Community History Harvest at the Dallas West Branch Library

Residents of West Dallas are invited to join us on Saturday, April 27th at the Dallas West Branch Library from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm for a community history harvest. This will be the first event in our collaboration with the Dallas Public Library to further the digitization and oral history aspects of the Neighborhood Stories program.

Folks from across the area are invited to share photos, documents, and oral histories about their community, to be recorded and digitized for the Dallas Public Library’s public collection. Participants will also receive digital copies of their photos and documents, preserving these important artifacts for future generations to learn from.

In consideration of time, we ask that residents bring up to five artifacts to be digitized. Examples of items to bring include:

• Family or school photos

• Yearbooks

• Menus from local restaurants

• Property surveys or maps

• Church programs

We are looking forward to learning from and with the residents of West Dallas’s neighborhoods about the local history and how their communities experienced change during the Civil Rights period and beyond. The topics to be explored include the role of city planning, development, and school desegregation with the ultimate goal of understanding how historic inequities have shaped the communities we see today. The collective neighborhood history gathered from the archival event, interviews with community members, and our research about the area will culminate in an exhibition at the Dallas West Branch Library.

[bc] encourages any individuals and organizations who are interested in participating in this effort to reach out to Lizzie MacWillie, Associate Director, who will lead the project. Stay tuned for future updates on the details of this digitization event.

This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

[bc] Receives Common Heritage Grant from the NEH

We are excited to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to partner with the Dallas Public Library for a new project which will further the digitization and oral history aspects of the Neighborhood Stories program through events and exhibitions in the neighborhoods served by the Library’s Polk-Wisdom, Dallas West, and Martin Luther King Jr. Branches.

This collaboration builds off of several years of work by [bc] to collect and preserve Dallas’s local histories as they relate to changes in the physical and cultural form of the city. Through oral histories and physical artifacts like photos and documents, the project will document how these changes have had an impact on Dallas’s historic communities of color and how residents experienced cultural and demographic shifts in their neighborhoods during the Civil Rights period and beyond.

Topics to be explored include city planning, development, and school desegregation. Ultimately, [bc] hopes to advance a greater understanding of the way in which historical inequities have had a role in shaping the communities we see today. Given various efforts currently taking place across the city to better understand issues of racial equity and how future development may impact vulnerable communities, the project will leverage this momentum to engage Dallasites in a re-examination of local histories.

Project activities will begin in 2019. [bc] encourages any individuals and organizations who are interested in participating in this effort to reach out to Lizzie MacWillie, Associate Director, who will lead the project.

Stay tuned for future updates on the dates and locations of digitization events in these three locales.

This project has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

El Sonido del Agua

We are excited to share that on Saturday, January 26, buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]), La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), A Resource in Serving Equality (ARISE), the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center, and Texas Housers, with the support of UTHealth School of Public Health, UTRGV School of Medicine, and UTRGV-Cameron County will host a conjunto music celebration as part of the El Sonido del Agua project.

The celebration event will mark the live debut of six original songs that have been written through El Sonido del Agua—a multiyear initiative funded by the ArtPlace America National Creative Placemaking Fund which aims to mobilize and equip residents of the Lower Rio Grande Valley’s colonias to tackle public health issues that arise from inadequate infrastructure. The lyrics of the songs composed tell the story of what colonia residents experience—the day-to-day challenges of living in these substandard subdivisions, such as flooding and a lack of street lighting. Project partners and participants hope to utilize these songs to draw attention to inequities of place and build momentum for colonia residents’ organizing campaigns to win change for their communities.

At the event, the four musicians commissioned through the project, who have worked alongside residents over the past several months to craft lyrics, will play the corridos for a live audience. Project partner organizations will speak about the goals of the project and the suite of events that will be taking place over the next few months as part of the effort.

Bridging the Block Wrap-Up

This fall [bc]’s Bridging the Block project set out to hear from Dallasites about some of the challenges they face when trying to use the sidewalks of Downtown Dallas. Through a series of design meetings and a tour, participants identified the biggest problems hindering mobility, and workshopped design solutions. The most pressing issues singled-out included broken and narrow sidewalks, steepness of driveways, a lack of curb cuts, visibility issues, and poles or debris blocking the public.

[bc] and participants concluded that recognizing an issue can be the first step to solving it, and that people often don’t recognize something is a problem unless they have been personally impacted by it or know someone who has. This understanding framed the approach to the final installation: not only would the final product include a method to address the issues seen and discussed, it would also make it a point to highlight the issues and the various populations they alienate on a daily basis.

The final work is a kit of parts that together create different configurations of temporary “bridges” on the sidewalks of Marilla Street between City Hall and the Farmers Market - a stretch of sidewalk in such poor condition that it is extremely difficult to navigate. These “bridges” are mobile installations that raise awareness of accessibility issues in public space and celebrate creating a city accessible to everyone. To accompany the bridges, [bc] built a series of signs featuring pictographs and text that explain the challenges the ramps address. As a whole, the installation uses color, texture, and modularity to create awareness about the breadth of mobility challenges and experiences in public space.

There will be another opportunity to see the installations at the #MarillaMakeover Grand Opening on Friday, Nov. 16, 11:30 am - 2:00 pm.

The Bridging the Block project is supported by AARP and coincides with the #MarillaMakeover Project currently being led by Downtown Dallas Inc. and the City of Dallas’ Planning and Urban Design Department.

El Sonido del Agua Workshops

Alongside our partners La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), A Resource in Serving Equality (ARISE), the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center, and four selected musicians (Frutoso Villareal, Jonathan Salinas, Refugio Ortiz, and Juan Manuel Alejo) we have recently wrapped up a series of three songwriting workshops in the Alberta Meadows and Owassa Acres colonias.

