CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE AND

Leverages artistic tools and cultural practices to transform civic systems and enhance the effectiveness of government and community-led initiatives by integrating creativity into public problem-solving and policy implementation.

The organization provides capacity-building support and technical assistance to artist-civic partner teams and organizations. This includes offering tools for cross-sector collaboration, co-design strategies, project coaching, national peer engagement, and customized consulting to help reframe challenges, engage communities, and design effective programs for equitable change.

The organization builds local capacity for artist and community/municipal partnerships through structured cohort-based programs like the Learning Lab. These programs provide sessions and one-on-one mentoring focused on equitable arts-based partnerships, deep listening, co-design skills, and utilizing artistic tools for community change, intentionally curating diverse cohorts.

Builds field-wide capacity through structured learning cohorts—such as the Learning Lab—that provide mentoring, skill-building in co-design and deep listening, and peer engagement, with intentional diversity in participant backgrounds to strengthen equitable arts-based civic partnerships.

The organization operates with a collective leadership model, involving practitioners of color and artist-facilitators in decision-making through consensus, democratic, and somatic processes. This approach aims to flatten hierarchy, create inclusive governance, and ensure that organizational direction and work are determined by a diverse group committed to justice and equity.

The organization operates with a collective leadership structure, often composed of practitioners of color, making decisions through consensus, democratic, and somatic processes. This approach is committed to centering justice and equity in both internal organizational structures and external partnerships, and involves reimagining governance through collaborative co-imagination with artists and facilitators.

Operates through collective leadership models—such as leadership circles and artist-facilitator governance—that use consensus, democratic, and somatic decision-making processes to center justice, equity, and inclusion both internally and in external partnerships.

The organization employs a "Civic Practice" framework that centers community-defined aspirations and challenges, ensuring diverse community participation, especially from historically excluded people of color. This approach utilizes artistic tools and capacities to engage communities, inform civic decision-making, and transform systems, with a focus on including voices often absent from these processes.

The organization emphasizes the importance of diverse community participation, particularly from historically excluded people of color, in arts-based community development and civic decision-making. It actively works to include voices often absent from civic processes and ensures that organizational decisions are made through consensus, democratic, and somatic processes that center justice and equity.

Advances community-driven change by supporting artist-community partnerships that co-design projects based on locally defined needs and aspirations, ensuring that civic engagement and development are rooted in community leadership and cultural assets.

Facilitates and builds capacity for collaboration between artists, cultural practitioners, and non-arts sectors—such as government and community organizations—to co-solve problems, advance equity, and drive place-based systemic change through tools, coaching, and structured partnerships.

The organization provides tailored technical assistance and facilitation services to organizations and networks, both within and outside the arts sector. These services focus on reframing challenges, co-designing processes, engaging communities, and providing long-term coaching, as well as facilitating intentional collaboration and trust-building among diverse groups.

The organization is committed to supporting artists and communities who lack mainstream financial support or visibility. This includes intentionally curating diverse learning cohorts and practicing anti-racism and anti-bias training to foster an inclusive environment.

Provides tailored technical assistance and consulting to organizations and networks—especially those outside the arts—by reframing challenges, co-designing processes, and offering long-term coaching to advance equity, sustainability, and community engagement.

The organization facilitates collaborations between artists, designers, culture makers, and heritage holders with organizations outside the arts sector. This approach aims to leverage artistic and cultural capacities to address community challenges, advance equitable place-based development, and drive systemic change.

The organization believes that by encouraging and facilitating collaborations between arts organizations, artists, and non-arts sectors, they can collectively address community challenges and drive equitable place-based and systemic change. This involves providing tools, coaching, and capacity-building for these partnerships.

Prioritizes the inclusion of historically excluded voices—particularly people of color and marginalized communities—in civic decision-making through intentional engagement strategies, deep listening, and trust-building across diverse groups.

Reimagines internal structures to reduce hierarchy, practice anti-racism, and embed equity through collaborative governance, staff training, and co-created organizational development that reflects its external mission.