Civic & Social Arts Practice
In 2018, Aaron Hoke Doenges began incorporating civic and social projects into his artistic practice. Seeking out ways his skills could help others, he began to partner with organizations and communities in order to help address civic and social needs through creative processes and practices. Projects are collaboratively developed with people from the organization, and needs can range from internal capacity building or conversations around conflict to external publicity and support.
Doenges was trained in this work at the Learning Lab artist training program sponsored by Nashville's Metro Arts: Office of Arts and Culture. The training was lead by the folks at the Center for Performance and Civic Practice.
Nashville Public Health: Artist Residency
In the fall of 2018, Doenges was awarded an artist residency with the Nashville Metro Department of Public Health. Funded by the Metro Arts: Office of Arts and Culture, Doenges and Author M. Simone Boyd were tasked with helping the department increase lines of communication with the community at large.
The ongoing project is focused on the development of a 5-year Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). Development of the CHIP is a process that incorporates community voices into a strategic plan for a variety of organizations in the city addressing city-wide health initiatives.
The department has noted that they feel able to collect data from folks in the metro area, but often struggle to communicate the results of that data - and the resulting efforts that come from it - back to the city. Partnered together with the Health Department, Doenges and Boyd are working to collaboratively develop ways to build that needed communication through artistic practices.
As of publication, the residency is in its early stages. For more information and updates, follow Aaron Hoke Doenges on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.