Passing of President Jimmy Carter Celebrating his Support for and Engagement with the Arts.

"Art is Business"

Following the recent passing of President Jimmy Carter, the news has been full of his impact on U.S. environmental policy and human rights. We were glad to see this article in ARTNews celebrating his support for and engagement with the arts, particularly during his presidency. Carter signed the bill that doubled the NEA’s budget and had a clear vision of the relationship between public and private funding to support the arts. Beyond his presidency, Carter was involved with the NEA’s Your Town program (now called the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design) and participated in two sessions hosted in Plains, Georgia, his hometown and life-long residence. 

Plains, GA

At 83 years old, President Carter rode his bicycle to the workshop, reinforcing everyone’s desire to create more walkable and livable communities. The workshop speakers and exercises focused on building civic capacity and leadership skills within the Latino community, as well as the inclusion of manufactured housing into existing community fabric.

The last time Your Town was in Plains, Georgia, was 2002, with a workshop focused on the issues faced by historically African American communities. At that workshop, President Jimmy Carter suggested that Future Your Town be focused on the Latino communities in Georgia. From December 13-16, 2007, Su Cuidad (Your Town) hosted 25 community leaders from throughout Georgia. Pratt Cassity, Public Service and Outreach Director from the University of Georgia School of Environmental Design, coordinated the workshop. Joining Pratt were groups of colleagues from UGA that specialized in the issues facing the Latino community.

The workshop speakers and exercises focused on building civic capacity and leadership skills within the Latino community. The design problem addressed the inclusion of manufactured housing into the existing community fabric.

Maurice Cox, the Endowment’s new Director of Design, attended the entire workshop. This was Mr. Cox’s first Your Town experience, and it was wonderful that he could see the workshop in its entirety.  The keynote speaker canceled at the last moment, and Maurice volunteered to speak. The participants all found his presentation inspirational and perfect for the needs of the workshop.

As we had hoped, President Jimmy Carter stopped by to say hello to the workshop participants. Pratt gave President Carter a symbolic key to Your Town. At 83 years old, President Carter rode his bicycle to the workshop, reinforcing everyone’s desire to create more walkable and livable communities.

-Excerpted from Your Town: Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, Update, Fall, 2007