The West Bloomington Revitalization Project [WBRP] is hosting a new initiative to boost creativity in the community.
Creativity Reclaimed is an event that allows members of the community to take a break from the day to day and plug into creative outlets, said WBRP Arts and Beautification Director Sarah Hurley.
“The program on its base level is to create a platform for individuals to exchange art materials that they no longer need,” Hurley said, “thereby facilitating access to affordable supplies for artists of all ages and skill levels.”
The event, scheduled for National Creativity Day on Thursday, is more than sharing materials, Hurley said. It will open with the unveiling of a recent initiative — the community quilt. Following that will be various art-related activities that showcase other branches of WBRP.
“We’re doing some stuff to kind of elevate our other programs,” said Hurley. “So, for Veggie Oasis we’re doing veggie prints. The Book Bike will also be there, and Karen [Schmidt] who runs the book bike will be there and will teach people how to bind their own books.”
Given the busy nature of everyday life and the variety of leisurely activities Bloomington-Normal has to offer, it can be easy for initiatives like these to fade into the background. Hurley explained why she believes events like these are important.
“Creativity and art in general ... gives people hope,” Hurley said. “It gives people an outlet to just not necessarily think about the day-to-day stresses in their life and just be able to sit and create.”
Accessibility to creative hobbies can sometimes be stifled by the need to allocate funds elsewhere. One of the focuses of the event is to eliminate income-based barriers.
“It’s addressing the issue of access,” Hurley said. “A lot of the people that we serve are low income. We believe that people can achieve their goals when they have access to the resources they need. So we offer connections, information, ideas [and] equipment so that people can successfully create their own pathways to success.”
Creativity Reclaimed will take place from 4-7 p.m. Thursday at the WBRP office at 724 W. Washington St., Bloomington.
