The Rural Routes Design Lab is a new program of the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production (Sipp Culture) that fosters a model of partnership where artists, creators, and cultural organizers learn from and with Sipp Culture and their peers from across Central Mississippi. 

We established the Rural Routes Design Lab to help artists, creators, and cultural organizers working in rural contexts access the resources, training, and support they need to have a greater impact on their communities.

Through this program, artists gain insights into traditional and innovative approaches to community-engaged and informed practice and receive support in creating artwork that transforms the ways we think, dream, and work together. The Rural Routes Design Lab emphasizes the importance of working closely with the community throughout the planning and implementation of public art to ensure artists meaningfully center community members in their work. 

Support for Rural Creators: Apply for the Design Lab

Artists, creators, and cultural organizers living, working, and creating in rural communities face unique challenges that Sipp Culture has deep experience navigating and addressing. The Rural Routes Design Lab offers:

• Multi-modal learning and peer-sharing opportunities
• Mentorship, training, and technical assistance
• A three-year stipend of $25,000 per year
• Access to design lab to help artists bring their ideas to life

To apply for the Rural Routes Design Lab, artists, creators, and cultural organizers, must register for a Rural Routes Design Lab workshop at www.sippculture.org/ruralroutes. 

Community Engagement for All

The Rural Routes Design Lab Workshop series offers organizers, community leaders, activists, and others seeking to creatively address issues in their communities an introduction to the philosophy and practice that has guided the groundbreaking, artist-driven work happening in Utica, Mississippi. We are here to help you establish lasting change through creative, community-driven approaches. 

For people who don’t necessarily identify as artists, creators, or cultural organizers, these workshops are interactive and connective learning spaces that introduce creative approaches to cross-sector collaboration that create more possibilities and opportunities for rural communities to thrive.

Peer-Driven Learning

These workshops are designed for people to learn from and with their peers about the importance and impact of community-driven work across the country and what’s possible in rural communities when people work together. Ultimately, the Rural Routes Design Lab workshops help participants think differently about the issues their communities face and open up more possibilities for their communities to thrive. Through these workshops, participants learn how arts and culture can be critical elements of sustainable social change.

You can apply for the workshop at www.sippculture.org/ruralroutes.