Grassroots & Mountain Wings

In December of 1990, Patrick Overton, director of the Columbia College Center for Community & Cultural Studies, invited ten of the most successful and influential practitioners and theorists working in the community arts development field.  Some were deeply involved in the Statewide Assembly movement; some individual, community based artists; and some connected to public, state, regional, and national arts agencies.  What these people had in common was a deep commitment to advancing the work of community arts development.  The name of the Symposium was Grassroots & Mountain Wings:  the arts in rural and small communities.

Robert Gard, one of the fields pioneers, served as the link between the Old Work of community arts development and the emerging, new work.  This book is dedicated to this amazing man and his contribution to the field.

Those invited to participate in the symposium were each commissioned to present a paper on any subject they felt would be important to the field.  Over the course of the 18 months following the symposium, a report was completed by the symposium facilitator, Drs. Lee Cary and event convener Patrick Overton.  Following the symposium, the presentations were finalized and published in the book by the same name of the symposium.  For a complete list of participants and their positions when this book was published, use this link.

List of Authors:  Janet Brown; Tina D. Burdett; Maryo G. Ewell; Robert Gard; Divina Grace Hill; Elizabeth (Lee) Howard; Maeta Kaplan; Joan Lolmaugh; Robert Lynch; David O’Fallon; Patrick Overton; William B. Pratt; Nola Ruth; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith; Chris Van Antwerp; Danielle Withrow; Joseph Zendell.

Quoting the Foreword by the Symposium Facilitator, Dr. Lee J. Cary,

“As facilitator for the Grassroots and Mountain Wings Symposium, at which the articles in this book were first presented, I can testify firsthand to the vitality and vision of the individuals who contributed to this publication. The articles in this book offer a collective statement about the role and value of the arts as a source of renewal and revitalization for rural and small communities.”

I have watched, with fascination and excitement, the tremendous growth of this newly emerging field and have become convinced of it importance to the future of rural and small communities.  During my work with professional in this field, I have come to realize that community arts development in rural and small communities has a special history and requires a unique set of skills and specialized resources.  The article in this book offer a collective statement about the role and value of the arts as a source of renewal and revitalization for rural and small

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