About 40 years ago I participated in a charrette that was sponsored by the Marin Arts Council and
My name is Ann Read.
I am a retired commercial artist and former blue-water sailor.
facilitated by Ervin Harlacher, Chancellor of the Marin Community College District in Marin County, California. I like to
tell friends that it was the most fun I ever had sitting down in a room full of yelling people I never saw before, but we were all
very sober and it was a very upbeat and positive experience, and I recall making some new business prospects and a couple of new
friends. I suspect that most of the questions were inspired by a grant application. Based on the outcome of this exhausting,
intense but invigorating two-day event, the Marin Arts Council were able to put together a profile, a mission statement and
specific goals and plans for implementing them; and they produced some publications to reinforce and publicize the effort as
well. I recently checked out their website and it appears that they are now a truly world-class operation as Marin Arts.
This website describes a general use of the charrette process. I invite everyone reading it to contribute whatever you feel is missing
because I can see several adaptations of this process for personal, community and global issues. And I think that especially
rewarding would be the opportunity to explore with careful and sensitive consideration, the history, circumstances and character of
our humanity that brings us to this point in our lives, so that in this day of artificial intelligence and nano-technology we can
ask ourselves:
"What does it mean to be human?"
This website is dedicated to all young people who are currently coming of age.