It may still be summer, but fall's around the corner and we have exciting news here at Fractured Atlas. The entire team will be convening in the Twin Cities — Minneapolis and Saint Paul — from Monday, September 23rd to Friday, September 27th. It will be the first time many staff members meet each other in person, and there's a fun public event in the works, too. Give this interview a read (or listen!) to get the full scoop.
Vicky Blume: I'm here with Alberto, Chanel, Nico, and Theresa. Would you all mind introducing yourselves briefly?
Theresa Hubbard: I'm Theresa Hubbard. I use she/her pronouns and I’m the CEO here at Fractured Atlas. Calling in from Brooklyn, New York.
Alberto Mejia: Hi, I'm Alberto Mejia. I use he/him pronouns. I'm the COO at Fractured Atlas and am calling in from Austin, Texas.
Chanel Blanchett: Hi, I'm Chanel Blanchett. I use she/her pronouns and am a People Operations Specialist at FA. I'm calling in from Pennsylvania, which I believe is traditionally Lenapehoking land. I am excited to be here.
Nico Carpenter: I am Nico Carpenter. I use he/they pronouns, am Director of People Operations, and am joining from Minneapolis.
VB: Thank you all for being here. We're going to talk about this thing called All Hands. To get us started, could someone share what All Hands is?
CB: I’d love to. All Hands is Fractured Atlas’s annual retreat, a time for the entire staff to spend time together and get grounded in what we want to accomplish, what we're dreaming of, and how we want to collaborate together in the coming year. Every year, we set All Hands goals and outcomes that we want to unite the staff around. It's a chance for us to meet in person and get to work together in a way that's different in the way that we do virtually every day. This year is a little special because it’s the first in person All Hands since the pandemic. And we have lots of new staff members who’ve joined since then, so it'll be a fun chance for us to reacquaint ourselves with one other and with Fractured Atlas.
NC: And to give a little overview of what All Hands has been, what it's born from: a number of years ago, Fractured Atlas was a hybrid organization. We started doing an event every year called OkTECHberfest. It happened in October, obviously, and was a time for the full team to gather in person. A few years later, the event was moved to March, which prompted some renaming ideas. There was a proposal to call it MarTECHberfest Madness, for example. But after some wise reflection, we decided to change it to All Hands. In years past, it was either fully virtual or fully in-person. So this will be our first hybrid All Hands, which is exciting. We always wanted to travel, but we don't want to force people to travel if they couldn't do that. So we wanted to make sure that there was some option for everyone to participate without having to travel. This is also the first time that it's happening in a city other than New York!
VB: Thanks, Chanel and Nico. It sounds like an exciting combination of new things. Part of understanding our role in the sector also includes this idea of “rooting in place.” It's something we can do especially well when we travel to a place and connect to its local arts ecosystem. Could you all speak to some of the different ways we are connecting with the Twin Cities arts ecosystem this year?
TH: We've thought of a few different ways to connect with the Twin Cities arts ecosystem, including being hosted by our peer organization Springboard for the Arts, which has headquarters in Saint Paul. We're also going to co-host a public event with them, and spend some time together learning about the work that they do and exploring some arts sector trends and movements. Another way we're connecting with the ecosystem is through outings, like carving knives at Fireweed Woodshop, and artist panels, where Twin Cities artists and makers speak to us about their work and their visions for the future. Last but not least, we’ll be immersing ourselves in everything the Twin Cities has to offer in terms of food and entertainment. Team, am I missing anything?
CB: Another cool thing about the structure of All Hands is that people will have the chance to root themselves in the Twin Cities collectively as a staff, but also individually through intentional free time. We imagine people will find ways to explore the Twin Cities, and root themselves in a unique, dynamic way that speaks to them.
VB: You all know that my head is always in the visuals, so I would add that the visual identity for All Hands will be created by a local, Twin Cities artist. We put out some feelers last month and launched an open call to find (and pay) an artist to create a 2D image for posters, t-shirts, event signage, and other marketing materials. We’re excited to announce the randomly selected artist soon, and reveal the visual identity itself. Random selection was important to us in this process, because Fractured Atlas itself is non-curatorial (meaning we don't judge the quality of your art when you apply for fiscal sponsorship). We were looking for ways to bring that energy into everything we do, not just fiscal sponsorship.
