Public Works Dallas responded to the prompt "Today I am planting a seed of..." through sidewalk chalk art. First, our staff at Dallas Theater Center created messages of hope that we shared with our community. Then our community was invited to respond. Our community members used sidewalk chalk, wrote handwritten messages and used art supplies they had at home to create pictures and words of joy and encouragement. The team at DTC compiled all of the art into a video montage and the artwork was shared in a digital slideshow at our campus in downtown Dallas.

As part of a national initiative with our Public Works partner theatres to provide offerings for the future of our communities, Long Wharf Theatre asked our supporters to respond to the prompt “Today, I am planting a seed of…” in ten words or less. Repurposing a backdrop designed by Michael Yeargan from our 2016 production of The Most Beautiful Room in New York, members of Long Wharf Theatre’s production staff translated the responses into a graffiti collage on a section of the drop (roughly 8' tall by 6' wide). The idea was to reenvision a piece of our theatre’s past in a way that reflects how we hope to move forward in partnership with our community. We hope to eventually display the piece at some of our community partner organizations.

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Seattle Rep’s community responded to the prompt "Today I am planting a seed of..." through the medium of paper. Submissions included original poetry, drawings, collage, as well as simple phrases that are far from simple in meaning. The spirit of these submissions was incorporated into a mural conceived of and painted by Charge Scenic Artist Ruth Gilmore. We’ve placed this wish for our collective future in the backstage area where we gather during rehearsal and performances so that we are reminded of the resilience of this intentional community and the value of having the arts in your life every day.

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Theatre Under The Stars gathered the voices of Public Works Houston participants to once again create music together in a time of social distancing. Using participants' ideas as the focal point of the piece, their voices became creative encouragement in building a better, brighter, and more equitable future. The piece is being shared across all virtual platforms in hopes of inspiring others to begin planting seeds of positive change. Music by Jacob Shideler. Video art created by Erick Velazquez.

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As part of a collaboration with the Public Works National Cohort, The Orbit Initiative asked the communities of Tulsa to answer the prompt, "For my community, today I am planting a seed of..." through social media and voicemail. The Orbit Initiative collected responses from over 200 community members across Tulsa. We are using them to create not only this beautiful word cloud, but also an original song written by a local songwriter that expresses our collective longing for and commitment to equity, community, and hope. The song will be released in the spring of 2021 and the word cloud will continue to adapt and change as we grow and learn.

Williamstown Theatre Festival asked COMMUNITY WORKS alums from across the Berkshires to share one-word responses, in their own handwriting, to the prompt "Today, I am planting the seed of..." Graphic designer Gabriel Drozdov incorporated many of those responses into a piece that is being shared across digital platforms to inspire us all to imagine a better future together.

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Virginia Stage Company asked our Public Works Virginia and surrounding communities to submit ideas that would complete the prompt "Today I am planting a seed of..." Based on the resulting word cloud, we commissioned artist Mensah Bey to distill the submitted ideas into a central image. According to Bey, "The earth tones in the work reference planting, growth, and community. Ideas of "reflection" can be seen in the figures at the bottom. Their pose insinuates the planting of these collective ideas as we see them reverberate back into the design where we see the fruits of our labor. And cookies, raining cookies to accommodate the input of youth and also reference the surrealism of Rene Magritte." Bey's piece will be shared digitally to inspire us to live out these ideals as we grow together into summer 2021's world premier of The Earth Remembers a new musical by Ronve O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick that celebrates the history of our region here in Hampton Roads, Virginia.