The Ink People is a community-based, grassroots, artist-run, arts and culture organization. For 44 years, we have organized our work around community access principles and the belief that art, in all its forms, is essential to the human spirit and well-being. We base our activities in a philosophy of sharing and community-building, and we work to connect community members with resources for cultural development. With over 700 subscribers, we nurture cultural enrichment through education and engagement of artists and communities.
The DreamMaker Program provides critical administrative and structural support to 113+ artist-led projects created by the dream of making the community a better place through arts and culture. Our core programs respond to the following needs: promoting artists and culture bearers; creating arts programming for youth; engaging communities in creative wellbeing; facilitating public art; providing opportunities for arts education; responding to issues of human and ecological concern, and partnering with municipal, state, and tribal governments.
The Ink People’s on-going programs include exhibitions, performances, educational opportunities for all ages, a newsletter, the Funds for Artists’ Resilience (a WPA-type program), and the MARZ Project, providing arts, leadership, and jobs-training for at-risk youth. We know that young people need support and enrichment if they are going to become leaders of change in this incredibly challenged world, so we work to give them tools to build successful and fulfilling lives. We honor diverse experiences, cultures, and expressions, and recognize that we must also learn and change as the needs of the community change. We feel that arts and culture should be an integral and conscious part of everyone’s life, so we set about weaving the arts into the fabric of our community.