📚 Imagination Fund Project BriefProject name:Community Canvas: Stories from the GardenProject description:Preparing the site for a greenhouse through adding a fence and laying the foundation) while engaging community members in the garden through art making activities (painting signs, making mosaic stepping stones, planting and making seed bombs, sketching and drawing ideas), a digital story telling station, and a final celebratory event.&nbsp;Creator(s) name:Lissie Stewart, M.Ed. &amp; The NOLA Artist IncubatorTotal requested amount$10,000Budget breakdown[see attached]Link to your round 1 application:<a href="https://www.playbook.com/s/nolaartistincubator/PdyGy98urbNZQ7gyBrryhidJ" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-link-auto="" target="_blank">https://www.playbook.com/s/nolaartistincubator/PdyGy98urbNZQ7gyBrryhidJ</a>

Building a fence!.mp4

Imagination Fund Round Two!.mp4

To celebrate completing the 30 Day Challenge and meeting all of our objectives we had a second line and party at the garden! I facilitated an art activity where children could paint and create their own wind chimes, we had cake and drinks, and a biodegradable glitter station for attendees! This has definitely been a challenge, but I’m so grateful to have had the deadline to push me to get things done! The greenhouse kit is currently in Lafayette, LA and expected to arrive on Monday. Because of the support from this challenge we were able to financially support a local youth serving nonprofit, a local sustainable builder, and local culture bearers including hiring a brass band, and an artist for the woman owned small sustainable business. We were able to install a new moon gate at the garden, complete the fencing perimeter of the garden including installing new pedestrian and vehicle gates, and create the permeable concrete foundation for our new greenhouse. We hosted weekly art activities for community members, supported a local artist to hold a workshop on fabric art with natural materials, promoted a local artist’s walking tours starting at our garden, and shared the stories of the garden through carefully documenting it all and sharing through the platform. I could not be happier with the end result of the experience made possible through the imagination fund! Thank you!

Final Celebration of the 30 Day Challenge

As this initiative is time sensitive I felt compelled to share two recent examples of meeting tight deadlines and completing big projects. One: The vegetable garden at the garden. Two: The Magical Mobile Art Cart fabrication. I ask you to look at these dates for compelling proof of concept. Both of the projects were huge and completed in a short within approximately a 30 day period. More significant, both were completed in the spring of 2023.

Demonstrated Ability to Meet Deadlines

Collecting suggestions for our playlists!

Z: Playlist suggestions

This is an example of one way we plan to continue to expand after the funding period has concluded.

BUY A BRICK & help us pave the way for a more equitable and sustainable New Orleans!

By partnering with Glass Half Full (using recycled glass sand in lieu of gravel for the floor) and sustainable green builders (consulting with Greenman Dan and working with Urbanscapes making a small concrete footprint rather than full concrete slab) we plan to make an exemplary and educational foundation for our greenhouse. I have a demonstrated history of actively working in sustainable practices.

Sustainable Foundation

This board outlines all the important details of my project – everything from the concept and vision to the budget breakdown. You’ll also find sketches and mockups that show how the idea will take shape.

Step 1: Details & Budget

We'll be moving the signs and placing them in the area with the new fencing. In its place we intend to install a moon gate around the vegetable garden.

Inspiration for New Moon Gate

Current Permitting Status, Colors, and Visions for the Final Build

Community Canvas: Stories from the Garden ROUND TWO dreams and plans <3

This board outlines the actionable plan and timeline of my project over the course of the 30 days #imagineWithPlaybook cohort.

Step 2: Plan & Timeline

Here is an overview of Second Line in New Orleans in case you are not familiar with this tradition. On our last event at the garden, we would have a second line from the sign we had installed on St. Roch Avenue to the garden. It's a great way to drum up enthusiasm from the community to join us in celebration.

New Orleans Second Lines

I am proposing something I believe you should want to be a part of! Let me break it down to y’all in this video!

Breakdown of Proposal

Welcome to the story of Community Canvas: Stories from the Garden! This board is where it all happens –project planning, weekly updates, and progress snapshots. Follow along to see how this project comes to life with the Playbook Imagination Fund!STAY TUNED!!! ;)

Final Deliverables: What We Created in 30 Days!

We are dreaming big here in New Orleans! We imagine leveraging support from other grants with support from the Imagination Fund to create a series of meaningful events and projects at our community garden, the Galvez Garden. With your support we will be able to create gig work for local culture bearers and musicians; pay local green business owners and youth apprentices stipends for their work; offer weekly community building art activities and talking sessions; build a fence and lay a foundation; and, share our plans and receive feedback on new infrastructure at the garden with neighbors. Best of all, we will be documenting everything as we go and collecting different perspectives through a digital storytelling station on site! Completing in person activities, we will also be sharing our stories online through the Playbook platform, on our website, and through social media to reach a larger audience. 

