‌
Dear Readers,


It is a pleasure to present the following three articles for our March 2022 issue.

The story on the Memphis Library comes to us from 1014 - space for ideas and The Urban Activist. The subject is so important that we asked if we could share their article. It shows how libraries in general, and the Memphis Library in particular, are important cultural organizations and serve as building blocks for their communities as places of learning, gathering and teaching.

Our second article on the pioneering photographer, Alice Austen, is written by Linda Cabasin, an experienced and engaged cultural affairs writer. The timing could not be better with the start of Women's History Month today. Austen was a social and professional game-changer who lived and worked on Staten Island and in New York City.

Paul Clemence's photographs of the non-profit organization, Grace Farms, in New Canaan are beautiful and insightful. The institution is at the vanguard of building community bringing together professionals from many different disciplines, including scientists and architects, to study and come up with solutions for difficult issues, involving climate, nature, building, art, architecture and justice in our local communities as well as in our global arena.

If you enjoy our newsletter and website, please share with friends, family and colleagues.

Thank you for reading!

Victoria Larson
More than a Place to Read: Memphis Library’s Innovative Transformation
By Yasmeen Abdallah, courtesy of 1014
The public libraries in Memphis, Tennessee, have been the sites of many important moments in American history. From its founding in the 1880’s that began with a donation from Frederick Cossitt; to the founding of the original Cossitt Library in 1893, the city’s libraries remember the history of oppressive Jim Crow segregation laws that denied black Memphians access to the resources they offered. Read on
A Photographer’s Life in Focus: NY's Alice Austen House
By Linda Cabasin
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of women who may be less well-known, such as photographer Alice Austen (1866–1952), who defied social conventions in both her documentary work and personal life. Her legacy is explored in New York at Alice Austen House (AAH), Austen’s longtime home on Staten Island. Read on
Grace Farms
By Paul Clemence
Can design and art make the world a better place? A poignant question to ponder, and one that Grace Farms Foundation has taken to heart making it the guiding philosophy behind their initiatives. Read on