What is AZ Creative Communities Institute?
The Arizona Creative Communities Institute (AZ CCI) was a learning program wherein diverse teams from Arizona cities, towns, and neighborhoods reimagine community assets and devise meaningful projects that place creative engagement, ethical and equitable practices, and local wisdom at the center. With local and national artists and creative entrepreneurs as collaborators, AZ CCI teams worked alongside their neighbors and across the AZ CCI network in support of community transformation through the arts.
The AZ CCI communities included Barrio Anita, Casa Grande, Douglas, Eastlake, Flagstaff, Globe, South Phoenix, Tempe and Yuma.
The AZ CCI was an initiative of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, with guidance from Southwest Folklife Alliance, a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Arizona. The AZ CCI was made possible by a grant from the Surdna Foundation with additional support from the Arizona Community Foundation.