MISSION

Lions & Rabbits fosters creative community development through strategy, transformative placemaking, and workforce development.

VISION

A world where creative innovation is at the forefront of community and economic development.

PILLARS

  • Embrace and celebrate creativity in all forms, valuing artistic expression as a powerful means of communication and connection.

  • Embrace innovative approaches in arts, strategy, and public placemaking, seeking new ways to make a positive impact on the community.

  • Prioritize the value of mobilization, emphasizing the proactive engagement and activation of resources, networks, and communities to achieve the organization's mission and goals.

  • Prioritize active involvement with the community, listening to their needs and collaborating to enrich public spaces and cultural experiences.

OUR PROGRAMS

CREATIVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

We offer a range of classes, workshops, and training programs to help ensure artists can deliver high-quality services to their community. These initiatives are designed to fill the gaps left by traditional arts education, equipping artists with practical skills they need to succeed as professionals. We prepare artists to excel not just creatively, but in all aspects of their professional lives

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

We recognize that the key to community and economic development hinges not just on artistic expression but strategic planning, active involvement, and tailored solutions that resonate with each unique community.

Our streamlined procedures ensure efficiency and effectiveness, enabling communities to turn ideas into action swiftly. Our comprehensive toolkits for plug-and-play arts initiatives facilitate easy adoption and customization in diverse settings.

PUBLIC PLACEMAKING

Our public spaces often hold a silent promise awaiting an awakening to transform them into life-filled centers of community engagement and a sense of belonging.

Recognizing this untapped potential, LRCFA strategically activates these areas to align with municipal master plans, infusing life, meaning, and purpose into neighborhood landscapes. We bring a spectrum of creative solutions tailored to different needs and timescales.

SOME THINGS WE HAVE DONE SO FAR

Rad Women A - Z Initiative

In 2019, Lions & Rabbits worked closely with Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc. (DGRI) to launch the Rad Women A-Z Initiative. 27 female-identifying artists painted portraits of influential women on mechanical boxes located throughout Downtown Grand Rapids.

Women’s Way Murals

In partnership with DGRI, the Greater GR Women's History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, local artists and numerous community members, Lions & Rabbits initiates a series of murals that commemorate historically influential Grand Rapids women.

Grand Rapids Barricades

In 2020, when COVID protocols were in affect, the City of Grand Rapids created Outdoor Social Zones as a way for restaurants to safely expand their seating areas. Concrete barricades were put in place to create these areas and artists working with Lions & Rabbits painted murals on them.

Storm Drains in Grand Rapids

Project Storm Drain is an opportunity to bring the arts & activism together to raise awareness of the need for healthy waterways and sustainability in our communities. Residents, and visitors, can found these ground murals throughout the city.

After Dark Events

An annual summer series of fun, engaging, and community-building fundraising events that directly supported artist jobs, materials, training and tools! Each event featured live music, an artist market, and public art.

ArtPrize

Lions & Rabbits has participated in or supported ArtPrize in a number of ways over the years; as a gallery space, as a public art partner, and as a facilitator of a number of ArtPrize programs. Many of the artists Lions & Rabbits supports throughout the year also participate in the three week art festival.

Independent Artist Projects

One of the most difficult hurdles for artists is finding the jobs. Lions & Rabbits continues our support beyond entry level programs. Our Independent Artist Projects are client contracted work where artists work directly with a client, supporting continued professional development

Intergenerational Programs

In 2022 Lions & Rabbits curated a handful of public art initiatives designed to emphasize the importance of intergenerational relationships and how they can be used as a tool for growth in our communities.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

At  Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts, an inclusive and equitable workplace is where all employees and volunteers, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, feel valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal employment and advancement opportunities in our departments and programs. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

We are committed to striving for diversity and inclusion for the entire arts industry of the nonprofit sector and to maintaining an inclusive environment with equitable treatment for all.

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts strives to:

  • Acknowledge diversity, equity, and inclusion as they are connected to our mission and critical to ensuring the well-being of our staff and the arts communities we serve.

  • Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.

  • Advocate for and support board-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.

  • Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.

  • Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, committee, and advisory bodies.

  • Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect all employees to embrace this notion and express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices.

Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts abides by the following action items to help promote diversity.

  • Improve our cultural leadership pipeline by supporting programs and policies that foster leadership.

  • Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented constituents by connecting with other arts organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts.

  • Advocate with artists for public and private-sector policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression, and disparity.

THANKS TO OUR ‘23 SPONSORS

https://www.kumandgo.com