Our Friday update here at kickstART farmington highlights some great articles we’ve read this week dealing with art, creative placemaking, and building great communities. You’re sure to find some inspiration to make your life and our community even better!

1. Celebrating Public Art: A recent trip to Chicago on the first weekend of summer reinforced the importance of great public art. After a particularly harsh winter, the welcoming parks, squares, and plazas of the city were burgeoning with people soaking in the sunshine.

2. Moving to a Holistic City Agenda: Smart growth and smart transportation … are certainly not enough if we reach beyond mere sustainability, as we should, to social equity and justice, to places that not only do less damage but actually repair and restore where damage has been done, to places of nourishment, healing, and resilience.

3. How a Record Label Jump-Started a Local Arts Economy: One thing music brings to a city are these creative small businesses that have a huge impact on the creative economy of the city. It is really important for our city to think about how we can get more of these businesses into our ecosystem.