Leanne Prain 
The Creative Instigator’s Handbook 
A DIY Guide to Making Social Change through Art

Flash mobs come and go, but purposeful creativity can change communities. Are you a creative (aspiring or otherwise) who is curious about how you can apply your skills to activist, socially engaged art projects? Whether you paint, sew, sing, build, weld, or rhyme, Make It Meaningful explores how to take that big project you’ve been dreaming about and actually make it a happen.



In response to the challenging times that we live in,
Make It Meaningful will inspire readers to use their creativity to spur change in the world around them. Guiding readers through the various aspects of a project from ideation to final documentation, the book examines the relationship between creative leadership, community art projects, and social justice, and includes the perspectives of 23 creative instigators who have stretched the boundaries of what “art” should or shouldn’t do.



Bold and imaginative,
Make It Meaningful will appeal to creatives willing to expand their comfort zone by jumping into the fray and doing some outrageous, inspired rabble-rousing of their very own.



Full-color throughout.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface



Chapter 1: Calling All Creative Instigators

• Living in A Material World: Thomas Dambo (Copenhagen, Denmark)

• The Personal and the Political: Aram Han Sifuentes (Chicago)



Chapter 2: Find Your Voice

• Making the Revolution Irresistible: Shanalee Hampton (Portland, OR)

• Be Mighty: Changing the World One Flyer at a Time (New York City)

• Yours Truly: Meg Lewis (Minneapolis)



Chapter 3: What’s Your Calling?

• Desperate Times, Creative Measures: Tiny Pricks Project (Victoria, Canada)

• We All Want to Fly: Global Angel Wings Project (Los Angeles)



Chapter 4: Co-conspirators Unite!

• Birds of a Feather: Mustaali Raj and Minahil Bukhari (Vancouver, Canada)

• A Chance to Play: Hot One Inch Action (Vancouver, Canada)

• The Evolution of the Red Dress Awareness Campaign and Installation (Comox Valley, Canada)

• The Spirit of the Animals is in the Wheels: Juan Martinez (Detroit) & Dave Eggers (San Francisco)



Chapter 5: The More You Know

• Radical Hospitality: Sara Clugage (New York)

• Reimaging Public Space: Alley-Oop (Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada)

• Material Matters: Katherine Soucie (London, UK)



Chapter 6: Practice Makes Perfect

• Shoot for the Moon: Luke Jerram (Bristol, UK)

• One Book at a Time: The Free Little Library Project (Hudson, WI)



Chapter 7: Make It Wonderous

• Before I Die: Candy Chang (Chicago/New Orleans)

• Creativity is Not Enough: The Center for Artistic Activism (New York state)



Chapter 8: Be Your Own Megaphone

• The Quarantine Quilt Project: Significant Seams

• With Chaos Comes Opportunity: Kevin Spenst (Vancouver, Canada)

• The Poetry Society of New York: Stephanie Berger (Devon, UK)



Chapter 9: The Pivot

• Shared Stories: The Brooklyn Art Library (Brooklyn)

• Meet Me Halfway: The Heidelberg Project (Detroit)



Chapter 10: A Legend in the Making

• The Collaborative Collective: The Projet Mobilivre-Bookmobile Project (Montreal/New York/Philadelphia)

Über den Autor

Leanne Prain helps communities connect through creative ideas. A writer, speaker and certified design professional, her previous books include
Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet & Knit Graffiti (with Mandy Moore) and
Strange Material: Storytelling through Textiles.