Community Organizations & Collectives
These are the groups that will be presenting at the first Community Pitch Session of the Co-Creation Initiative on Tuesday, May 11th at 6:00pm.
Troy 4 Black Lives
A Tribe PodQuest (ATPQ) is a collective of community organizers whose work is grounded in storytelling, meditation, music and multimedia creative expression. We came together through our involvement in Troy 4 Black Lives, an intergenerational collective of abolitionist organizers in Paanpack (Troy, NY) who formed to demand accountability of the Troy Police following their shooting of Dahmeek McDonald in August of 2017. In addition, their work includes the continued exposing and denouncing of the police murder & city backed cover-up of the murder of Edson Thevenin in 2016. We are educators, growers, raptivists, videographers and racial justice educators committed to bringing Black healing and liberation to our home city & beyond. Cherishing Black Life, since been.
Follow our work at @troy4blacklives, @amanipoet, @blacklivescreate, @damarisun, @donfons and @restedrootco
Black Dimensions in Art, Inc.
Black Dimensions in Art, Inc. (BDA), incorporated in 1975 is a volunteer non-profit organization composed of artists and art enthusiasts. BDA's mission: to educate the public to the unique contributions of artists of the African Diaspora to the American art scene through exhibitions, publications, television and other media; provide exposure and sales opportunities for artists of African descent; and to encourage youth of African descent in the practice, application, and appreciation of the arts.
Lights Out Norlite | Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions (SSANE)
Lights Out Norlite (LON) is a non-profit, non-hierarchical organization under the 501(c)3 umbrella of the Media Alliance. LON is committed to the closure and clean-up of Norlite, LLC a hazardous waste incinerator operating in the city of Cohoes, NY. LON is focused on outreach to raise public awareness about the impact of Norlite’s toxic emissions, and to galvanize grassroots activism to force politicians, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies to act.
Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions (SSANE) is a non-profit organization. SSANE is not currently under an institutional umbrella. SSANE is committed to giving voice to the people at Saratoga Sites and surrounding communities through documentary coverage of the impact of Norlite’s hazardous waste emissions on everyday people, especially those in environmental justice areas. This coverage also examines the public policy behind the problem.
C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios
Julie Lewis, MEd and Aili Lopez, LMHC, ATR are founders of the capital district non-profit arts agency, C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios. We are embarking on a year+ long series of community/social justice art projects, with support from a Saratoga Arts Community Arts grant, the Saratoga Springs Public Library, and other local non-profit agencies such as Sustainable Saratoga, the MLK Project, Saratoga PRIDE, Lifeworks Action (EOC), The Saratoga Springs Housing Authority and others. Our mission is as follows:
C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing a space where the benefits of art-making impact both the individual and the community as a whole. We offer low-cost art workshops and groups, community wellness activities, and open studios to promote art-making and the creative process as a vehicle for personal growth, communication, and social change. We believe that the beneficial experience of art-making should be affordable and accessible to everyone. Our goal is to use expressive arts as an equalizer across cultural and economic barriers, and for participants to learn how to use art as an expressive medium to increase their general well-being. We focus on the process of the art-making, not the product. Unlike other art studios, our expectations are not rooted in a product or an image. We focus on the evolution of a piece and encourage conversation about its meaning.
Ndakinna Education Center
The Ndakinna Education Center is an affiliate of the Greenfield Review Literary Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and charitable organization located in Greenfield Center, New York. Ndakinna is a place to learn Wilderness & Survival Skills, Adirondack & Native American Culture, Ecology & Nature Studies, Fitness & Martial Arts, and Personal & Team Development.
Our many programs emphasize observation skills, regional cultural awareness, outdoor learning, critical thinking, team building, and character development with a special focus on the Arts of Life. These arts integrate traditional skills such as tracking, survival, dance, storytelling, the martial arts, and conflict resolution.
Collaborative Saratoga
Collaborative Saratoga is a platform for civic conversations that Michele Madigan, a librarian with a longstanding interest in digital content, and outgoing Saratoga Springs Commissioner, is developing in an expanding initiative that includes: Dan Forbush and Bill Walker, former Skidmore College communications chiefs and Smartacus co-founders; Steve Thurston, publisher of Foothills Business Daily; Tom Denny, chair of the Saratoga Springs Open Sapce Advisory Committee, chair Sustainable Saratoga’s Urban Forestry Program; Wendy Mahaney, Executive Director of Sustainable Saratoga; Tina Carton, Coordinator of Preservation, Open Space and Historic Preservation for the City of Saratoga Springs, NY.
Sustainable Saratoga is a not-for-profit organization that promotes sustainable practices and the protection of natural resources, through education, advocacy, and action, for the benefit of current and future generations in Saratoga Springs and beyond. The organization focuses on providing educational resources that people can use to make informed decisions that are more sustainable, to advocate for sustainable policies and programs, and to empower their community to take action themselves.
