You Are Enough: An Interview with André Solomon, Manager of Community Knowledge and Lead for Creative Generation’s Summer Residency Program

By Valerie HD Killebrew

In August 2022, Creative Generation closed the second iteration of its Summer Residency Program. 

Recognizing the negative impacts of traditional internship structures, Creative Generation seeks to mentor new practitioners in the intersectional fields of culture, education, and social change  by providing the necessary tools, training, and resources that will aid them in changing the landscape for the future. With a commitment to our values of honoring diversity and enabling radical inclusion, Creative Generation works with individuals from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sectors in which the organization focuses. 

Residents in this program have worked directly with numerous members of the team at Creative Generation in the areas of research, learning, leadership, community knowledge, and communications. Program components occur in three equal parts: professional learning and mentorship opportunities, work experience on current projects and organizational objectives, and leadership experience through a guided capstone project of choice. 

Residents develop specific skills applicable in the fields of arts and culture, education and youth development, and social and policy change. Through the program, they hone their commitment to and clarity of identity and values, skills in written communication, presentation for learning, research, project management, and creative practice. The program typically spans from early June to mid-August and is flexible to meet the needs of participants. 

The Residency Program was designed and is led by André Solomon, Creative Generation’s Manager of Community Knowledge, with co-leadership in 2022 by former Resident Vida Manalang. With the completion of the second cycle, I was curious to hear thoughts from André on the Program’s evolution and opportunities for future growth. The following blog is a summary from my interview with André in November, 2022. 

Balancing Collective and Individual Voice

I was thrilled to hear André’s thoughts on the Residency Program, a program he has grown and tended to over the last two years. When asked what he thought a tagline could be for the program, he eloquently replied, “You Are Enough.” He went on to explain that many young people, including himself, are looking for someone to give them a chance. “This Residency Program,” André shared, “has the potential to be a game changer for career trajectories, and so a mutual agreement is made between Creative Generation and Residents that if you received a placement that your background, your skills, what makes all of you yourself, is enough.” 

In listening to André’s reflection of the program, he shared his reflection on who is an “ideal” candidate for the program and how this question has caused some ambiguity in the past. In reflecting on program alumni, the range of participants spans from current undergraduates, deeply immersed in school to graduate students, recent graduates or even early professionals transitioning roles—all in very different phases of their professional careers. The Residency Program job descriptions purposefully do not specify an age or educational level, so as to attract a wide range of candidates, bringing unique perspectives from their experiences. André mentioned that this lack of specificity has never presented any issue, however, it does make it harder to intentionally compile a complementary group, as you are never sure who will apply. 

Regardless of age or education level, selected Residents are oriented to the program and given a high level of trust, autonomy, and transparency into organizational processes and projects. André shared his value of being a “horizontal leader,” which requires providing opportunities to explore and express a collective voice but also holding each accountable to their job descriptions. He reflects, “I want to think about how we can immediately set a precedent that it’s not an ‘us versus them’ environment but rather just us.” In effort to uphold this ideal, Residents participate inweekly project meetings and are intimately involved in current and prospective projects aligned to their interests and skill sets. André explains that this practice of “horizontal hierarchy” has allowed Residents to be seen as valuable with their opinions, no matter their job title. 

Learning and Leading Together

In creating space for this collective voice, the Residency Program also aims to provide a platform for each individual Resident to communicate their own work and unique points of view. The primary way this is done is by allowing Residents to lead a Capstone project on a topic of their choosing. Capstone projects have spanned a wide range of topic areas and mediums including the development of a virtual catalog of social justice lesson plans to a research and hand crafted quilting project  as a form of expression, communication and processing. André did point out that the openness and individualized nature of the Capstone projects had, at times, created a barrier for engagement if managing that type of ambiguity is not someone’s comfort area. He explains that carefully and intentionally balancing the groups’ interest in having autonomy over projects and providing enough support and guidance to individuals can be a tricky process. 

We, at Creative Generation, consider ourselves a learning organization. We prioritize our own individual learning as well as seek opportunities to continuously learn from and with each other. The Residency Program offers participants an opportunity to share skills and passions with the team in numerous ways. Residents not only participate in the Collective's ongoing internal learning opportunities  but also lead the Collective in a learning workshop on a topic of their choice as well as designing and sharing their individualized Capstone project. 

In designing opportunities for mutual learning and leadership, André reflected on the tension between when to lead and when to follow. “Sometimes it is hard to know if [Residents] want to be told what to do or have more freedom to explore and experiment,” he explained. “Being a teacher is stressful, but it’s also a privilege. As a learner grows, the leader also grows. It is an honor and a privilege to learn and grow together.” 

How to Get Involved

This year Creative Generation will invite a third cohort of Residents to join us from May 29 to August 18, 2023. Find more information by visiting our Summer Residency page, blogs, publications and news items, and find the application on our “Work with Us,” page. Or find us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.