Mission and Goals

It all started when…

THE MAIN IDEA is a resistance to the death of the American Main Street. In the initial “dreamer phase,” rural communities pulled together to decide what stores and facilities were needed. Over time, Main Street has constantly reinvented itself, but now retail businesses and beautification are no longer viable solutions. We believe we are in the second dreamer phase, where artists need to be at the table to develop the next chapter of Rural Main Street to restore the most important aspect of civic life: the human connection.

Through a social practice methodology, THE MAIN IDEA creates organic relationships between residents, artists, architects, and local governments, while collaboratively bringing their unique public space to life, serving as an innovative model of multi-sector partnership that redefines the field of collaborative public art. An integral part of the success for each project is ensuring that the negative external factors that has left many Main Streets empty, is combated by honing in the physical (design and build), social (programming), economic (funding and investment), and research (archiving and publishing) aspects of each project.