In July, a workshop was held at each colonia where musicians, residents, and partner organizations came together to write corrido verses following discussions about daily life and the impact of flooding in the colonias. The workshops began a walk around the neighborhood and a Colonia Audit of Public Spaces (CAPS), where the residents recorded the physical conditions and their thoughts on spaces in the community focusing on areas related to drainage, flooding and safety. Musicians participated in the audit as well to hear about challenges and success stories within the colonias. After walking the neighborhood, the musicians performed some of their music and spoke about the corrido process and the musical elements that make a compelling corrido. Residents discussed the music performed and then began to write their own stories as corrido verses.

The second round of workshops took place in early September. During these workshops, groups worked collaboratively to write corrido lyrics, and residents shared out their writings. Musicians led conversations to explore the format of the song to be produced. At the end of September, residents, musicians, and partners re-convened to weave the writings produced through the second workshop into cohesive songs that represent the struggles of each colonia.

We are looking forward to continuing work with our partners, residents, and musicians to record the songs produced through these workshops and plan a dance celebration in the new year. Stay tuned for updates!

El Sonido del Agua is a multi-year creative placemaking project that supports the expression of local voice through music, and is supported by ArtPlace America.

Smart Growth for Dallas Decision Support Tool Launched!

We are excited to announce the launch of the Smart Growth for Dallas Interactive Decision Support Tool, produced in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, and the Texas Trees Foundation.

The Decision Support Tool can help stakeholders working across various sectors identify the areas of our city where investments in green infrastructure can have the greatest possible impact.

The Decision Support Tool has been released in conjunction with a User Guide, descriptions of the data sources used in this analysis, and PDFs of the Smart Growth for Dallas priority maps (Absorb and Protect, Connect, Cool, Equity, and Health). The site also features a Story Map, through which you can learn more about the project and the analysis results.

Visit this link to explore the full site!

Bridging the Block

This fall [bc]’s Bridging the Block project will be installing temporary “bridges” on the sidewalks of Marilla Street between City Hall and the Farmers Market. These “bridges” will be a group of mobile installations that aim to raise awareness of accessibility issues in public spaces and celebrate creating a city accessible to everyone.

We have held several community design meetings to hear from people about their experiences as a pedestrian in downtown Dallas and the ways they would approach addressing the issues at hand. The meetings set out to identify accessibility issues and have conversations about who would be impacted by these limitations. We learned from participants about the challenges of broken and narrow sidewalks, steepness of driveways, a lack of curb cuts, visibility issues, and poles or debris blocking the paths.

The conversations touched on whether minimum accessibility requirements were sufficient in addressing the needs of all. One issue identified was the challenge of navigating textured pavers found at crosswalks with a walker. Another topic of concern was safety and the small but important design decisions that could address this concern—from street lights to reflective materials that would indicate the presence of a pedestrian to oncoming traffic.

The Opening Day Lunch and Conversation will be on Friday, Nov. 2, 12:00 to 1:30 pm. You will have another opportunity to see the installations at the #MarillaMakeover project Grand Opening on Friday, Nov. 16.

The Bridging the Block project is supported by AARP and will coincide with the #MarillaMakeover project currently being led by Downtown Dallas Inc. and the City of Dallas’ Planning and Urban Design Department.

Harold Simmons Park Public Workshops

[bc] is serving as a consultant to the Trinity Park Conservancy, bringing our skill set in public interest design to engage Dallas' communities around the future of Harold Simmons Park, 200 acres along the Trinity River. Engagement efforts will focus on discovering how Dallas residents currently use parks and public space while encouraging them to re-imagine what this area could be. This understanding will inform the design of the 200 acre Harold Simmons Park.

Join us as we support the Trinity Park Conservancy in envisioning the future of the Harold Simmons Park as a public space that connects Dallas residents to each other and nature. Starting September 15th, the Conservancy will host 10 public workshops across the city to reimagine our river. For more about Harold Simmons Park, click here. Click here to RSVP to the upcoming workshops.

Smart Growth for Dallas Focus Forum Update

As we gear up for the final two Smart Growth for Dallas Focus Forum conversations on Parks and Public Space for People of All Abilities (August 9th) and Designing for Equity in Parks and Public Space (September 6th), we have been reflecting on the thoughtful conversations we’ve had had so far.

In our first panel discussion in May, moderated by Dr. Ivonne Audirac of the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), we had a compelling conversation about the issues of urban development and the impact of public space design on neighborhood vitality. Our panelists Aaron Abelson of HR&A Advisors, Brianna Brown of Texas Organizing Project, and Brent Brown of the Trinity Park Conservancy joined us at Better Block to talk about how public space design can contribute to the perpetuation of neighborhood disinvestment or be a catalyst for new development and neighborhood desirability. You can listen to the conversation online.

The second panel discussion in June was moderated by Alfreda Norman, Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where we discussed the issues of race and ethnicity in public space design. Our panelists Bobby Abtahi, President of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board, Isaac Cohen, a Landscape Architect at Studio Outside, Delia Jasso, former District 1 Council Member, and Yui Iwase, New Roots Coordinator at the International Rescue Committee joined us at the Dallas Black Dance Theater to talk about how a city with a long history of segregation might approach current and future public space design in a way that supports equity and access to public space for all of its residents. You can learn about the history of Dallas’ public parks and residential racial segregation within the city in [bc]’s Race and Control of Public Parks and listen to the panel conversation online.

Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming focus forums!