NC: The other venue we’re using, Open Book, is also special. We needed a place to host our collaboration sessions and Open Book is centrally located and near a number of hotels, so it just fit. The building also has a bookstore, exhibition space, classes — I think it'll be a nice space for our little working sessions. As someone who lives in Minneapolis, I wanted to make sure that we also connected to the literal ecosystem here, since plant metaphors are big here at Fractured Atlas. So we have an optional nature walk, guided by Haleigh from Wide Eyed Outside, to learn about local plants so that we can better root in this place that we are visiting. Also, I want to go on the record: it was not my idea to have it in the Twin Cities. I was fully in support of it, but it did not originate from me.
VB: I'm glad we could give you an opportunity to go on record with that. I don't know how long you've been waiting to do that. But really, this idea of rootedness is coming through in so many different ways, whether it's food, earth, people, art. I love how much intentionality you all brought to that idea.
VB: This year also has a lot of moving pieces, compared to those fully remote years. How is your team practicing collective care and resilience when you're coordinating these new layers of travel, hybrid arrangements, and community engagement?
AM: Oh, boy. I think it starts with this group here, the folks planning it. We tried to take our time with planning it. We tried to practice our Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression commitments in how we treat each other, how we interact with the community, how we curate events and experiences so that we grow together, but also grow with the community itself. That includes elevating the aspects of the community that align with our own values and learning new things about this place where we have members and partners. Care also shows up in our intention to dream together about the future, in a way that’s responsive to the sector. Which includes learning about how Fractured Atlas currently aligns with solidarity economy principles. Where are we strong in that? Where can we improve? Where could we lean in, to better serve our members, the sector at large, and each other? So I think it's a combination of past, present and future that we're trying to capture.
VB: I've also been impressed with how that idea of collective care shows up in the most practical planning things, like COVID precautions, testing, masking. Just making sure that we’re engaging in this work and this community in a really reciprocal and safe way. I've appreciated the care you all have poured into the planning process, from the most practical side to the most big picture and dreamy side.
AM: Yeah, similarly, we had some staff express the challenges of traveling when you have to care for people, for pets, for loved ones. It seems like a small thing, but I think these small things aggregate toward aligning with your values. Offering your employees a stipend to help subsidize the cost of caring for someone in their life or a furry one in their life. I think that helps. I think that helps people show up. That stuff is expensive. The cost of living has gone up across the board, so sometimes these small gestures of care help people feel more excited about going, or feel more invested. It’s part of what I see as our healthy and always evolving culture.
VB: From my furry family to yours, it totally counts and makes a difference.
CB: I think part of practicing collective care as a planning team also included being transparent with each other about those types of challenges. As in, something that might have been a deal breaker for me as a planning member could also be a deal breaker for someone who is not on the planning team. That honesty and transparency as a planning team has really helped us brainstorm ways to practice collective care, as things move from our internal discussions towards all staff communication.
NC: Sometimes, when you’re pouring all of that effort into other people, it’s easy to forget or deprioritize our own care as planners in the process. So I really appreciate this question, the reminder to ask, “oh, are we practicing this for ourselves, too?” But I think that we do. I think we are figuring out how to lean on each other for support and figure out how we can pull this off in a way that is also caring for ourselves and our team, along with the full organization.
TH: I have to add, this element of care shows up in the ways we divide up the work between the four of us, and even Anastasia. There's never any judgment when you don't get something done quite by the end of the month. We're really understanding and open with one another about the things that might have gotten in the way. Or just, you know, human moments where we forget to do the thing that we said that we're going to do. It's always okay, because we know that we're committed to getting this done. We have this shared goal to put on the best in-person and hybrid experience that we possibly can.
VB: Yeah, it's really interesting to get a peek behind the curtain. As a staff member, who mostly just received the All Hands planning packet, I was like, “oh, this is so caring and thorough. How are they making this happen in a way that still feels good and human on the back end?”
