2025 Radically Rural Summit
Ash co-presented a session called Rural Ritual with our friends Taneum Fotheringill from Rural Assembly and writer/artist Mai’a Williams, and one called Cultivating Civic Participation along with our friends from CivicLex and New Hampshire Listens!
Pie, Place, and Possibility: Celebrating Abundance in Granite Falls
Hosted in partnership with Rural Assembly Everywhere, Pie, Place, and Possibility brought together neighbors, artists, land stewards, organizers, storytellers, and dreamers for a full day of conversation, reflection, and, of course, pie.
If you had a magic wand in Spring Grove, Minnesota
In September, DoPT staff Sarina and Benjamin traveled to Spring Grove, MN (pop. 1,202) to facilitate an in-person Activate Rural Workshop. It was an inspiring full day with artists, community leaders, and business owners from 14 Southeast Minnesota communities connecting and exchanging ideas, resources, and stories.
Ignite Rural Program Director Reflection
In this reflection, Ignite Rural Program Director, Holly Doll, Anpao Win (First Light Woman), shares what she’s learned guiding three cohorts of rural artists through an eight-month residency.
Navigating 5 Activation Routes for Creative Places
In May, the 2023–2025 cohort celebrated two years of transforming, learning, and connecting. Reflecting on the activation routes each team navigated reveals lessons and alternative paths for individuals and organizations looking to activate their own creative places. Read on to explore the full blog post!
Press Release | DoPT Mellon Grant Announcement
Mellon Foundation Awards $1.5 Million Grant to Department of Public Transformation to Support Creative Rural Places
Reflections from June 2025 Beyond the Clock with Siricasso
Beyond the Clock Resident Artist Eliza Blue reflects on June 2025’s Beyond the Clock with Siricasso.
Reflections from April 2025 Beyond the Clock with Lacy Hale
Beyond the Clock Resident Artist Eliza Blue reflects on April 2025’s Beyond the Clock with Lacy Hale.
Reflections from February 2025 Beyond the Clock with Nancy X. Valentine
Beyond the Clock Resident Artist Eliza Blue reflects on February 2025’s Beyond the Clock with Nancy X. Valentine.
An Offal Revelation
Beyond the Clock Co-Host Anna Claussen reflects on her time with Beyond the Clock Co-Host Ash Hanson and 2025 Beyond the Clock Resident Artist Eliza Blue during the Offal Fashion Show at the Denver stockyards.
Beyond the Clock Launches a Podcast!
In addition to our regular virtual learning exchanges with rural rockstars, Beyond the Clock is introducing... A PODCAST!!
Introducing Beyond the Clock's 2025 Resident Artist: Eliza Blue!
For each Beyond the Clock season, we invite a Resident Artist to capture high-level themes in a creative format; this year we are elated to be welcoming Eliza Blue as Beyond the Clock's 2025 Resident Artist!
Interview with Beyond the Clock Storyteller + Illustrator-in-Residence: Nhatt Nichols
Nhatt Nichols is a poet and graphic journalist living on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. She uses drawing, poetry, and comics to explore human/animal relationships and how they fit into bigger political and environmental issues. You can find her work in High Country News, Edible Magazine, Civil Eats, and The Daily Yonder. Nhatt is a 2023 Literary GAP Grant recipient. Her first book, This Party of the Soft Things (Bored Wolves, 2022), is in its second printing, and Morels, an illustrated novella, is forthcoming from Bored Woles.
Interview with Erika Nelson: Artist and Educator
Erika Nelson is an independent artist and educator, exploring contemporary art forms in the public realm. She investigates the nooks and crannies of the United States seeking out the odd and unusual, gathering stories of people who build immersive elaborate art environments, as well as roadside vernacular architecture known as World’s Largest Things.
Interview with Rae Garringer: Founder of Country Queers
Rae Garringer (they/them) is a writer, oral historian, and audio producer who grew up on a sheep farm in southeastern West Virginia, and now lives a few counties away on S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and Šaawanwaki (Shawnee) lands. They are the founder of Country Queers, a multimedia oral history project documenting rural and small town LGBTQIA2S+ experiences since 2013.
Interview with Melissa Peña: Archivist at the Museum of South Texas History
In this conversation with Melissa, we explored themes of archiving the stories of one's community and the trust and reciprocity required to do so, considering questions like: in rural communities, where humility often reigns, how do we invite humble leaders to document their stories and archive their own journeys?
Interview with Donna Neuwirth: Co-founder and Executive Director of Wormfarm Institute
Donna Neuwirth is the co-founder and executive director of Wormfarm Institute in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin, a nonprofit dedicated to integrating culture and agriculture through public programs and artist-led initiatives.
"Best Effing Small Town” to Watch the Eclipse
And, we were reminded, yet again, no matter where you are, if you pause the rush of life to be present (and stick around for a bit after the “main event!”), you’ll likely find cosmic magic with the people that call that place home.
Interview with Savannah Barrett: Exchange Director for Art of the Rural and co-founder of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange
Savannah works as the Exchange Director for Art of the Rural and co-founder of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange. She has two decades of experience in cultural organizing and arts administration, beginning with a local arts agency she helped to found in high school, and, more recently, as National Programs Director at the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Beyond the Clock Spotify Playlist!
We have compiled these tunes into a BTC Spotify Playlist for your listening pleasure! Come with us on a musical journey! Be transported through the songs inspiring rural practitioners, which are as diverse, moving, and vibrant as the landscape itself.