Smart Growth for Dallas, an initiative led by the Trust for Public Land, buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, and Texas Trees Foundation, seeks to combine community insight and science to promote quality public spaces and green infrastructure in Dallas. To unpack the issues highlighted during our community engagement process, Smart Growth for Dallas will be hosting a series of 'Focus Forums' to explore the challenging topics of race and ethnicity, urban development, and accessibility within our public space design. The closing discussion will seek to knit together the prior conversation by exploring the specific role of design in bringing equity to public spaces. Through these conversations we hope to uncover forward-thinking ideas about planning and public space design in Dallas by bringing together groups whose work directly relates to each theme.

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP Launches Freedmen’s Town Storytelling Project

Residents of North Texas Freedmen’s Towns will Document Community Histories

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) has been awarded a National Parks Service African American Civil Rights Grant to launch a new project focused on North Texas Freedmen’s Towns. The “Freedmen’s Towns Stories” project aims to support residents of Dallas’s historic Freedmen’s Towns and their descendants in telling the stories of the changes their communities faced during the Civil Rights Period through oral history, cross-generational interpretive storytelling, and text-based multimedia products.

[bc] has partnered with noted architectural historian Dr. Kathryn Holliday, Founding Director of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Dillon Center for Architecture, along with UTA College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs students, and the Writer’s Garret, the first nonprofit literary center in North Texas, which has connected over 2 million writers, readers, and audience members over the past 23 years, to build local capacity through this endeavor. Over the course of the project, [bc] and its partners will train and provide support to residents in conducting historical research, navigating archives, historic storytelling in written and oral formats, and recordings oral histories.

“Since 2012, [bc] has worked with residents of the Tenth Street Historic District—a historic former Freedmen’s Town—to assist residents preserving and celebrating their community’s rich history. With this grant, we will further advance this important work, engaging communities and residents across the region,” says Thor Erickson, President & Managing Director of [bc].

As a community design center with expertise in translating technical information into an accessible graphic format, [bc] will create manuals that will aid additional urban North Texas Freedmen’s Towns in the task of historic storytelling. These resources, as well as the oral histories and written stories collected through the project, will be hosted in a new online repository, which will be built over the course of the project period. This website will establish a new online presence for urban North Texas Freedmen’s Towns’ collaborative efforts.

The project’s launch coincides with a timely need. As construction continues on the Southern Gateway project, which will bring a multimillion dollar deck park to the neighborhood, Dallas’s Tenth Street Historic District faces imminent redevelopment pressures.

Several historic structures recently received demolition orders as residents have witnessed steadily increasing outside interest in neighborhood real estate. These events have catalyzed a number of local conversations about historic preservation, equity, and their intersection.

Freedmen’s Towns Stories will build resident capacity to preserve the local histories of these oft-overlooked communities. By training residents to undertake these efforts, the project will further equip the many residents who are dedicated to this endeavor.

Disclaimer:

Partially funded by the African American Civil Rights program of the Historic Preservation Fund, National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not constitute endorsement or necessarily reflect the view of the Department of the Interior.

About [bc]:

The buildingcommunityWORKSHOP is a Texas based nonprofit community design center seeking to improve the livability and viability of communities through the practice of thoughtful design and making. We enrich the lives of citizens by bringing design thinking to areas of our cities where resources are most scarce. To do so, [bc] recognizes that it must first understand the social, economic, and environmental issues facing a community before beginning work. (www.bcworkshop.org)

Four Musicians Selected for El Sonido del Agua

On June 13, 2018 the musician selection committee—comprised of community organizers, conjunto musician experts and designers—reviewed applications and held live auditions at the ARISE Support Center in Alamo, TX. The Support Center is just a few miles from Alberta Meadows and Owassa Acres, two colonias which are focus areas for the project.

Four musicians rose to the top of the list during this session and the committee thought that finding a way for the four of them to work together would foster the best possible outcomes for the project. Two of the musicians are from the colonias themselves (one each from Alberta Meadows and Owassa Acres). The other two live in the Rio Grande Valley and have experience working with colonias. This combination of local expertise and regional understanding of drainage and music should make for a lively experience!

We will announce the musicians at the July 11 and 12 songwriting workshops and community audits, to take place in the colonias. These events will kick off the next phase of the project. Musicians will lead corrido writing writing workshops, following walking community audits led by [bc]. The community audits are designed to support residents of the colonias in identifying, documenting, and reporting infrastructural issues that impact drainage and catalyze conversations about the challenges of daily living in a flood prone area. These audits and conversations will be a foundation for writing corridos (narrative ballads) about these conditions.

Additional workshops will be held this summer to refine the corridos and then produce conjuntos based on these stories. This effort to put the daily struggles that colonia residents face into song is at the heart of El Sonido del Agua.

 This project is supported by a grant from the ArtPlace America National Creative Placemaking Fund.

2018 State of Dallas Housing Report

Read the full report here!

Learn more about bcANALYTICS  and check out the 2016 and 2017 State of Dallas Housing Reports!

We are excited to release the third annual State of Dallas Housing report, the latest in our series of data-driven analytics reports that examine the issue of housing affordability within Dallas and present opportunities for equitable housing development.

The maps and graphics included in the report illustrate longitudinal trends in housing production and new residential construction, as well as growth in population, jobs, and income, across Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. The report looks at median incomes by racial and ethnic group and by industry of employment in relation to average housing costs by Census tract.

The bcANALYTICS team interviewed 10 housing experts in Dallas to determine priority areas where additional research was needed. The need to better understand Dallas’s housing market within the context of the four-county region (Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant) emerged as a top priority. The report examines key data that demonstrates how Dallas’s housing market is not producing enough affordable housing to meet the needs of its socioeconomically diverse population. With costs of housing on the rise, the housing products on the Dallas market—and the regional market—are increasingly out of reach for many. Moving to surrounding communities does not, according to the study, provide a viable option for finding more affordable housing.

