Ever consider how culture can shape a neighborhood or give it identity through community-based arts? Our second interview, in a series featuring some of Charleston’s civic-minded organizations, is with Kate Nevin, Founder of Enough Pie, a non-profit working to do just that (some examples of their work can be seen on our Projects page). A year ago we did not know Kate well but we did share a view from neighboring offices on Upper King Street. Rumor had it that she had loads of ideas, so we reached out and soon discovered an ally and booster of our IYWM concept.
Tell us about Enough Pie’s mission and how that segues with the question of livability in Charleston? Our mission is to build and support a sense of community in Charleston’s Upper Peninsula using a tool set developed as part of the creative placemaking movement in use around the world. EP’s initiatives promote art and cultural activities as a central part of an inclusive and inspiring community. We are a relatively new organization and our earliest efforts in this area focused on developing a homegrown sense of the possibilities in this community – a placesaving strategy where everyone could feel that they had a part to play.
In the intervening two years we’ve been cultivating an arts and cultural framework for this neighborhood, using creative placemaking to catalyze ideas and make things happen. We’ve also found that partnerships – public/private, business/resident, citizen/artist – allow us to leverage more effectively the area’s creative energy into projects that are community-oriented and collectively transformational. These have included pop-ups, art installations, and creative collaborations with a broad range of organizations, such as Meeting Street Academy, Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Historic Charleston Foundation, and many local arts groups. All of these have been free and open to the public.
Our community feels empowered through these efforts to make our neighborhood better. We believe that we can retain the value of its accessibility, affordability, and diversity, and, simultaneously, welcome more like-minded businesses, organizations, and residents. We must continually foster the belief that there is truly “enough pie” for everyone when we think creatively, act deliberately, and practice inclusivity.
And, what if you were Mayor? I would choose an artist as one of my lead advisors. No political science, urban planning or policy experience needed. As to qualifications, I would look for a working artist with an impressive portfolio of community-minded, socially-progressive artwork and installations. Artists have an incredible way of opening us up to different possibilities and alternative ways of seeing. Ultimately artists provide us with better tools for connecting with each other. I would call this position Chief of Community Connectivity. The COCC’s main responsibility would be to take the hairy, messy, complicated issues that vex our City and use the language and perspective of art to find creative and executable solutions.
If you would like to be part of how a community’s sense of place can be enhanced through art and culture, then check out Enough Pie by starting with the projects EP has shared with If You Were Mayor.
