Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce that Director of Local Arts Services Ruby Lopez Harper was selected as one of seven Practices for Change Fellows at the National Accelerator for Cultural Innovation at Arizona State University.

The Practices for Change fellowship is funded in part by an Our Town/Knowledge Building Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The fellowship supports individuals with experience using arts, culture, and design within other sectors such as health, transportation, planning, justice, and the environment in order to build stronger, more equitable communities.

Practices for Change is one of only a handful of opportunities supporting the work that takes place between artists/designers and non-arts partners. Through the fellowship, the National Accelerator hopes to spotlight this essential intermediary role and expand this field of practice. The fellowship is intended as a peer cohort so that ASU, the NEA, and others can better understand how to support artists/designers working in non-traditional ways with new partners to transform practice and public policy for public good.

The selected national fellows work within sectors such as health, justice, sustainability, housing, planning, and community development. During the year-long program, fellows will work in tandem with ASU faculty and staff, as well as mentors with the Center for Performance and Civic Practice, to expand their own practical work and share learning from their on-the-ground experiences. The fellows will document their work and contribute to case studies, a podcast, and a national convening in 2020 where they will connect with others working in the “middle ground” between artistic practice and public policy.