Ashley Hanson
2019 Bush Fellow
Ashley Hanson has a bold vision: To use the arts to build healthy, thriving rural areas throughout Minnesota and beyond. Born into generational rural poverty, she learned to imagine a different reality through theater in high school. She went on to study and refine this work through college. She is the founder of both a theater company, PlaceBase Productions, and an artist-led organization, Department of Public Transformation, that use creative strategies to increase community connection, participation and pride in rural locations. To empower more people to use the arts to address pressing issues of economic development, civic participation and changing demographics in rural communities, she will seek advanced leadership training and take time to articulate a model for teaching and scaling her work.
Learning Logs
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As I reflect on the first six months of my learning journey, I realize how much of my learning has been about building a strong…
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At the outset of my Bush Fellowship journey, the sensation I experienced above all others was a profound feeling of impostor syndrome. Because so much…
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What a wild time to be a leader; to be an artist; to be a community and cultural worker. As a theater artist, my community…
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Wow. What a wild time to be Bush Fellow… what an historic time to be a community and cultural worker… what a monumental time to…