DEMOCRACY CREATIVE
2020NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
I’VE VIEWED MY LIFE AS THE COLLISSION between two worlds: the creative, and the political. I had long had a deep desire to combine the two in a meaningful way.
In late 2019, I began drawing plans for a non-profit organization that would provide a space for this exploration.
We were incredibly fortunate to be offered a prime space in The Soda Plant in Burlington by the building’s owner, Steve Conant.
While there were a number of ways I had hoped Democracy Creative could explore the intersection between politics and creativity, I had always imagined a collective work space that would give politicians, organizers, and activists a chance to work alongside artists and creatives.
We got access to the space in January of 2020. In the end, we were able to furnish the entire space for free within six weeks.
After our grand opening on February 7th, 2020, we quickly began to grow, until COVID hit Vermont in mid-March of 2020.
NOW, POST COVID, Democracy Creative is home to several of Vermont’s leading forward-thinking organizations, including The Vermont Progressive Party, The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, The Black Perspective, and Rights & Democracy. We continue to grow and build this shared workspace into one that can help strengthen coalitions, and integrate more creative thinking into politics, governance, and organizing.
We also aim to expand into other projects which push the boundary of this intersection.
