About CAReNet

In the summer of 2022, catastrophic flooding devastated communities across Eastern Kentucky, compounding the losses brought by other disasters throughout the Commonwealth. As communities faced the difficult work of rebuilding homes, livelihoods, and places that held generations of memories, artists and arts organizations drew upon their local knowledge, creative skills, and longstanding relationships to support recovery. They mobilized resources, opened gathering spaces, preserved personal and community histories, and created opportunities for connection and healing. Their efforts demonstrated the essential role of arts and culture in disaster recovery while revealing a need for greater coordination and sustained support. Recognizing this gap, Berea artist Judy Sizemore brought together artists, cultural organizations, and community partners to establish the Community Arts and Resilience Network (CAReNet).

CAReNet’s early development grew out of collaborations among local organizations participating in the Mountain Association’s SPARK Program. Building on these partnerships, the network gained momentum through two retreats that brought together artists, cultural workers, community leaders, and organizational partners to share firsthand experiences of disaster response and recovery, identify common challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration. The first gathering, held at Bobtown Arts in August 2025, helped establish a foundation of shared purpose and regional connections. A second retreat at Snug Hollow Farm in April 2026 deepened these relationships, expanded participation in the network, and translated early conversations into concrete priorities for its continued development.

With support from What’s Next East Kentucky?!, CAReNet continues to develop a network connecting artists, cultural workers, community organizations, and disaster resilience partners across Eastern Kentucky and beyond. Our current efforts include mapping artistic and community assets, developing a searchable database of people, skills, and resources, and expanding an online resource hub for practical guidance and shared knowledge. Through oral histories and case studies, we are documenting artists’ experiences and approaches to disaster work to preserve their stories and inform future initiatives. We are also cultivating partnerships and opportunities for training, resource exchange, and collaboration to strengthen the integration of arts into disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Our aim is to ensure that the creativity, knowledge, and leadership already present in Kentucky’s communities have a lasting place in how we prepare for challenges and build toward the future.

What We Believe

  • Communities hold the knowledge and expertise to guide their own futures
  • Relationships are community infrastructure, built before crises and sustained long after recovery
  • Arts and culture are fundamental to community health, wellbeing, and resilience.
  • Artists belong at every stage of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery
  • Creative work deserves meaningful investment, recognition, and fair compensation

What Resilience Means to Us

At CAReNet, we define resilience as the collective capacity of communities to prepare for disasters, respond to challenges, recover from loss, and adapt to changing circumstances while sustaining the people, places, and traditions that give them meaning. It is cultivated over time through strong relationships, shared knowledge, accessible resources, and opportunities for collective action. As such, we recognize that recovery extends beyond rebuilding physical infrastructure to include emotional healing, cultural preservation, and the restoration of community connections. Arts and culture play a vital role in this process by helping communities make sense of their experiences, care for one another, and imagine possibilities for the future. For us, building resilience through the arts requires an ongoing commitment to strengthening the resources and relationships that empower communities to withstand hardship, recover with dignity, and thrive for generations to come. 

Who We Are

CAReNet is guided by a volunteer steering committee of artists, cultural workers, and community leaders who bring diverse experiences and expertise to the network. Committee members help establish priorities, strengthen partnerships, and guide CAReNet’s continued development through a shared commitment to arts-based disaster resilience across Kentucky.

  • Timothy Deaton-Conway: Committee Chair – Appalachian Arts Alliance
  • Kiana Mahjub: Steering Committee Member – Brushy Fork Leadership Institute
  • Sarah Schmitt: Steering Committee Member
  • Andrea Muñoz: Steering Committee Member – Mountain Association
  • Gwen Johnson: Steering Committee Member – Hemphill Community Center and Black Sheep Bakery
  • Lydia Kitts: AmeriCorp VISTA Supervisor – Brushy Fork Leadership Institute
  • Shayla Long: Steering Committee Member
  • Leah Van Winkle: Steering Committee Member

Staff and Service Members

  • Ericka Pica: Arts & Resilience Systems Coordinator (AmeriCorps VISTA), 2026 to 2027