VB: We're coming up on our last question here! What excites you most about this upcoming week in September, and what would a successful outcome look, feel, smell, or taste like?
TH: I can get us started on this one. I'm really excited about the conversations that we're going to have. We've had a lot of All Hands with dreaming, talking about the future, these sorts of things. But what I really appreciate about this next one is how it connects to the goals of the organization and my goals as a leader, which is to build a multi-stakeholder vision for Fractured Atlas. It's something I've been talking about for a couple of years now, and to finally have this opportunity where we can come together and have these deep, meaningful conversations and for folks to share what their dreams are for the art sector, for Fractured Atlas, for their jobs is really special, and it's really exciting to me. As far as a successful outcome, it would be people on our staff knowing their voices have been heard. A successful outcome would feel comfortable and generous and giving. Those are some feelings that I am really looking forward to experiencing, particularly since I haven't met all of our staff members in person yet.
CB: What excites me the most about All Hands is the opportunity to get to know people that I work with outside of the confines of the Zoom boxes. Getting to experience the ways in which people are more three dimensional, both literally and figuratively. I think Fractured Atlas staff really excels at creating connections across the digital space but I think there is something about the potential of getting to know people in a different capacity, both in person and in a hybrid fashion. I think the fact that the schedule is different from our day to day work schedule is exciting enough to draw out different parts of people's personalities. That'll be really lovely to witness. I can only think of that “successful outcome” question in nerdy theater person terms. When I am directing, I always begin and end each rehearsal with a unison breath to both ground people in the space, and then also help them release the space and go about their day. For me, a successful All Hands would feel like that. Especially in its hybrid nature, I hope people who are joining virtually and people who are joining in person are catching the same vibe and both enter into and leave all hands feeling like they had a good experience and were able to share meaningful time and space.
AM: I'm going to bust out three words that resonated with me for this question. My ideal outcome would be that people feel acknowledged in their roles and contribution, that they feel informed about where we've been, where we are, where we're going, and that they're inspired to be a part of that. Those are my three words: acknowledged, informed, and inspired.
VB: That could be on a t-shirt!
NC: “To be known” could get thrown in there, too. Personally, I'm really excited to share the Twin Cities with my coworkers. There’s definitely some fear of being perceived, but I'm excited for the events we’ve planned, for people to get to see the Mississippi River and some of the plants and critters. As far as a successful outcome, I totally agree with what everyone else has already said. There is definitely something about being in person that has a different energy. Don’t get me wrong, I love being in the Zoom boxes, I love working from home, but there is something about being in space together, and I am really excited to see what happens with that. Even the people who cannot be there, it excites me to figure out how we can bring that energy back to our day-to-day work when we're not in space or place together. Are there things that we can learn and do together during All Hands, that we can then bring back to our day-to-day work?
VB: Ditto to everything that's been said. As someone who identifies as, like, very nosy, I’m just curious how people take their coffee, their mannerisms when they think no one's looking at them —
NC: People's heights!
CB: Fractured Atlas teams have had in-person retreats, once it was safe to do so, but not all staff. So much of the share-out from those smaller team retreats is like, “so-and-so is so tall,” or “so-and-so is shorter than I thought they would be,” which is something I never thought about being such a shocker before working here.
AM: Something that also occurred to me, that excites me, is the indigeneity of the place and the indigenous excellence that comes out of Minnesota. This incredible brilliance, in terms of organizing, civic influence, and national impact. And an incredible artistic culture, a culture of activism and civic engagement and political movement. Personally, being a hip hop fan, Rhymesayers and Doomtree come to mind. There's an ethos of participation and “do it yourself.” Interdependence that is part of the culture. Even the hip hop community seems to be super civically involved there, you know?
VB: The last thing that it always comes back to for me — it’s almost a given — is getting to meet our members who live and work in the region. Whenever I've had the chance to meet Fractured Atlas members in person, it's really, really grounding and a great reminder of why we do the work and the impact it has. It’s this shining light. So I'm excited to send out the invites, and just get to party with people that we’ve called, emailed, worked with — people who've gotten the funding they need to make creative work in part thanks to the people on staff here. I’m so stoked for that part.
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