With the City of Dallas adopting a new Comprehensive Housing Policy, Dallas’s residents and stakeholders will need additional metrics and context to understand the issue of housing affordability at the city-wide scale. This new report aims to equip our city with the knowledge to be informed advocates for their communities’ interests.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2017 North Texas continued to be one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, and one of the top housing markets in the United States. As the City of Dallas’ prepares to implement its recently passed housing policy, aimed at increasing the production of housing units across the city, it is important to understand housing production at a larger scale to pinpoint where new housing units or typologies may be needed at this critical juncture. The 2018 State of Dallas Housing Report explores current housing trends in the City of Dallas and socioeconomic trends across the four most populous counties of North Texas (Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant) to help contextualize housing production and identify potential challenges and opportunities for improving access to housing for residents of Dallas and North Texas. 

The region’s rise in population, new housing, employment, and income exemplifies the uneven nature of development and economic growth across North Texas. Growth in the region is concentrated in specific cities and neighborhoods, while other areas have experienced less measurable change in recent years. Housing production has followed this growth in parts of the region. However, housing production in the city of Dallas has been heavily concentrated in just a few of the Dallas’ nearly 400 neighborhoods despite more widespread growth across Dallas.

This report helps quantify these trends in Dallas’ housing production from 2011 to 2017, contrasting them with socioeconomic changes and housing production across North Texas. Is Dallas’ goal of increasing the production of housing feasible, inclusive, and able to address the needs of all Dallas residents? Central to this report is the focus of housing accessibility and affordability for different income and population groups in Dallas, based on the ratio of housing values to median income. Has new housing production across North Texas provided opportunities for Dallas’ median income households to access housing in surrounding communities? This report suggests the answer is no. 

As more of Dallas’ housing production is focused on higher-valued homes, largely in the city’s northern sector, new housing built in North Texas from 2011 to 2016 was largely concentrated in areas that are the least affordable to Dallas’ median income households of color. As the City weighs a new housing policy to stimulate housing production in Dallas it is important to understand both the history of recent housing production in Dallas and the connection between housing production and Dallas’ existing residents. 

This report finds that despite large numbers of new housing units built across the region, many Dallas households are only able to easily afford housing in certain parts of North Texas, primarily in Census tracts that are heavily segregated with high poverty and further removed from much of the economic growth in North Texas. Additionally, some of the fastest growing industries in North Texas tend to pay lower wages that create an additional barrier to accessing affordable housing in proximity to jobs and other amenities based. The lack of production of affordable rental units only further enforces the challenge of Dallas’ minority and low income residents from accessing quality affordable housing at the expense of providing luxury housing for more affluent new residents moving to neighborhoods close to Downtown Dallas. 

El Sonido del Agua Call for Musicians - deadline for submission extended to JUNE 15!

We are thrilled to announce the Call for Musicians for "El Sonido del Agua," a multi-year creative placemaking project supported by ArtPlace America.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to JUNE 15!

As part of this project, we will commission one or more local corrido writers / conjunto musicians to lead workshops with colonia residents and collaboratively write corridos that speak to residents’ experiences of flooding and other stormwater issues in the colonias.

The call for musicians is below:

Convocatoria para Músicos de Conjunto Regional / Compositores de Corridos

El Sonido del Agua - Valle del Rio Grande

Convocatoria de Músicos empieza: 5-17-18

Fecha límite para entregar solicitud: 6-15-18

Favor de enviarla escrita o verbalmente

Para preguntas:

Para preguntas sobre el proyecto contacte a Thor - thor@bcworkshop.org

Envíe preguntas en Español a Martha - martas@lupenet.org o Laura - laura.arise94@gmail.com

Envíe preguntas sobre los talleres de música a Rogelio - nrogelio@hushmail.com  

Descripción del Proyecto:

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) se complace en anunciar la convocatoria de propuestas de músicos para El Sonido del Agua, un proyecto que asociará a residentes de colonias con escritores de Corrido / músicos de Conjunto.

El Sonido del Agua es un proyecto de ritmo acelerado y altamente colaborativo. Los músicos trabajan con  residentes, organizadores comunitarios, expertos en políticas y salud pública, diseñadores y planificadores, trabajadores de la ciudad y del condado y más. Los músicos seleccionados para el proyecto le enseñarán a residentes de colonia cómo escribir corridos que respondan y se enfoquen en los problemas relacionados con el drenaje, las inundaciones y los huracanes  al igual como los problemas afectan su vida cotidiana. Dependiendo de los resultados de los talleres se seleccionarán múltiples Corridos para que se produzcan en Conjuntos.

Los músicos deberían estar dispuestos a trabajar en colaboración con los líderes de las colonias y aliados comunitarios y deberán ser capaces de enseñar como escribir canciones y ser músicos de Conjunto o socios de los músicos de Conjunto.