The thirty day challenge will be an opportunity to complete all the work associated with preparing to install our new greenhouse and shipping container multipurpose space. By partnering with local green builders and UnCommon Construction we are ensuring that the project can be completed while creating jobs for local businesses and youth. We are inspired by sustainable building and we feel our approach to building the greenhouse with consideration to stormwater management will inspire others. I’m particularly excited about incorporating recycled glass sand in the build as a way to educate others on the great work Glass Half Full does to recycle and use glass sand in coastal restoration efforts.

Hosting open garden days with the digital storytelling station and hands on creative activities will give us the platform to have meaningful conversations with our community and receive genuine feedback on our building projects. This will have a huge impact on the community, inviting participants to participate in weekly events and empowering their voices through sharing stories. 

On a personal note, this is part of a larger social practice project. I have spent years creating a safe space in our community and I am excited for the opportunity to take it to another level. By offering these community engagement activities at this particular juncture of our garden’s development, we are being welcoming and inclusive to our community. We won’t be working in a vacuum. I look forward to being challenged with a deadline to meet, as much of the work I have done to date has been on my own time. Having a collection of stories further validates the social practice element at the garden. Through the digital storytelling station and participating in this challenge, will have the start of something that we can build off of for years to come. And, we will literally lay the foundation for a dream come true for our garden over the course of the 30 days. 

To celebrate all work we achieve we will host a culminating celebration, creating gig work for musicians and local culture bearers. We’ll bring the Magical Mobile Art Cart, and -in true New Orleans fashion- we’ll have an epic second line parade through the neighborhood and live stream the whole event online. We’ll keep the storytelling station going to document the day and let our imaginations fly!

We should note, we think our project is truly special and pretty unique. I believe it could be a great way to showcase your platform. Just going through this process has taught me so much about what an amazing resource Playbook is to creatives and nonprofit organizations. If selected we will happily endorse Playbook and of course acknowledge your company’s support in our efforts to create a network of makers for a more equitable and sustainable New Orleans.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and we hope you seriously consider our project for this competition. 

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🎉 Congratulations on making it to Round 2 of the Imagination Fund! You’ve already impressed us and the #PlaybookCommunity -- now's your chance to dive into the nitty gritty of your idea before our judges make a final decision. Round 2 Applications are DUE OCTOBER 18th via Shared Link in the <a href="https://www.playbook.com/community/drop" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Dropzone</a>. Dropzone will be open on October 14th for Round 2 submission. Before submitting, make sure to check off the Round 2 Application Checklist!WE THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING US INTO ROUND TWO!!!

Lissie Stewart- Imagination Fund Round 2 Application 

Our fundraiser to sustain our work at Galvez Garden.

Pave the Way, Buy a Brick Today

An overview of Black Masking Indians. We would hire a local culture bearer to join in on our final event at the garden.

Examples of Black Masing Mardi Gras Indians

Here’s a before and after of what we hope to accomplish with the fencing.

New fence

Week four consisted of finishing the moon gate mosaic, installing the gates into fence, moving the signage and farm stand to a new location at the garden, and celebrating the completion of the challenge. We received a Mayor Proclamation claiming Novemeber 30, 2024 as, "Galvez Garden Greenhouse Groundbreaking Day".

D: Week Four

Week 2-Week 4 will be working with Urbanscapes Design + Build, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, and Glass Half Full to create the greenhouse foundation. I will continue to work to create the moon gate, excavating the area and fabricating the new entrance to the greenhouse. Our Digital Storytelling Station will be in place and I plan to have seed harvesting as an art activity. We have artist-in-resident, Lilith Dorsey, hosting a natural fiber class using block printing and natural indigo dyes on Sunday.

B: Week Two

This week included ordering and receiving materials for the projects, mapping out a walking tour and making a promotional video of the facilitator, Hosting in partnership with LSUAg a group from Texas A&amp;M at the garden, and walking tour starting and ending at Galvez Garden through the neighborhood of St. Roch. We hosted volunteers and had our foundation day, and spent significant time in putting holes to finish the fencing perimeter.

C: Week Three

For week one I plan to purchase our equipment for the storytelling station, gather materials for projects, and start planning a party, NOLA style. 

Carefully deciding how to best spend the funding allotted, we are partnering with Urbanscapes Design + Build and Youth Rebuilding New Orleans to still support local voice in our efforts to create a sustainable foundation for the greenhouse. I spent Monday paying a down payment to this nonprofit and clearing the land in preparation for the greenhouse. I have also secured a brass band to play at our final event and have a second line to celebrate. 

On Friday we are hosting a mosaic stepping stones workshop for the community at the garden as our weekly art activity. Saturday I will be a featured speaker to a group of funders to talk about the project.

A: Week One

These are examples of flyers we can distribute in the community and through social media promoting the activities throughout the 30 day challenge.

Lissie Stewart- Imagination Fund Round 2 Application

Breakdown of Proposal

Build your own visual library

Lissie Stewart- Imagination Fund Round 2 Application

Breakdown of Proposal