Founded in 2008, Families Creating Together drew inspiration from many places, particularly Elders Share the Arts in New York. FCT was informed by the ESTA vision of an inclusive, intergenerational, multicultural community grounded in the arts as a vehicle to celebrate people and groups who are undervalued and isolated in society.
FCT was created at the Spontaneous Celebrations Community Cultural center in collaboration with City Life/Vida Urbana's Parent Organizing Project. The first FCT workshop was offered to Latino families of children with special needs in 2008, and the enthusiastic response from the community has kept us creating since then!
In 2011, we transitioned to a new fiscal sponsor, Community Service Care (CSC), which has provided social justice, public health, and conservation services in Jamaica Plain since 1982. Staying true to our mission of meeting the needs of (primarily low-income) families with children who have disabilities, we are now a subprogram of CSC's Tree of Life/Arbol de Vida Coalition, which coordinates community-based supports for at-risk youth and families.
We have grown over the past decade and now serve over 100 people per year. Since 2016, we have operated year-round with Spring, Summer, and Fall “Family Arts Learning Cycles” rotating between host sites in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston. See our Photo Gallery and Videos for a glimpse of some of the many incredible community-building, creativity-unleashing activities we’ve held over the years.
In 2013, FCT received the Arts/Learning “Good Neighbor Award,” which was presented at the 27th Annual Champions of the Arts Advocacy Awards Ceremony at Lesley University in Cambridge MA.
We will be profiled in a chapter in the forthcoming 2018 book “The Promise of Play,” by Marcia Nell/Walter Drew through Redleaf Press in collaboration with the Nat'l Assoc. for the Education of Young Children. FCT principals have also been presenters at local, state, national and international conferences to further our replication work.