Description

Department of Public Transformation (DPT) works to strengthen rural communities by amplifying the voices and perspectives of those who live in them. DPT is particularly focused on arts-based approaches to building wealth in small towns in the Upper Midwest. Through artist residencies, artist support and networking programs, and facilitated partnerships between towns and artists, DPT seeks to change the popular narrative about small towns in decline and to offer small towns assistance in developing creative economy initiatives. The Luce Foundation previously provided a grant to DPT at the suggestion of DEPT grantee Rural Strategies. This second grant will enable DPT to continue its work and to expand into other rural areas outside its core region, “[demonstrating] that rural communities are thriving sites of revolutionary civic, social, and cultural action.”