La línea de tiempo del proyecto es la siguiente:

• Convocatoria de lanzamiento de músicos - 5-15-18
• 1er Auditoría comunitaria - Observar condiciones secas - 6-11-18
• Preguntas - formato de seminario web - 6-13-18
• Llamada para músicos - 6-15-18
• Selección y notificación de músicos - 6-15-18

Actividades de Talleres:

• 2da Auditoria comunitaria - condiciones después de la lluvia - TBD
• 1er Taller de Corridos - TBD
• 2do Taller de Corridos - TBD
• 3er Taller de Corridos - TBD
• Finalización del Corrido - JULIO
• Composición de letra musical con conjunto - AGOSTO
• Funciones / Sesiones de Música - SEPTIEMBRE - OCTUBRE
• Celebraciones en la Colonia - OCTUBRE - NOVIEMBRE

Esta iniciativa está respaldada por el patrocinio de ArtPlace America. Para conocer más sobre ArtPlace America, visite el sitio web: www.artplaceamerica.org

PRINCIPIOS DEL PROYECTO

Las presentaciones de propuestas deben enfocarse en este proyecto musical en colaboración con los miembros de la comunidad utilizando los principios de guia y el proceso de Activacion Vacantes [bc] que se encuentran a continuación:

• Los corridos deben versar sobre la vida cotidiana, las inundaciones, los huracanes y las travesías que les trajo, incluyendo los problemas relacionados con la salud pública, la vivienda digna y las condiciones de vida.
• El proyecto debe ser impulsado por objetivos definidos y articulados por los residentes de un lugar en particular
• Debe elevar las voces y motivar la participación cívica
• Fortalecer la identidad del vecindario y la historia cultural, desafiando las normas, incluida la aburguesación y el desplazamiento
• Fomentar la colaboración y la participación creativa entre un conjunto diverso de personas, que culmina en un trabajo co-creado por el artista y la comunidad
• Empoderar a los residentes para abordar el futuro de su propio vecindario y buscar mayores resultados relacionados con los objetivos de la comunidad
• Cambiar las percepciones de los desafíos

Para más información en procesos de Activación Vacantes se pueden encontrar aqui.

¿Quienes pueden ser candidatos?

Todo tipo de músico(s) que viva en los El Valle del Rio Grande en EE.UU es elegible a participar y se le invita a enviar una solicitud. Los músicos deben demostrar un gran interés en la justicia social y un gran deseo de trabajar en colaboración con partes interesadas de diversos orígenes económicos y culturales. Los músicos interesados en participar en el diseño, proyectos comunitarios, la planificación urbana o en la creación de espacios creativos son especialmente alentados a presentar solicitudes y aplicar. Las solicitudes son abiertas para ambos grupos colectivos e individuos.

PREMIO DEL PROYECTO

El presupuesto musical es de $ 30,000. Esto se puede otorgar a un o más de un músico, dependiendo de la calidad de la solicitud y su propuesta. El presupuesto incluye la participación en los eventos mencionados anteriormente y el trabajo del músico. Los músicos deberán participar en una auditoría de colonias para informarse de la vida cotidiana de los residentes. Este evento brindará a los músicos la oportunidad de conocer a los residentes y conocer a la comunidad. La programación de este evento puede incluir un recorrido a pie u otros eventos similares para ayudar a presentar a los vecinos a los músicos.

INSTRUCCIONES PARA ENTREGAR SOLICITUD Y PROPUESTA

Las solicitudes se pueden enviar en línea aquí, o verbalmente con Laura o Martha. El personal de [bc] está feliz de ayudar a los solicitantes a completar su solicitud en cualquier momento del proceso. Todas las preguntas de los solicitantes pueden dirigirse con Thor Erickson a el correo electrónico: thor@bcworkshop.org

Todas las aplicaciones requerirán:

1. Información del solicitante: nombre, dirección, número de teléfono, correo electrónico y sitio web (si corresponde)
2. Biografía del Músico  (700 caracteres)
3. Testimonio escrito del músico (700 caracteres)
   1. Un testimonio que proclama la experiencia y el interés en trabajar en colaboración con las comunidades durante el desarrollo de la música
4. Propuesta de proyecto (900 caracteres)
   1. Especifique el interés y el enfoque del artista para ayudar con las prioridades establecidas de la comunidad
   2. Mencione cómo se relacionaría el trabajo con los principios de activación de vacantes
   3. Mencione cómo el músico trabajará con los residentes a través de talleres
   4. Describa el enfoque y si el músico tiene cualquier otro formato que prefiera que el esquema anterior.
   5. Describe cómo el músico creará  el Corrido con un Conjunto
   6. Incluya un presupuesto preliminar que describa los gastos y las redistribución de todas las personas involucradas.
5. Muestras de trabajo y descripciones: Los músicos pueden proporcionar hasta 5 muestras de trabajo. Todos los enlaces e imágenes deben compilarse en un PDF, menos de 10 MB.
   1. Medios de audio y / o video: hasta 3 de las muestras de trabajo pueden ser de audio o video. Si usa Vimeo, Soundcloud o YouTube, no proteja con contraseña los enlaces multimedia. El tiempo total de audio o video enviado para las 3 muestras de medios no debe exceder los 6 minutos. Todos los enlaces deben estar relacionados con la hora de inicio.
   2. Documentación fotográfica de trabajo de audio / video y trabajo en 2D / 3D: las fotos deben tener 72 ppp, no menos de 800 píxeles y no más de 1100 píxeles a lo mucho. El tamaño total del archivo de cada imagen no puede superar los 10 MB.
   3. Para cada muestra de trabajo favor de incluir:
      1. El título, año y dimensiones
      2. El rol del artista en la producción de la obra
      3. Descripción breve del trabajo
      4. Solo si aplica, incluya una breve descripción de cómo se utilizó el compromiso de la comunidad para crear o compartir el trabajo

SCORING

Las solicitudes serán evaluadas por [bc] y el Comité Asesor, según los siguientes criterios:

