Member Spotlight: Shannon Ford
Shannon Ford, Director of Community Arts Development - TN Arts Commission
Brief Bio: Shannon Ford works with government agencies and nonprofits to strengthen the arts’ presence, impact, and public value in communities statewide. He serves as the Tennessee Arts Commission’s lead program director for creative placemaking programs and initiatives. His work also encompasses administration of grants to local arts agencies, presenters, multi-disciplinary arts centers, and arts service organizations. Through the decentralized Arts Build Communities program, he works to strengthen small, emerging, and volunteer-driven arts organizations statewide in partnership with 13 local arts agencies and development districts.
Prior to joining the Commission, he was employed by the Ohio Arts Council for nine years, most recently as an Arts Learning Program Coordinator. He obtained his B.A. in Communication and Art from Trinity University and completed coursework towards a Master’s in Arts Policy and Administration at The Ohio State University.
How long have you been part of AFN? In what capacities are you currently involved with the Network? The Tennessee Arts Commission joined AFN in 2021, and I have attended the Arts & Culture Working Group meeting since 2020. I am currently co-chair of the Arts & Culture Working Group.
What is the mission of your organization, and why is this pursuit important to you? The mission of the Tennessee Arts Commission is to cultivate the arts for the benefit of all Tennesseans and their communities. This work is important to me because I fervently believe that creative thought and expression should be accessible to all people, and I have dedicated my life’s work to making opportunities available for people to experience, create, learn about, and enhance their communities through the arts.
What is a project you have recently worked on that you’re passionate about? What was the impact of this project? How did you demonstrate that impact? My fellow Arts & Culture Group co-chair, Dr. Eric Waggoner of the West Virginia Humanities Council, and I coordinated the recent AFN Climate Resilience webinars. These webinars allowed participants to discuss how climate change is displacing people, communities, and cultures, as well as how funders may be able to play strategic and appropriate roles to help Appalachian communities build climate resilience. Since the webinars just occurred in May, it’s a little early to understand their impact, but our hope has been that discussions about this important issue will continue in the Network.
What do you see as the greatest strength of Central Appalachian communities? The deep connection that Central Appalachians have with the land their communities occupy cannot be overstated. Generations upon generations have had the Appalachians as the starting place for their ambitions, growth, and development, and the collective wisdom of how the land over time has been utilized for good and ill has instilled in many a fierce determination to preserve and protect the landscape for future generations’ dreams to take hold.
What is one thing you’d like to see improved in how funders work together in Central Appalachia? I would like to see more funders embracing shared or complementary goals as a reason to coordinate resources and make transformative investments for Central Appalachian communities.
What do you see as the primary hurdle in the pursuit of equitable Appalachian transition? How would you approach this challenge? The primary hurdle I hear about a lot is a lack of opportunities for young people to put down roots in Appalachian communities. I think connecting smaller communities to broadband will continue to open up remote work opportunities in rural areas, but I also think young people throughout Appalachia need access to small business development tools that are tailored for the digital economy.
What questions do you think funders in Appalachia should be asking regularly about improving their grantmaking processes? Does this process allow the applicant to tell the authentic story of what’s happening in their community? Does this process allow the applicant to discover solutions to issues or does it prompt the applicant to have ready-made solutions? What process is in place for grant recipients to change course when the original project/program/initiative isn’t working out?
What is the one experience from your past, personal or professional, that most influences the work you do today? A former colleague gave me simple advice that has helped me throughout my career: “When you don’t know what to talk about with someone, ask them about themselves. Everybody wants to tell their story, and eventually they will show you how you can be a part of it.”