Common Field

Common Field was an American national network of artist-centered organizations and projects. Founded in 2014 by co-founders Elizabeth Chodos, Courtney Fink, Nat May, Stephanie Sherman, Abigail Statinsky, and Shannon Stratton with support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts,[1] it hosted meet-ups and convenings for artists, organizers, and cultural professionals as an opportunity to share ideas and arts advocacy strategies.[2] Common Field held its first official Convening in Minneapolis, MN in September 2015. In 2016 the convening was held in Miami, Florida, in 2017 it was held in Los Angeles, California and in April 2019 the convening was held in Philadelphia, PA.[3]

In 2021, Common Field made the decision to begin an intentional sunsetting process and closed as an organization in December 2022.[4]

In 2022, the Jack Straw Cultural Center in partnership with Common Field produced 'Common Work' the organization's final project before closing its doors. Common Work: Learnings for the Future from Common Field is a podcast and writing series that paired podcast episodes with commissioned essays around four themes: Foundations, Common Field in Practice, Community Building is Culture, and Sustainability for the Future. Contributors include artists, leaders in the field and Common Field staff and board members. The project offers an organizational timeline and a selection of resources related to Common Field’s life and work.[5]

Common Field's social media accounts remained active until 2023, with the organization announcing in a March 22, 2023 Instagram post: 'Our website - CommonField.org - and all related links to it will remain online through April 30, 2023. Please download any materials you want to retain from the website prior to that date. Following that, all organizational archives, including the website contents, will be available at @lacarchive in Los Angeles.'[6]

  1. ^ "Common Field". www.commonfield.org. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  2. ^ Roth, Minhae Shim (2016-10-19). "Common Field Convening: Hundreds of Arts Experts Address Cultural and Community Issues in Miami". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  3. ^ Hervey, Jane Claire. "19 Conferences Every Creative Should Attend In 2019". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
  4. ^ Sharp, Jaime. "Deciding to Sunset: An announcement from Commonfield". Grantmakers in the Arts. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  5. ^ "Common Work: Learnings for the Future from Common Field". Jack Straw Cultural Center. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  6. ^ "Commonfield Instagram Post". Instagram. Retrieved 2024-08-14.