Developed in partnership with the Blandin Foundation, Heartland, Heartwork: A Field Guide to Place and Possibility is a comprehensive Field Guide designed to empower rural leaders in planning and executing effective place-based projects centered in arts, culture and creativity.

Featuring case studies from over 30 communities across Minnesota and original essays from rural creative leaders—including Bethany Lacktorin, Jack Forinash, Moira Villiard, Mural on the Wall, the Department of Public Transformation, and Hi-Vis Agency—the Field Guide offers valuable insights and practical tools for fostering creative leadership in rural areas.

“Place-based work starts with being grounded in our personal values and asking ourselves critical questions about our connection to place and our intentions for impact,” says Michele Anderson, Rural Director at Springboard, who wrote and edited the Field Guide. “Getting clear on what drives us as individuals, and knowing our own capacity and limitations, is a unique focus of this book.”

The book is organized into six chapters: Place, People, Intentions, Centering Creatives, Action, and Ripple Effects. Each chapter is packed with prompts for personal reflection, project planning worksheets, team-building activities, and thought-provoking essays from creative rural leaders.

The Field Guide was born out of a year-long Community of Practice facilitated by Springboard for the Arts, aimed at supporting rural placemaking grantees through the Blandin Foundation. Over the course of 10 months, participants engaged in shared learning, peer support, and site exchanges, all of which contributed to the development of this resource.

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