In the news

• Post and Courier: Charleston corner stores stock far more than just your morning milk
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: YBCA Announces a $250k Investment in an Artist-Led Giving Circle
• ArtPlace America: CREATIVITY LIVES HERE: TINY BUSINESSES WITH MAGIC IDEAS
• Charleston Chronicle: In the Whorl of Time – Centennial celebrations for James Simons planned
• Charleston Chronicle: conNECKtedTOO by the Charleston Rhizome Collective Presents “BET ON ME, I BET ON YOU” Interactive, Multi-disciplinary Art Installation for Piccolo Spoleto 2019
• Charleston Chronicle: New App, Temporary Location Puts TINYBUSINESSES On Display
• Charleston City Paper: An open letter to Charleston-area candidates for mayor
• Post and Courier: When it comes to public art what can Charleston learn from a 40-foot-puppy
• Charleston City Paper: Charleston Rhizome Collective celebrates the history and future of tiny businesses 
• Charleston Chronicle: Charleston Rhizome Art Collective Again To Challenge Social Art Connection
• Charleston City Paper: ArtPlace America grants $300,000 to Charleston Rhizome Collective’s mobile app project
• Post & Courier: Arts group Charleston Rhizome Collective receives national grant for small business initiative
• Charleston Chronicle: Getting Older Is A Blessing, But Can Be Inconvenient

Press Releases

conNECKtedTOO —> TINYisPOWERFUL.com is a 2020 Partner for Change with Alternate ROOTS and The Surdna Foundation

America without racism, can you imagine? Partners for Change launches with ROOTS’ first 3-year initiative and a strategic commitment to ending racism and other oppressions through catalytic investments in the US South.

conNECKtedTOO —>TINYisPOWERFUL is one of six initiatives selected in this inaugural cohort of partners.

“The cohort’s collective network tackles a multitude of strategic fronts of struggle and pushes systemic change to create a US South, where race does not automatically determine your outcome in life.”

Collaborative at all levels, conNECKtedTOO —> TINYisPOWERFUL facilitates active relationships between tiny businesses, artists, cultural workers, educators, youth and civic leaders. They are reimagining ethical, sustainable development by creating a model of inclusive growth that engages, serves and advances existing populations while making space for cross-cultural conversations and amplifying the voices of disadvantaged, low wealth and historically marginalized populations.

TINYisPOWERFUL.com is an online participatory creative place, a community archive, where activities and stories generated on the ground can be kept and rendered public. As the network grows and evolves so do the content and functions of the platform.

The transformation/continuation of conNECKtedTOO —> TINYisPOWERFUL is led by writer, producer, facilitator Victoria Rae Moore and directed collectively by a small creative team, artists, tiny businesses and a circle of advisors.

“I am the lead facilitator and organizer of TINYisPOWERFUL.com and the effort to utilize it along with other art assets, installations and residencies as tools for meaningful, reciprocal community engagement. Charleston County has always been my home and I believe in the ability to imagine its future together,” says Victoria.

conNECKtedTOO —> TINYisPOWERFUL comes from an experiment in Charleston, SC by the Charleston Rhizome Collective to become a solidarity hub. It is the continuation of a long history of art in/with communities to affect structural change. Some members of the Charleston Rhizome Collective, which has created the projects “conNECKted: Imaginings for Truth & Reconciliation” (2014-2016) and conNECKtedTOO (a project supported by ArtPlace America 2017- 2020) are partners, others have formed the circle of advisors.

For more information about conNECKtedTOO —> TINYisPOWERFUL please visitTINYisPOWERFUL.com or email TINYisPOWERFUL@gmail.com to contact Victoria or any member of the team.

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conNECKtedTOO –> TINYisPOWERFUL seeks and involves Artists, Cultural Workers, Youth and Tiny Business partners to support and promote TINY BUSINESS in the South, as a vital part of commerce and neighborhood; to fully embrace THE ARTS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE ARTS as activators of sustainability; to build a mentorship program and awaken in YOUTH a spirit of entrepreneurship and civic engagement.

Alternate ROOTS is a regional* arts service organization with 44 years of history. As a member-driven national resource for artists and cultural organizers, we seek to champion social and economic justice and the work of people in our field.

Partners for Change (PFC) is an artist support program reimagining philanthropy in a way that is values and people-centered. It is part of the Thriving Cultures Program of The Surdna Foundation.

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Charleston Rhizome Collective’s project, “conNECKtedTOO” is receiving funding from ArtPlace America’s 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund

ArtPlace received 987 applications in 2017, from which 70 finalists were selected and conNECKtedTOO is one of only 23 projects that will receive funding this year. ArtPlace’s National Creative Placemaking Fund is a highly competitive national program, which invests money in community development projects where artists, arts organizations, and arts and culture activity work to strengthen communities across 10 sectors of community planning and development.

Charleston Rhizome Collective’s project, conNECKtedTOO, seeks to create a solidarity hub and network linking Tiny Neighborhood Businesses to cumulate buying and selling power, engage residents in decisions over business ownership, loans, job training, hiring practices, wholesale prices, schooling and housing.

The network will address the needs of Small/Tiny Businesses, using installations, visuals, forums, a tour, an app-based interactive map and a youth entrepreneurship program. “This year’s investments highlight critical dimensions of creative placemaking strategy that can provide great inspiration to communities across the country.” said F. Javier Torres, Director of National Grantmaking at ArtPlace. “Creative Placemaking seeks the full and robust integration of art and culture into the decisions that define the ebb and flow of community life.

These projects embody what this looks like at its most effective,” said Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation and Chair of the ArtPlace President’s Council.

“We were overwhelmed by the extraordinary commitment demonstrated in these projects – contributing to the growing understanding of creative placemaking efforts throughout the nation.” “All of Charleston commends the conNECKted team on their ArtPlace America award,” said Charleston Mayor John J. Tecklenburg. “Their past projects and recent efforts build confidence that the arts can be effectively put to work in new and creative ways to sustain and strengthen our local communities.”

“Congratulations to the Charleston Rhizome Collective on its successful application to ArtPlace America,” said Ken May, Executive Director of the South Carolina Arts Commission.

“For the last five years, the commission has been actively promoting this opportunity for South Carolina organizations to join the cadre of creative place making efforts that ArtPlace America funds. It is a rigorous and competitive process; many have applied and only a few South Carolina organizations have made it to the finalist level. Clearly, conNECKtedTOO had the right ingredients—authenticity, local engagement, artistic sensibility and a compelling need— to bring home this prestigious award.”