The Kaleidoscope Project (Minnesota), an initiative of Rumination Garden, harnesses the power of public imagination labs and cultural advocacy projects to promote empathy, solidarity, intercultural learning, and social change.
This initiative fulfills its mission through the development of: (1) public imagination labs informed by Human-Centered Design and (2) cultural advocacy projects that amplify the work of social impact organizations through arts & culture.
Rooted in an iterative approach that centers building solutions in collaboration with communities rather than for them, TKP public imagination labs have focused on:
- Promoting inter-community solidarity and cultural exchange between BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized groups
- Facilitating discourse around local and national social challenges, and shifting social narratives toward empathy, collaboration, and innovation
- Building an ecosystem where creative writing, arts, and culture are recognized as essential resources for strengthening connections and creating lasting, equitable change
In 2020, in partnership with the East Side Freedom Library, TKP facilitated public imagination workshops that brought together sixteen writers from historically marginalized groups to build solidarity, empathy, and intercultural understanding.
These workshops produced creative works that addressed the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, anti-Asian violence during the pandemic, and cultural loss in Black and Indigenous communities. Many of the creative works were broadcast on Twin Cities Public Television.
Learn more about cultural advocacy and public imagination.
REBECCA NICHLOSON 