RuckusRoots is ARTivism for people and the planet.

Mission Statement

  • Our mission is to create art programs that cultivate environmental awareness and action in historically under-represented communities. Our goal is to foster inspired, empowered and engaged citizens through interactive art-making.

  • We collaborate with local artists, communities, and schools to create accessible programs that build interdisciplinary arts skills, uncovering and confronting environmental issues that impact the community.

  • The arts have always been at the forefront of monumental societal shifts, building empathy, understanding and bridging the gap between problem and solution. But, accessible artistic programming is lacking in the communities we serve and simultaneously, these communities are disproportionately and negatively impacted by environmental injustices like litter, pollution and a lack of green spaces. Our programs offer art-making as an essential tool for addressing these injustices.

  • Artistically vibrant and environmentally resilient neighborhoods for all residents, regardless of social or economic standing.

OUR GOALS:

1. Co-create arts programming in communities where it is needed and wanted.

2. Offer programming that inspires a shift in knowledge, values and/or behavior with regards to environmental challenges like climate change, utilizing the arts as a tool for engagement.

3. Amplify the artistic voices of marginalized groups.

4. Share resources with local artists and activists from the communities where we work.

5. Utilize found, recycled or natural materials in artworks whenever possible, expanding the notion of what can become art, and encouraging art as a sustainable lifestyle practice.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

OUR PROGRAMS ARE:

  • Interactive: Art has an active, not passive, role.

  • Collaborative: Programs are co-created with community members based on community interest.

  • Creative: Participants express their own creative ideas.

  • Change-Making: Programs aim to affect positive change at the local level, addressing a need or desire identified by community members.

  • Community Driven: Multi-generational, multi-level community involvement, including family, local business and audience.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

At its core, RuckusRoots is committed to discovering and activating solutions to systemic oppression, including those that involve self-reflection and internal change. Our work focuses on equitable arts access and climate resilience, both of which exist at the intersection of economic, social, racial, gendered and place-based justice. Systemic and structural racism are key elements impacting the communities in which we work. RuckusRoots is committed to engaging and empowering stakeholders at all levels of program design and implementation, by centering the voices of our BIPOC participants and leaders and by sharing resources and support. We are committed to learning from, supporting, amplifying and empowering our BIPOC and LGBTQIA partners indefinitely.