Seven CreativeGround Profiles We Love: October 2019

Fall in love with these CreativeGround profiles! 

We've picked some enticing treats from these profiles to share in one place, but you can harvest further delectable details by (leaf) peeping their full profile. It's spooky exciting, but no surprise that the New England creative economy is BOOming.

Want more? Search by keyword and explore your locale on CreativeGround to find the resources you can harvest from your community: the creative businesses, cultural nonprofits, and artists.

Psst. Are you inspired to build your own robust, feature-worthy profile? 

Jannette Vanderhoop (West Tisbury, MA)

Jannette Vanderhoop (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah) is a Martha’s Vineyard-based artist who, using locally sourced wampum shells from the rugged coastline of Martha’s Vineyard, makes colorful, wearable art objects. Her work is a nod to her culture and the history of her tribe while celebrating her personal connection to the land. Jannette’s modus operandi is to “educate people to respect nature through art” and so, she produces her work as a form of environmental expression. 

With the desire to fight stereotypes as they relate to native people, and Native American jewelry and indigenous fashion specifically, her work is decidedly contemporary. Made one-at-a-time, by hand, each piece is unique and cannot be duplicated. Through her life’s work, Jannette hopes to put the Aquinnah Wampanoag people on the map as significant contributors to contemporary indigenous arts. View CreativeGround Profile > 

Lindsey Bourassa/Bourassa Dance (Portland, ME)

Lindsey Bourassa is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, and the founding director of Bourassa Dance Studio of Portland, Maine, where she teaches Flamenco Arts. Lindsey co-founded and danced with Olas Music and Dance from 2009-2016. In 2016, Lindsey was invited by the Maine Arts Commission to perform at MICA (Maine International Conference on the Arts). In 2017, Lindsey created and debuted a multimedia, contemporary-flamenco performance entitled “El Lobo y La Paloma,” a performance that explores the theme of loss and connection told through original flamenco dance, Arabic music and song, poetry, and projected imagery.  An experienced collaborator, Bourassa worked with a diverse pool of international talent to create this piece, of which there will be a video this year! Check out Bourassa’s profile to learn more. View CreativeGround Profile > 

Maine Arts Commission (Augusta, ME)

One of the six State Arts Agencies of New England, the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) provides grant support and strategic assistance to artists and arts organizations in Maine. The mission of the agency is to encourage and stimulate public interest and participation in the cultural heritage and programs of Maine; expand the state’s cultural resources; and encourage and assist freedom of artistic expression for the well-being of the arts, to meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of persons in all parts of the state. 

Psst. MAC is one of CreativeGround’s partners, and we’re incredibly grateful to have their support! View CreativeGround Profile >

Music to Life (Wilder, VT)

Music to Life (MTL) is a national nonprofit that builds activism through music.  By offering financial, technical and logistical assistance, MTL helps social justice troubadours integrate their vision with nonprofit and advocacy groups to create highly visible, music-driven programming that supports social justice projects, increases awareness and empowers vulnerable populations.  MTL has collaborated with a broad network of artists, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and music industry leaders to explore how music might make positive, measurable social change. Check out the profile for Music to Life to learn about their innovative Activist Musician Accelerator program – an incubator for social change musicians and their communities. View CreativeGround Profile >

Pneuhaus (Rumford, RI)

Pneuhaus is an interdisciplinary art and design studio dedicated to integrating experiences of nature and its wonders into the contemporary city. They draw on the science of optics to restage natural dynamics of light like rainbows, eclipses, and the processes of human vision through experiential, large-scale sculptures and environments. A team of dedicated makers, they handle all aspects of design and fabrication in house in attempts to achieve “moments of collective amazement cultivate a greater sense of home within community and the ecosphere.” View CreativeGround Profile >

Rodger Martin (Hancock, NH)

Rodger Martin is a poet and editor who exhibits the "Power of the Word" for students and audiences of all ages. His workshops and performances often incorporate music, song, mask, and costume to enhance language's rich oral tradition. Hibblebush released Martin’s  fourth book, “For All The Tea in Zhōngguó: Poems in Two Languages,” in the spring of 2019 with poem printed in both English and Mandarin.

Martin has had a residency with the American Renga program which adapts the ancient Chinese/Japanese renga poetic form as a basis for integrating poetry, art, music and other disciplines such as science and history into a single, collaborative work of art. Additionally, he directs the eight-member Milton Ensemble which presents dramatic readings from the various books of Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost." Maintaining that ensemble spirit, musical trio, The Battlefield Guide, accompanies Rodger on concert performances which use the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam as bridges to link history with contemporary life. View CreativeGround Profile >

WPAA-TV and Community Media Center (Wallingford, CT)

Wallingford Public Access Association provides all manner of support for the creation and distribution of noncommercial community media and manages resources including cable access channels to facilitate meaningful community access within the community of Wallingford, Connecticut. WPAA-TV operates a community-based media center inclusive of a television studio with community and performance space; provides free or low cost training to the public on media tools; and offers use of those media resources. Check out their profile to learn more about their values and how WPAA-TV supports its local creative community. View CreativeGround Profile >