Crafting Common Ground: How Sadie Nash Uses Arts to Shape Community
Across our programs, Nashers use arts and crafts to explore complex topics, think critically, and express themselves beyond the boundaries of a traditional classroom. Creating art weaves its way into every program, and it’s something that Nashers carry with them long after they leave Sadie Nash.
This month, we hosted our first-ever Alumni Day, and we made crafting the central focus. People from across generations and Sadie Nash programming came together to connect, celebrate, create, and reflect on what it means to be a part of this community during an evening of crafting.
Alumni posing with their prizes from one of our icebreaker games
Our approach has deep roots: crafting has long been used to call attention to injustice, pass down stories from one generation to the next, and build collective power. We’ve drawn inspiration from treasured items such as anti-slavery quilts and the iconic FIRE!! Zine, both created to raise awareness and record the injustices and triumphs of their time. Sadie Nash programming follows in this tradition, with final projects often taking the form of zines, collages, and artwork.
Art makes education accessible and teaches valuable leadership skills such as strategic thinking, communication, creativity, decision-making, and innovation. It requires the ability to create a process and implement a vision, paying meticulous attention to detail, constantly iterating and experimenting to make that vision come to life. For alumni, the ability to settle into a familiar mode of creativity, opened up possibilities for connection, community, and creativity.
The crafting table, where all the connections were made!
One signature form of crafting in Sadie Nash classrooms is Warm & Fuzzies. They are positive, affirming notes that Nashers write to peers during programming. Nashers leave them in envelopes marked with the recipient's name, and by the end of programs, Nashers leave with an envelope full of affirmations. Alumni created Warm & Fuzzies once again, but this time for current Nashers.
Origami Warm & Fuzzy Created by an Alum
Warm & Fuzzy Created by an Alum
There’s something powerful about an alum writing a Warm & Fuzzy, just as they did when they were a young person in Sadie Nash programming. It’s a simple craft, but one that carries years of Sadie Nash tradition, care, and community, showing how creativity can bring Nashers together across generations.
While writing and decorating their Warm & Fuzzies, Alumni, some 5-10 years apart, reminisced about their time in the program while rekindling and creating connections.
Alum, Jailene Peña, Leadership Scholars and Nash U 2019, said, “I connected with new staff members, and with Nashers I had never met before. I was amazed to discover that all Nashers share the same energy and spirit. I felt welcomed, connected, and inspired.”
Alumni also customized classic This Is What a Leader Looks Like T-shirts with fabric patches, pens, and buttons. Each shirt reflected the alum’s unique personality while still rocking Sadie Nash pride!
Alum posing with their personalized patchwork t-shirts!
The simple act of people gathering around a table, creating something new with intention and a clear vision is deeply powerful. It’s a foundational tenet of Sadie Nash to use these types of participatory teaching strategies to engage young people and encourage artistic creativity for future generations of Nashers.
Crafting together isn’t going anywhere. Stay tuned for more opportunities to relive your Sadie Nash days with a dedicated craft-centered Alumni event series coming soon.