Creative Engagement in New Brunswick
When I officially became a part of the Creative Engagement group in Media & Community, I was unaware of what exactly “creative engagement” meant. I, along with my group mates, did not know what to expect when we attended our first event in the community: the Esperanza Neighborhood Charrette. During this event, we had the privilege of interacting with residents about the changes they desire in the community. Immersing ourselves into this event via our own unique mediums, including photo, video, and interview, made the transition much easier. Simply attending the event sets us up as outsiders getting to learn more, while participating in the event made us a part of it.
As the interviewer, I had to muster up the courage to approach strangers about their concerns within their community. Interviewing multiple residents and participants allowed me to get to know them, and the community, more closely and intimately. Hearing about their love for the community in addition to their wants inspired me to get to know more about current projects happening in the community in addition to inspiring me to continue covering the process of Creative Engagement and to better understand it in New Brunswick.
As a Rutgers student, this process allowed me to get involved because it was a part of the class group in which I was assigned. If more students are introduced to the idea, like my classmates and I, I am positive more students would get involved in the New Brunswick community and with the Creative Engagement process in particular. Many students struggle to identify with New Brunswick residents outside our university bubble, but there are a number of students with the desire to create change and participate with those surrounding them. A potential way in which a more broad audience, like Rutgers students, can get involved is via an online discoverable resource. Rutgers students are engaged online on a daily basis, therefore some sort of interactive internet resource could prove itself to be efficient in getting their attention.
I never imagined prior to this experience that art could create both societal and physical change in a community. However, through this process, residents are getting involved because not only do they want more for their community, but they want to identify with their surroundings in their city. Through projects like the city mural being painted in May of 2017, the stories and cultures of New Brunswick residents are finally shining through. Through these projects, coordinated by advocacy groups like New Brunswick Tomorrow, gradual changes are moving mountains in the community.
