As we start the second quarter of the year, we wanted to take some time to reflect on the amazing netwerking that has been done so far! In mid January King Charles traveled to Santa Barbara for a four day artist residency. We sought to accomplish four key goals with Charles’s time in Santa Barbara: 

1. Engage, educate, and strengthen relationships with Santa Barbara area students & staff

2. Deepen existing relationships with local community partners and increase the number of classes and programming offered

3. Cultivate new resources and expand existing funder relationships 

4. Scout new talent for teachers and make new hires

During the residency, Charles and Creative Netwerk teachers went deep into their relationships with two area schools, working with students of high school and college age. Five classes, three workshops, and one performance were executed impacting 180 students across three locations.

During his visit we also held a teacher training for our Santa Barbara teaching artists as an opportunity for them to connect, share feedback, and bond. One of Charles’s salient takeaways was the importance of the teaching staff being in person with one another. Since most of their work is done in a silo from each other, not seeing or hearing one another’s work, the value of sharing their experiences with one another was more salient.

The artist residency successfully deepened relationships with students, teachers, partners, and donors alike, providing learning experiences and opportunities to engage and participate in our growth and future vision. In reflecting on the residency, Charles described how he’s learning to communicate the importance of Creative Netwerk to important community stakeholders that come from a different perspective than his: like funders, partners, and community members who may not be dancers or may not be familiar with street dance. Continuing to be a mouthpiece for Creative Netwerk’s artistic mission and vision is deeply important, as it grows the netwerk of people who can support, uplift, and understand Creative Netwerk’s work.