Creative Equity: Documenting the Social Impact of the CU BIPOC Artist Collective

Academic Mentor | Carolyn Randolph-Kato[WHP1] [WM2] 
Community Partner | City of Urbana Arts and Culture Program

Project Description
The CU BIPOC Artist Collective was established to support and empower artists and creatives who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). This initiative, a collaboration between the City of Urbana Arts and Culture Program and the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois, seeks to create a more equitable arts ecosystem. It provides members with access to peer networks, community and university art spaces, and opportunities to create and share art that reflects their lived experiences.

Community-engaged arts research draws on several methods and methodologies to build knowledge about historically underrepresented and underserved populations within the arts and culture ecosystem. This includes qualitative and quantitative methods that are innovative and participatory-centered. Digital storytelling is a key interdisciplinary and collaborative methodology deployed in this project, combining storytelling, images, animation, and technology to create videos that communicate the collective lived experiences of participants. Digital storytelling uses audiovisual elements to examine and build literacy around complex social phenomena that are often difficult to capture through traditional quantitative methods.

This project will use digital storytelling to document the social impact of the CU BIPOC Artist Collective. It will explore how the Collective fosters belonging, social cohesion, and economic vibrancy in Urbana-Champaign. The process includes identifying story themes, key points, and desired emotive impacts; gathering media and materials; scripting and storyboarding; editing and producing video shorts; and presenting the digital stories on social media. These stories aim to communicate the transformative role of the Collective in creating a more inclusive and equitable arts and culture ecosystem while supporting community and economic development efforts.

Role of the Community-Academic Scholar
The scholar will:

• Document the activities and impact of the CU BIPOC Artist Collective
• Attend events, workshops, and meetings hosted by the Collective, capturing photographs and video footage to create compelling digital stories
• Collaborate with mentors to identify themes and key messages, gather and organize media assets, and contribute to scripting and storyboarding
• Assist in editing and producing the final video shorts, ensuring they effectively communicate the experiences of BIPOC artists and creatives
• Amplify awareness of the Collective’s contribution to the social and economic impact on the local community through social media