• La alineación del solicitante con los valores del proyecto
• La experiencia del solicitante involucrando a la comunidad de maneras innovadoras, creativas y consideradas
• La experiencia del solicitante de trabajar en grupo con restricciones de tiempo y una fecha límite
• El interés expresado por el solicitante de trabajar con los residentes de la colonia y los socios del proyecto
• El interés del solicitante en incorporar los datos recopilados a través de la auditoría
• La fortaleza de la capacidad de los solicitantes para incorporar principios estéticos para abordar desafíos basados en la comunidad
• Originalidad, competencia y consistencia de los solicitantes a través de muestras de trabajo

ALIADOS EN ESTE PROYECTO

• LUPE
• ARISE
• TXLIHIS
• Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center
• UTRGV - Director of Estuary, Environmental and Special Projects (Cameron County Region)
• University of Texas School of Public Health
• Department of Population Health and Behavioral Sciences, UTRGV School of Medicine

RECURSOS ADICIONALES

• Activating Vacancy Project Guide

 

 

Call for Conjunto Musicians / Corrido Writers

El Sonido del Agua - Rio Grande Valley

Call for Participation Release Date: 5-17-18

Application Deadline: 6-15-18

Submit Via Typeform, or verbally

Contacts:

Questions about the project Thor - thor@bcworkshop.org

To submit verbally Spanish Martha - martas@lupenet.org or laura.arise94@gmail.com

Questions about the workshops - Rogelio - nrogelio@hushmail.com  

PROJECT OVERVIEW

buildingcommunityWORKSHOP ([bc]) is excited to announce the call for proposals from teaching musicianfor El Sonido del Agua, a project that will partner colonia residents with Corrido writers / Conjunto musicians.

El Sonido del Agua is a quick paced and highly collaborative project. Musicians will get to know residents and stakeholders, community organizers, public health and policy experts, designers and planners, City and County workers, and more. The musicians selected for El Sonido del Agua will teach residents how to write Corridos that respond to and address issues related to drainage, flooding, and hurricanes and the dealings of daily life through these storm events. Depending on workshop outcomes, multiple Corridos may be selected to be produced into Conjuntos.

The musicians should be willing to work in collaboration with colonia leaders and local stakeholders, should be able to teach songwriting, and either be a Conjunto musician or partner with Conjunto musicians.

The timeline of the project is as follows:

• Call for musicians release - 5-15-18
• Community Audit 1 - 6-11-18
• Q&A for applicants and auditions - 6-13-18
• Applications due - 6-15-18
• Selection and notification of musicians - 6-15-18

Workshop activities:

• Community Audit 2 - wet after rain - TBD
• Corrido Workshop 1 - TBD
• Corrido Workshop 2 - TBD
• Corrido Workshop 3 - TBD
• Corrido finalization - JULY
• Conjunto writing - AUGUST  
• Performances - SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER
• Colonia celebrations - OCTOBER - NOVEMBER

This initiative is supported by ArtPlace America. To learn more about ArtPlace America visit www.artplaceamerica.org

PROJECT PRINCIPLES

Proposal submissions should focus on this music project in collaboration with community members utilizing [bc]’s Activating Vacancy guiding principles and process found below:

• Corridos should be about daily life, flooding, hurricanes, and living through this including issues related to public health, fair housing, and general living conditions.  
• The project as a whole should:
• Be driven by a set of goals defined and articulated by the residents of a particular place.
• Elevate voices and encourage civic participation.
• Strengthen neighborhood identity and cultural history, challenging norms, including gentrification and displacement
• Foster collaboration and creative participation between a diverse set of individuals, culminating in a work co-created by artist and community
• Empower residents to address the future of their own neighborhood, and pursue larger outcomes related to community goals
• Shift perceptions of challenges

More information on the Activating Vacancy process can be found here.

ELIGIBILITY

Musicians of all disciplines living in the United States Lower Rio Grande Valley are eligible to apply. Musicians should demonstrate a strong interest in social justice and desire to work collaboratively with stakeholders from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. Musicians  with interests in design, community-engaged projects, urban planning or creative placemaking are especially encouraged to submit applications. Individuals and collectives/groups are welcome to apply.

PROJECT AWARD

The total budget for the musician stipend is $30,000. This may be awarded to 1 or more than 1 musician depending on scope of application and thoroughness. This fee should include participation in the events listed above, and the unique approach of the musician. Musicians will be required to participate in a colonia audit to inform their understanding of residents' daily experiences. This event will provide musicians with the opportunity to meet residents and learn about the community. Programming for this event may include a walking tour or other similar events to help introduce neighbors to the musicians.  

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applications may be submitted online here, or verbally to Martha or Stephanie.  [bc] staff are happy to support applicants in the completion of their application at any point in the application process.  All applicant questions can be directed to Thor Erickson at thor@bcworkshop.org.

All applications will require:

1. Applicant Information: name, address, phone number, email and website (if applicable)
2. Musician Bio (700 characters)
3. Musician Statement (700 characters)
   1. A statement that proclaims experience and interest in working collaboratively with communities during the development of music
4. Project proposal (900 characters)
   1. Specify artist’s interest in and approach to addressing stated community priorities
   2. Address how the work would relate to Activating Vacancy principles
   3. Address how musician will work with residents through workshops.
   4. Describe approach and if the musician has any other format they prefer than the outline above.
   5. Describe how musician will merge the Corrido with a Conjunto
   6. Preliminary budget that describes expenses and stipends to all people involved.
5.  Work Samples and Descriptions: Musicians can provide up to 5 work samples. All links and images should be compiled into one PDF, less than 10MB.
   1. Audio and/or Video Media: Up to 3 of the work samples can be audio or video. If using Vimeo, Soundcloud, or YouTube, do not password protect media links. The total time of audio or video submitted for all 3 media samples should not exceed 6 minutes. All links must be cued to the start time.
   2. Photo Documentation of Audio/Video work and 2D/3D Work: Photos should be 72 DPI, no smaller than 800 pixels and no larger than 1100 pixels on the long side.   The total file size of each image can be no larger than 10MB
   3. For each work sample include:
      1. Title, year and dimensions
      2. Role of the artist in the work’s production
      3. Brief description of the work
      4. If applicable, brief description of how community engagement was used to create or share the work

