Initiatives
Linking Fences
Linking Fences focuses on resilient communities including every person. We develop supportive connections for healthy children, families, individuals and organizations. Working together initiates and strengthens relationships. Groups employed for a common purpose builds communication, trust and life-long skills of problem solving, good work ethic and pride in a job well done. Strong communities signify unity. In times of hardship, people help people. When people know their neighbors, they take care of them. Linking Fences creates multiple touch points that are opportunities for community groups to co-host material preparation sessions, cross-curricular art lessons and help to develop public installed artworks. There are 13 art fences in South Dakota that demonstrate continuity, connection and unity.
Black Hills Post-Naturalist Art Movement
The Black Hills Post-Naturalist Movement, termed also as PNAM, is a diverse group of artists with a purpose in promoting interpretation of nature versus pure realism/visual accuracy in various artistic forms. All artistic endeavors are a part of the movement. Black Hills post-naturalists receive their inspiration from nature and they don’t have a desire to replicate it like realism photography, whether it is a stone, plant, landscape, cavern, human, etc. We respect the intuition which can bridge the gap between the conscious and nonconscious parts of our mind and can be especially helpful during creative endeavors. The Movement’s members are interested in avant-garde processes which stretch the vision of art and include unusual, innovative, edgy, imaginative and/or experimental ideas that break precedent and connect to post-naturalist ideas. The Movement is an on-going, ever-changing, developing entity created by and for its members. It is non-hierarchical in the sense that any artist from the Black Hills can join as long as they have a belief in interpretation of nature versus a naturalist/realism art pursuit. The Movement encourages lively discussions and continuing education on the possibilities connected to a post-naturalist movement. Creative Explorations was proud to partner and support the PNAM in 2023.
Gather to Grow | Family Yoga Event
This event is rich; including a variety of sessions that synthesize cross-curricular educational sessions like art, literacy and yoga, promote and practice the foundations of yoga, creative movement, personal growth through creativity and empowerment, community, confidence, and life long skills encouraged by gratitude. By working with educational professionals, yoga instructors, mental health providers, cultural leadership and more, we provide unique experiences for children of all ages, families and our communities!
West River Creatives
Our mission is to create a thriving environment to nurture the innate multidisciplinary nature of the artist community. The West River Creatives is an online coworking space and community for artists. WRC unites creatives from all artistic disciplines to collaborate with and support the larger West River and South Dakota arts community. We offer a material share for anyone needing components. The WRC develops creative and artistic dialogue and experiences between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary life and art. Being accessible to a diverse public ranging from elders to young children of every age and ethnicity, we also work to enrich the lives of our community members through the acquisition and presentation of art works through meaningful online exhibitions. Our work is intentionally developed to bring justice to all artists and offer thoughtful experiences, dialogues and interactions.