Mission:

To forge community and understanding through engagement in the arts and humanities.

About

Initiated in 2013 as Young Man Visions, Old Man Dreams, Higher Ground Society is a community advocacy project aimed at cultivating an environment in small communities where arts participation and open, honest dialogue amongst community members about social issues are the norm. Higher Ground Society seeks to enable creative expression, forge cross-cultural understanding and unity, and stimulate rigorous civic activism in one of our nation's most important units--small communities. Bearing the belief that communities are healthiest when united and self-sustaining, Higher Ground Society is committed to laying the foundation for a more just, tolerant, and empowered local society for generations to come.

Higher Ground Society works to facilitate genuine experiences where people in small Alabama communities can engage the arts and humanities on a more intensive level. The purpose of this is to cultivate a proficiency in creative, constructive expression to increase cultural capital and improve mental health. As a result, empowered local populations are better equipped to effectively communicate their needs and wishes to each other and their government. Vigorous, inclusive civic engagement and access to enriching arts programming are the end goal. Once we’ve established these principles and practices we have no doubt that our communities, and by extension our state, will be well on their way to higher ground.