This summer, the Rutherford Arts Alliance Arts Advocacy Interest Group is diving into creative placemaking: the practice of using arts, culture, and creativity for community development, to shape the places where we live, work, and gather.
You don't need to be an artist or a city planner to participate. If you care about what Rutherford County is becoming, and want to have a hand in shaping it, this series is for you.
Three sessions, free and open to all.
Session 1
What Is Creative Placemaking?
Available Monday, June 15 (virtual, self-paced)
Color question mark image credit: unsplash.com/@christynatd
What does it mean to make a place worth living in? And how do arts and culture shape the communities we call home?
In this first session, we'll explore the foundations of creative placemaking: what it is, where it comes from, and why it matters for communities like ours. Drawing on insights from the 2026 South & Appalachian Creative Placemaking Summit in Memphis, this session offers an accessible introduction to ideas that are already reshaping towns and cities across the South.
Whether you're brand new to this conversation or have been thinking about it for years, this is your invitation in.
A link to watch will be shared with registered participants on June 15. Have questions? Submit yours and they'll be addressed in Session 2.
Session 2
Building Together: A Workshop in Resilient Community Development
Wednesday, July 15 | 6–7 PM | Via Zoom (virtual, live & interactive — registration required)
Colorful building blocks image credit: unsplash.com/@sen7
This one is hands-on! This live workshop invites participants to explore what we, as a group, already bring to the table.
Through a guided group activity, we'll identify the skills, resources, perspectives, and passions each of us carries, find the common threads between us, and begin imagining what we could build together toward a shared vision for Rutherford County's creative and cultural future.
Come ready to participate. This session works best with your camera on and your voice in the room.
Questions submitted after Session 1 will be addressed during this session.
Session 3
Making Home in Rutherford County
Available Wednesday, August 19 (virtual, self-paced)
Image: Some of the local participating artists in front of a mural installation at the Walnut House in Murfreesboro.
We've learned the framework. We've practiced working together. Now we bring it home.
In this final session, we'll look at creative placemaking in action: real projects from communities across the South that used arts and culture to shape their growth, protect their identity, and strengthen belonging. Then we'll turn the lens on Rutherford County: what's already happening here, what's possible, and how you can be a part of it.
A link to watch will be shared with registered participants on August 19. Questions submitted after Session 2 will be addressed during this session.
Ready to join us?
Register once and you're in for the whole series. We'll email you when each session is available, send the Zoom link before the July 15 live session, and keep you updated throughout the summer.
Questions? Contact Mai Hamric at maihamric@gmail.com
About This Series
In April 2026, RAA board member and Arts Advocacy Interest Group leader Mai Hamric attended the 2026 South & Appalachian Creative Placemaking Summit in Memphis, Tennessee — made possible by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission's Special Opportunities: Arts Forward program.
Produced by Creative Placemaking Communities in partnership with Community LIFT, the Summit brought together artists, administrators, and community leaders to explore how arts, culture, and creative placemaking can drive community and economic development across the South. Themed "Building Bridges: Connecting Communities through Culture and Commerce," the 2026 gathering was the eighth and final regional summit — a capstone convening for a decade of work across the Southern region and Appalachia.
The Tennessee Arts Commission's Special Opportunities: Arts Forward grant is designed to strengthen Tennessee's arts sector and support unique opportunities statewide, including funding for individual Tennessee residents to attend the Summit. This series is the direct result of that investment — bringing what was learned in Memphis back to Rutherford County.
This project was supported in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Learn more about the Special Opportunities: Arts Forward grant program and the 2026 South & Appalachian Creative Placemaking Summit.
Banner image: Colorful houses mural, 200 Jefferson St., Smyrna, TN
