Members of CIRD Design Learning Cohort were among the nearly 700 practitioners and policymakers gathered in Washington, DC, in October for the Housing Assistance Council’s 2023 National Rural Housing Conference. Over the course of three days they explored arts, culture, and design-driven community development in Frederick, MD, took in placemaking sessions at the conference, and connected with each other about shared design challenges in their communities.

Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, is ground zero for showcasing the power of arts-led economic and community development in rural communities. The 2024 CIRD local design workshop, hosted in this small town where the distinct cultures and landscapes of eastern and central Kentucky come together, is already informing the national rural design conversation. Gateway Regional Arts Center and their partnerships in Mt. Sterling offer insights for any community that wants to anchor the future of public space in arts, culture, and design.

The CIRD workshop with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, hosted in Fort Washakie, WY on the Wind River Indian Reservation, explored design approaches for a new museum, cultural center, and storage and archives facilities. The concepts were deeply informed by the rich tapestry of stories, traditions, and symbols shared by community members, representing the tribe’s unique identity and their past, present, and future aspirations.

CIRD recently engaged Rory Doyle, a nationally renowned photographer based in Cleveland, Mississippi in the rural Mississippi Delta, to document their time working with community members in Grenada, Mississippi, through CIRD’s local design workshop focused on Grenada, Mississippi’s Chakchiuma Swamp. In this interview, CIRD caught up with Rory to talk about rural development, his approach to photojournalism, and amplifying rural storytelling.