simply put, “do the things you like!”
A. has a practical tip for those just starting! Don't wait to be approached. "Don't be afraid to be the first person to strike up a conversation, whether that's a cold DM to an IG artist mutual or being the one to strike up a conversation with a stranger at a workshop. People are much more open than you think and are likely waiting for someone to create that opening."
Brandi Ude, longtime theatre professional and all-around artist had success with “finding spaces that already exist that align with my beliefs, goals, and interests. I recently found a local arts collaborative that holds classes in their studio for intro to different art forms. These classes are masks-required and the org also hosts events & fundraisers for social causes.”
And, as a cheat code, host a gathering. The musician put it this way: "Don't sweat the details. Throw out a bowl of chips, light a candle, throw a blanket on the ground and ask people what they really think about their work, their spark, their sorrow."
🙊 mistakes! must! be! made!
Almost everyone admitted to their fair share of challenges.
Theatre artist Amelia Bethel, who found her community through an experimental performance ensemble in Chicago, describes closing herself off too soon. "I used to feel that I had failed if I was not best friends with people by week two of working together. But relationships take time to build, and that is okay." A. had the same instinct. "Trying to rush relationships and closeness! Let yourself enjoy the present moment and the process."
Abby described a mental trap to stay aware of…performing confidence instead of being present. "I would often be so worried about how I was 'performing' amongst other creatives that I would exclude myself from a community waiting for me." What changed it was seeking out people she could learn alongside, be a beginner around, ask questions, try things, and collectively fail. "Being in community in that way feels like a creative practice in and of itself."
One anonymous contributor put it simply: "I have been the culprit of taking things too seriously sometimes. So not following my own advice, haha."
There were also some other, harder-learned lessons. One from the musician "I've mistaken someone just wanting something from me for genuine interest in friendship."
Lastly, an important reminder from Brandi is that “even if you love being part of a creative community, it can still burn you out. Remember to take care of yourself — dying for your art is overrated.”
🌳 what they'd tell you now
“Take the Alysa Liu road. Do it for the experience, not the result.” — Emily
"Lead with joy! Start small. Perhaps it's just a couple of your buddies meeting once a month to share work. Let it evolve with the group that participates." — Anonymous
"Be curious and don't box yourself into one creative lane. Some of my strongest, most fulfilling creative relationships are with folks in different career stages than me, different creative disciplines. I learn so much about my own practices by learning from other disciplines." — Abby
"Put yourself out there! Say you are interested in working with the people you want to work with. Be the type of person you would like to work with. You always have permission to be great at what you do." — Yz
“Don't stop reaching out to people! Go to that show or that party even when you'd rather stay at home! Don't stress if your community looks different than someone else's!" - Amelia
"Remember that your community will continue evolving and changing for the rest of your life. I used to put this strange pressure on myself to 'find my community' as if I would one day cross the community finish line and be done with building community. Once I realized that there is no finish line, I was able to build relationships with so much more ease." — A.
🦬 parting wisdom
Last but never least, we asked for the best piece of wisdom people had received about building a creative community.
Madeleine’s mentor shared with her that “being part of a creative community is part of being an artist.”
Abby’s dance mentor, Toni Pierce-Sands, would say before every performance: "Nothing to prove, only to share." Abby carries those words with her. "We are all out here trying to do our work and make art against all odds. What a gift we get to share that with each other."
Yz's mentor told them to always reach back out, even after years. "Many people will remember you and are willing to help you out in some capacity. People love hearing about how they've impacted your artistic life in a positive way and want to know that you're doing well."
From A., "Listen to and trust your gut. You won't like everyone and not everyone will like you, and that's okay."
Keep the advice coming in the comments! We’d love to hear from you. What are your best recommendations for building creative community?
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Contributors to this piece were Abby Frank Taylor (@aft.makesthings / communicationmadison.com), Emily Kasak, Madeleine Cutrona (@fitsandstartsproject), Yz Jasa (Public Theater: Henry VI), Brandi, Amelia Bethel (NY Neo-Futurists), and several other artists who preferred to share anonymously. Thank you to all who responded!
For a full database of everyone’s anonymized responses, take a gander at this page.