SCORING

• Applications will be evaluated by [bc], and the Advisory Committee, based upon the following criteria:
• Applicant’s alignment with project principles
• Applicant’s experience engaging communities in innovative, thoughtful and creative ways
• Applicant’s experience working collaboratively within time restraints and on deadline
• Nuance and strength of applicant’s expressed interest in working with colonia residents and project partners
• Applicant’s interest in incorporating data collected through the audit
• Strength of applicants ability to incorporate aesthetic principles to address community based challenges
• Originality, proficiency and consistency of applicants work samples

PROJECT PARTNERS

• LUPE
• ARISE
• TXLIHIS
• Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center
• UTRGV - Director of Estuary, Environmental and Special Projects (Cameron County Region)
• University of Texas School of Public Health
• Department of Population Health and Behavioral Sciences, UTRGV School of Medicine

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Activating Vacancy Project Guide

Smart Growth for Dallas Focus Forums

Learn more about Smart Growth for Dallas!

Smart Growth for Dallas, an initiative led by the Trust for Public Land, buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, and Texas Trees Foundation, seeks to combine community insight and science to promote quality public spaces and green infrastructure in Dallas. To unpack the issues highlighted during our community engagement process, Smart Growth for Dallas will be hosting a series of Focus Forums to explore the challenging topics of race and ethnicity, urban development, and accessibility within our public space design. The closing discussion will seek to knit together the prior conversation by exploring the specific role of design in bringing equity to public spaces. Through these conversations we hope to uncover forward-thinking ideas about planning and public space design in Dallas by bringing together groups whose work directly relates to each theme.

The first focus forum, "Equitable Development & Public Space" will be held on Thursday, May 17. A panel discussion moderated by Dr. Ivonne Audirac, of the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), will convene key stakeholders to explore the issues of urban development and the effect of public space design on neighborhood vitality. This moderated forum will discuss how the design of public spaces can impact neighborhood strength and urban development, through exploring how public space design can contribute to the perpetuation of neighborhood disinvestment or be a catalyst for new development and neighborhood desirability.

Joining us as panelists are Aaron Abelson of HR&A Advisors, Brent Brown of the Trinity Park Conservancy, Brianna Brown of Texas Organizing Project, and Cynthia Salinas of the Esperanza Building Blocks.

Stay tuned for more information about future focus forums as their dates and locations are announced!

Smart Growth for Dallas Technical Advisory Team

Learn more about our Smart Growth for Dallas related work!

Smart Growth for Dallas is launching a Technical Advisory Team! As the next phase of a partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Texas Trees Foundation, we're working to refine a data-driven decision support tool, which will help Dallas and its residents identify opportunities for parks, green infrastructure, and other green investments in areas where it will have significant impact. The information gathered through prior community engagement meetings has informed and will continue to drive the development of this tool. We'll be communicating with stakeholders across the city to get additional input.

As members of the Technical Advisory Team, stakeholders will provide insight as to how this tool can help achieve goals across various sectors, how their data can be incorporated, and specific use cases for the tool. The partnership will be convening a series of webinars through Summer 2018 in alignment with the five planning objectives: Connect, Cool, Health, Equity, and Absorb/Protect.

If you think the tool could be useful to you or your organization, please get in touch with us via email!

[bc], Trust for Public Land, and Dallas Park and Recreation Director Willis Winters were recently featured in an NBC DFW segment. Trust for Public Land North Texas Area Director Robert Kent stated, "Our objective in Smart Growth for Dallas is to provide a best in class data tool, to help the city understand specific areas where we can make investments in green assets, whether it's things like rain gardens or more trees or buying more land for parks, that will have a big impact on social, economic and environmental challenges." 

Stay tuned for further updates!

Lessons from the Field: Reflections on Rural Placemaking

Find our more about our Rural Placemaking work! 

Over the past year, [bc] and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) have had the opportunity to investigate how tools of arts and community building can be used in rural communities, funded in part by a generous Knowledge Building Grant through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

This partnership has brought resources to existing local efforts and enabled our organizations to better understand how ‘creative placemaking’ works in practice in rural communities and why it is a valuable tool for rural community development now. Through webinars, an internal working group, two pilot projects (in Kinston, North Carolina and Thomas, West Virginia) and a peer-to-peer exchange, we’ve seen the value of vivid local examples in understanding that ‘creative placemaking’ has been happening for a long time in rural communities across the country. Modest increases in resources coupled with capacity building hold vast potential for rural and tribal communities.

We've published a report, Lessons from the Field: Reflections on Rural Placemaking describing our yearlong initiative and reflecting on the last year of our work, outlining key outcomes and lessons learned valuable to the larger practice of rural creative placemaking. Read the full report here. 

Several resources were developed during this partnership to expand knowledge and practice of rural creative placemaking, including: 

• Summer 2017 Edition of Rural Voices
• Webinar 1: Creative Placemaking 101 + Funding Opportunity
• Webinar 2: Why Creative Placemaking? On the Ground Impacts

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Activating Vacancy Downtown Dallas Recap

For the Activating Vacancy Downtown Dallas, a National Endowment for the Arts-supported project in partnership with Downtown Dallas, Inc., two artist teams worked with community members to create works of public art to activate spaces in Downtown Dallas. Through a call for proposals, artists were tasked with devising a project in response to public space priorities, identified through our Community Audited Public Space (CAPS) process and a Community Advisory Committee. Two series of works were created through a community-engaged process: the WonderPhones and MAY I // a blessing project. Project teams engaged with community members through a variety of workshops and community gathering events, which included project tours and a culmintaing public interview with the artists. 

