Arts at the Intersection: Cross-Sector Collaboration and Creative Placemaking in Rapid City, SD

Abstract

Small cities and rural communities are undertaking initiatives to create jobs, attract businesses, and entice tourists in efforts to adapt to a “new” economy in which the technology industry is outpacing and replacing manufacturing in providing job opportunities and economic growth. Communities are positioning assets, such as arts and culture, to meet these challenges. Creative placemaking, a popular initiative, employs cross-sector collaboration to develop arts-centered projects for location-specific benefits and can be undertaken in communities of all sizes. Advocates of the arts have promoted the promise for small and medium cities and rural areas. Small cities and rural communities form a diverse and heterogeneous population, but it is important to think about how conditions outside of metropolitan areas differ and shape collaborations and initiatives. This article presents the case of Rapid City, South Dakota, a small, Midwestern city serving a geographically dispersed population. This analysis contributes to the limited body of work examining collaboration in small and medium cities, illustrates the challenges, and offers insights into creative placemaking. Funding and participation emerged as important topics in this case of small city collaboration.

Keywords:

• Arts administration
• creative placemaking
• cross-sector collaboration
• rural change
• small cities

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the editors, particularly Dr. Sanjay Pandey and Dr. Jasmine McGinnis Johnson, and the blind reviewers who provided helpful recommendations in the preparation of this manuscript. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the individuals who agreed to participate and share their observations and experience.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

B. Kathleen Gallagher

B. Kathleen Gallagher is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University. She earned her PhD in Public Administration at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research draws on her academic and professional experiences in art history, business administration, nonprofit management, and public administration. Her research explores the organizational ecology of the arts sector with specific interests in sub-national policies, funding, and sustainability. She is qualified as a Certified Appraiser of Fine Arts with the International Society of Appraisers. Gallagher’s research has been presented in Australia, Canada, China, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, and the United States.

Matthew P. Ehlman

Matthew P. Ehlman formed The Numad Group with two colleagues after five years as vice president for advancement at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Matt earned his PhD in philanthropic studies from Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. His dissertation focused on donor motivation. He was named a 2015 Bush Fellow from the Bush Foundation. His current research has been presented in China and the United States, and he is in the initial stages of creating the Rural Philanthropy Institute to better understand the impact of the third sector in rural America. Additionally, he co-founded the monthly conversation series Morning Fill Up at The Garage in Rapid City, which has welcomed guests like Paula Kerger (President and CEO of PBS), Deirdre Dalpiaz-Bishop (Chief of Geography at the United States Census), Adam Steltzner (NASA JPL Engineer), & Rahzel (World-renowned Beatboxer).