In 2023 I, along with a small cohort of students, were tasked with creating an interactive storytelling website that highlighted a local issue or cause. Working as a team, we found a cause that each of us had passion behind and used that passion to drive forward an immersive and community driven call to action. A majority of our final project was guided by research, as well as, personal testimonies of local artists. My role on this team was researcher and point of communication. In this role, I provided key information that informed the direction of the project. More importantly, I was the person in contact with and performing interviews with the artists and creating the tie to our community. Our research drew upon the Works Progress Administration and Federal Arts programs of the 1940’s, which employed thousands of artists using federal funding. The goal of our project was to amplify the stories and experiences of present day artists in Toledo and advocate for the reimplementation of such programs for the benefit of our community at large.
