# 192: Can Art Build Trust & Love Between Separated Communities?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities.md
Podcast: [ART IS CHANGE: Strategies & Skills for Activist Artists & Cultural Organizers](https://stenobird.com/podcast/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696)
Published: 2026-08-25T11:45:00+00:00
Episode link: https://change-the-story-chan.captivate.fm/episode/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6001167c-e6e0-4dda-bd1f-4a50c0fcdf64.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696/episodes/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities
Duration seconds: 2146

## Resource

What can happen when art carries people across boundaries they rarely cross? in 2019, a remarkable theater project brought together two very different communities: rural largely white Brussels, Illinois, and the predominantly Black St. Louis-area communities of Normandy and Pagedale, Missouri. Separated by the Mississippi River—and by race, geography, and very different assumptions about one another—they became collaborators in a new version of Shakespeare’s As You Like It . Under the direction of artist/activist/educator Kathi Bentley students, teachers, residents, artists, and audiences traveled by bus and ferry between the two communities. Along the way, strangers became castmates, hosts, guests, and friends. This reprise show is the first in a four-episode journey exploring what can happen when artists enter communities, cross into unfamiliar territory, and create the conditions for people to hear and change one another’s stories. Threshold Questions and Juicy Quotes: Can collective creation change settled world views? I mean, there are a couple of Mexican families in Brussels. They're no black folks. So, I would always kid that I was like, you know, that's a cute little house, and if I bought that, I'd be okay. Like, yeah. You know, for some of those students, this was prayerfully life changing in how they see folks and communities that are different than them and for our students from Normandy. Can we build lasting bridges between communities separated by race and culture? You’ve got to have people love each other. You’ve got to have people like, "Can't wait to see you at rehearsal."... because then on stage, I got your back ... that experience it was so affirming to me about the power of just having people just talk to each other, you know, so they fell in love…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696/episodes/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/art-is-change-strategies-skills-for-activist-artists-cultural-organizers-917696/192-can-art-build-trust-love-between-separated-communities.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.