"Worlds Imagined" is the theme of this year's campaign for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month - which is March. Iowans with disabilities and their advocates hope the public pays more attention to their creative work.

The campaign is about promoting the everyday contributions of those with disabilities, they say, and how communities can be inclusive in helping them achieve goals. Des Moines author Diane Glass, who was born with spina bifida, said she hopes her latest collection of poetry resonates on two key fronts.

"I think that this creative approach can hopefully give people with disabilities some differing perspective on their situation," said Glass, "and can help the larger public understand that people with disabilities are a wonderful resource."

Over the past decade, arts organizations and agencies have acknowledged those with disabilities are underrepresented in the performing and visual arts. That includes participation, employment and even attendance at performances.

As part of the campaign, the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council is accepting submissions of creative work and testimonials this month to share with the public.

Adam Reynolds, a Des Moines resident who has cerebral palsy, described photography as his passion. Through social media, he shares a range of photos, with the downtown area serving as his favorite location.

"I do daytime and nighttime shots of the capitol and of just, you know, numerous buildings," said Reynolds.

He said he hopes that one day he can expand his audience through other avenues. Reynolds said his ultimate goal is to secure enough funding to open his own gallery.

But to get there, he said he feels there needs to be more support from influential voices on the arts scene, and the community in general, to help him realize his dreams.

Book bans are on the rise in Maryland, according to a new report from PEN America.

The nonprofit that tracks issues of free expression says Maryland tied with South Carolina at ninth for the number of books banned during the last school year.

Three Maryland school districts tossed out a total of 64 books.

Carroll County was responsible for 59, due to a new policy there that bans titles with any sexually explicit content - a policy backed by Moms for Liberty, a national parental rights group.

Tasslyn Magnusson, a senior advisor with PEN America's Freedom to Read program, said parents have always had questions about books for their children and worked with librarians. But now, she said, the motive behind bans is changing.

"There are people who don't want to read the titles, but submit large challenges - 20, 30, 40 books at a time - and it's not about their child and their family," said Magnusson. "It's about all the students, and it's much more ideological and driven by much more political interests across the country."

Some of the titles banned in Maryland included notable works like The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

The PEN America research found books bans haven't been evenly distributed across the country. Iowa and Florida were responsible for more than 80% of the banned books in the last year.

And in the last school year, 29 states saw at least one booked banned. Magnusson said to change this trend, folks must show support for librarians before book challenges arise.

"You need to go into the public comment time of your school board meeting or send messages to your administration, before things happen in your community, about how much you love your librarians," said Magnusson. "Talk about how much you love diverse, inclusive literature that prepares your children for the world that they live in."

This past April, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed the Freedom to Read Act into law. It requires school officials to not remove books based on ideological, religious or partisan opposition.



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A new report quantifies the contribution of Wyoming's arts and culture sector to the state's economy and shows it is significant.

Wyoming in 2022 performed well in arts and culture compared to its neighboring states by the percentage of workers the sector employs, more than 4%, with a median salary of nearly $46,000 per year. The new analysis from the University of Wyoming showed the value added to the state by industry. Arts and culture added more than $1.3 billion in 2022, which was $350 million more than the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sectors.

Andrew Schneider, executive director of the Wyoming Arts Alliance, said it puts the effect of the arts on the state's economy in perspective.

"It's just as true to say that 'Wyoming is an arts and culture state,' as it is to say 'Wyoming is an agriculture state,'" Schneider explained. "Those two things are not in competition. "

Instead, Schneider pointed different industries in the state support each other. National models of similar data tend to overlook rural states' creative vitality, he noted, and he hopes this report will make way for Wyomingites to identify with the arts.

The report analyzes 2022 numbers by county and across the state, and the report's authors plan to analyze 2023 data when it becomes available. Schneider added will allow arts leaders at all levels to see how data is trending.

"We really wanted to be able to provide every county with a snapshot of what their creative economy looks like," emphasized. "And to facilitate a conversation with key arts and culture and community leaders around what their future looks like."

The counties with the highest percentage of arts- and culture-related employment in 2022 were Sheridan at 9.6%, followed by Teton, Johnson and Park.

By Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

Before Madeleine Ahlborn bought a church, the most expensive thing she owned was a 2002 Toyota 4Runner with 340,000 miles on it. Now, Ahlborn is the founder of The Church Project, a community art center in Monte Vista, Colorado, housed in an old Baptist church, with no relation to the religion.

An artist herself, Ahlborn was looking for a new studio in Monte Vista (population 4,247) when the owner of her old studio space offered up another building he owned - a church down the street. Ahlborn made "a handshake deal" to rent a room upstairs. A few months later, he asked her if she wanted to buy the building.

"We were just trying to build this community of creatives," Ahlborn said. The church building allowed her to do just that - and more. Currently, the space holds exhibitions, open studio time, workshops, and performances, with plans for much more. Ahlborn wants it to be an "intergenerational space", for families and community members, not just professional artists. On Sundays, the church is open for "Sunday School" - free art workshops or open creative time.

Surrounded by 14,000 foot mountains and holding the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, the 8,000 square mile San Luis Valley is a high-elevation desert landscape. The region grows the most potatoes in the state of Colorado and has a long history of agriculture. Tourism and outdoor recreation are growing industries in the area.

After moving to the San Luis Valley, Ahlborn wasn't sure how to be a professional artist in a rural community. She also saw so many people in her community making art on the side, without really referring to themselves as "artists". She wanted to make sure there was a space for all of these artists to gather and create.

"There are so many ways to be an artist and you can be a great artist anywhere. You don't have to be in a big city," Ahlborn told the Daily Yonder.

Arts and culture accounted for 3.7% of Colorado's GDP in 2022, providing more than 100,000 jobs across the state. South Central Colorado, including the six counties that make up the San Luis Valley and six additional surrounding counties, had 14% growth in employment in creative industries between 2010 and 2019.

In 2022, Monte Vista received a Recreation Economies for Rural Communities (RERC) grant, a program in collaboration with EPA's Office of Community Revitalization, the USDA Forest Service, the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Denali Commission. RERC supports rural communities with planning to grow their recreation economy, revitalize main streets, and increase equitable access to the outdoors.

Some of the goals that the city of Monte Vista and San Luis Valley Great Outdoors (SLV GO!), the partners for the grant, have are to revitalize their main street and grow small businesses, as well as improve access to the outdoors for residents. Ahlborn, who also works with SLV GO!, realized that the Church Project fits perfectly into these broader goals for Monte Vista.

A future goal for the Church Project is to provide funding for the Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley, a project Ahlborn is a part of in collaboration with the founders of the Alamosa Citizen, Chris Lopez and MaryAnne Talbott. The Church Project currently hosts a podcast recording studio for the Alamosa Citizen and the Rural Journalism Institute to help dismantle transportation barriers between Monte Vista and the city of Alamosa, 17 miles away.

Ahlborn sees art as vital in rural communities to provide belonging and create connections. "Art is kind of this catalyst to bring people together, whether you call yourself an artist or not," she said.

Ahlborn sees the Church Project as a third space, separate from work and home, free for people to find community and have a place to go. She wants everyone to feel at home at the Church Project, whether or not they identify as an artist.

"Monte Vista generally has been seen as a drive through town. There weren't a lot of places to stop," Ahlborn said. But she sees this changing, with her work with the Church Project, as well as the work being done by the city through the RERC grant.


Ilana Newman wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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