WonderPhone

The WonderPhone is an interactive payphone that connect the people in downtown Dallas to the city and each other. The team combined old and new technology to allow people to listen to content and play and record their stories. Five WonderPhones were created, placed in colorful enclosures in various locations downtown and popping up at events.

The WonderPhone team (Rickey Crum, Gray Garmon, Katie Krummeck, Edward Li, and Justin Childress) worked with local high school students, architects, historians, designers, urban planners, musicians and essayists to create and record engaging Dallas- or phone-related content for participants to enjoy. Audio content ranged from personal stories of memories downtown to future imaginings of new possibilities for Downtown, as well both curated and newly created pieces that focus on the history and architecture of downtown Dallas. Interactive prompts ask participants to share reactions to specific questions (and hear responses live) as well as follow instructions to participate in immersive experiences exploring downtown.

The artists said, "We hope that the WonderPhone will inspire participants to listen and think deeply about the lived experiences of the citizens of Downtown Dallas as well as engage participants in activities to help them observe Dallas in a new light and reflect on their own participation in the city."

MAY I // a blessing project

MAY I // a blessing project is a walkable installation of blessings written by local young women for the Dallas community, manifested large-scale. The artists Ruben Carrazana and Janielle Kastner worked with a group of young women (ages 12-18) who wrote specific declarations of hope for themselves (MAY I), for their community (MAY WE), and for their spaces (MAY THIS SPACE).

The team issued an exhortation to the city: "We believe these young women don’t need us to 'empower' them, they need us to acknowledge they already have the power to speak life into their community. We call these declarations blessings as they begin with the word 'may' - a word that summons into existence that which isn’t here yet. Our work as artists has been taking their words and manifesting them in unexpected places downtown in a bold, surprising, even defiant manner. In a world that asks them to shrink, MAY I radically insists young women take up extraordinary amounts of space. We encourage you to join these young women and manifest your own blessing in your spaces, tagging #mayiblessdallas."

Our partner DDI will continue to use the artworks to activate spaces in downtown Dallas. Check out photos of the artworks and the AVDD events below!

This project was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). To find out more about the National Endowment for the Arts visit www.arts.gov.  

To find out more about our project partner Downtown Dallas Inc., visit www.downtowndallas.com.

Spotlight on Our Communities

Across Dallas, across Texas, and across the nation, people without means are being left out of the conversations about the design and planning of their communities.  [bc] empowers individuals, fostering opportunities for choice in order to amplify the voices of the most underserved residents. 

Spotlight on Our Communities is a new email series that highlights the ways [bc] is engaging communities to drive the decisions that will affect their lives.  Three episodes below highlight our work in the realm of community-engaged planning, disaster recovery, and resident choice-driven housing design.  These stories demonstrate the true impact of our work, which is only made possible through the support of our donors, partners, volunteers, champions, and friends.

We ask for your support as we continue to bring new voices to the table and bring choice to communities who often have none. 

Please explore the stories below, share them with your friends and family, and consider making your gift today!  And if you aren't subscribed, sign up for our newsletter to ensure you receive future episodes delivered to right to your inbox!

DONATE NOW

enduring through change

November 7, 2017

weathering the flood

November 11, 2017

a place to call home

November 14, 2017

Pre-Construction Clean-Up at 1208 E. 10th Street

[bc] received a Safety Grant from Texas Mutual to support our purchase of ergonomic office equipment and safety equipment to keep our staff safe at the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center construction site. 

In the Tenth Street neighborhood—one of the last remaining and perhaps the most intact of Dallas's historic Freedmen's Towns—we’re working with residents to help build local capacity.  We're renovating a historic home at 1208 E. 10th Street to serve as a Neighborhood Resource Center.  When completed, it will become a repository for essential resources, a site for activities that promote technical learning among residents and strengthen community cohesion, and a residence for a [bc] architectural designer who will hold open office hours to assist the community with technical advice.

The Neighborhood Resource Center will support residents in their efforts to address the pressing issues they've identified in their community, such as vacancy, redevelopment pressures, and the disrepair of historic homes in the neighborhood.  

In preparation for construction activities, [bc] and community members visited the property to conduct preliminary site clean-up.  Activities included leaf-raking, trash pick-up, and bamboo and brush clearing.  Check out the photos below!

Staff benefitted from the use of coveralls, safety glasses, gloves, ear protection, and hardhats purchased through Texas Mutual's generous grant.  We're so grateful for this support!

[bc] is grateful to all those who have provided support for the Tenth Street Neighborhood Resource Center: The Real Estate Council Foundation, The Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation, Inc., the Hillcrest Foundation, the Hoblitzelle Foundation, and Bank of America. 

Rural Placemaking Peer Exchange in Thomas, WV

Learn more about our work Activating work! 

On October 3rd and 4th, [bc] co-hosted a peer learning exchange with the Housing Assistance Council and Woodlands Development Group in Thomas, West Virginia to share knowledge and best practices for creative placemaking in rural communities. The peer learning exchange included a range of site visits, conversations with local stakeholders, and workshops. 

[bc], HAC and Woodlands were joined by rural affordable housing developers, artists, educators and local nonprofit organizations to discuss topics including funding, partnerships, program design, cultural equity and community engagement. 

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

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