Wonderground sprang to life when five Spokanites decided that throwing a rad art and music party wasn’t enough to make a significant and lasting impact on the cultural life of our city. The idea was to lay the foundation for an action group of creative volunteers that would evolve organically, terraforming the local landscape over time. While the founding organizers weren’t quite sure how or why, the need was clear and the time for action had finally arrived. 
The name “Wonderground” was inspired by the old industrial Hostess Cake and Wonder Bread factory on the corner of Lincoln & Broadway, a location that was considered for the group’s inaugural event. While Wonderground’s “opening salvo” was well received, many questions remain about the organization’s future projects and long term viability.
To speculate on these questions, Spovangelist did some digging and found a shockingly similar network called the Ground Zero Collective, focused on the same mission in Pittsburgh, PA. Following are two excerpts from the group’s website that are the most instructive and cautionary to the fledgling Wonderground in Spokane.
Methodology
We believe in building culture from the bottom up. Our goal has always been to capture people’s creativity and energy. To do this, we have used a variety of techniques borrowed from professional design and planning practice as well as more artistic ideas, such as Joseph Beuys’ Social Sculpture. In our public sessions we attempt to engage whom ever shows up by asking them to share their ideas and visions. Sometimes this is done verbally in a group; sometimes we ask people to write on post-it notes that are collected on the wall. Through group discussions about project ideas, we are able to tap people’s creativity and often to inspire them to participate as leaders or volunteers. By engaging people in the process of developing the idea, we are able to build teams of volunteers to move the initial project ideas forward.
As the projects develop and grow the project teams typically partner with other organizations, seek grants and donations, and evolve into their own entities. Some projects have produced one time events, others have responded to a specific crisis or issue, and others have evolved into quasi-autonomous entities with a greater level of structure and organization than the network itself.
Critique
In three years of existence GroundZero has transformed the arts and culture of Pittsburgh beyond our own expectations. However, the organization does have its problems – some that are probably inherent and others that we are striving to address. Our chosen structure is inherently disorganized and loose and, because we have no official leader, we often have trouble with routine organizational tasks. Our core model can at times be personality driven, causing internal conflict and questions of long-term organizational sustainability. The fact that funding happens at the level of the projects means that the central organization is perennially penniless.
Our decision to remain a volunteer organization often results in failure to effectively follow through on tasks and projects. Our informality and virtual nature make the organization hard to understand and communicate with from the outside. This has led to some issues of legitimacy when we have tried to take a stand on public policy issues, and it has also sometimes led to a perception of the group as being a closed clique promoting its members’ personal agendas. Because of this perception and because of our project-based structure, we have often times had difficulty engaging people in the overall organization. Lastly, to date, our audience has been limited by technological accessibility, and we have had a limited level of racial diversity in our audience and our internal core.
It is no coincidence Ground Zero has held a planning charrette in Pittsburgh’s famous Mattress Factory Museum. Stay tuned for more on a local charrette concept. And what exactly is so magical about these old brick factory buildings we’d love to see transformed!?!
Tags: Community · Creative Culture · Identity Crisis · Spokane Pride · Sustainable Development9 Comments
9 responses so far ↓
FYI – If the economy picks up, i would begin to worry about the existence of the structure you mention.
Like Terrain, are you not on the inside of this one? If yes, then why do you present it like it is something you are covering from the outside.
It’s a writing style crutch, nothing more.
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