Community Connectors: Terron Banner

May 2025

Community Connectors is a monthly series highlighting Ohio State staff members who have shown leadership in partnering with our communities to make an impact.

Dr. Terron Banner
Manager of Community Learning and Experience / Lecturer
Urban Arts Space / Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy

As a lecturer in the Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy and manager of community learning and experience at the Urban Arts Space, I lead a project titled "Care, Culture, & Justice as Practice, a community engagement initiative that prioritizes authentic collaboration with historically underestimated communities. Recently awarded $250,000 through the Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme and Office of Outreach and Engagement, this project establishes sustainable support for programs that prioritize co-creation with the community.

The project includes multiple interconnected initiatives: Irrepressible Soul, showcasing community-based artists; collaborative projects with the Maroon Arts Group, Ohio State Hale Black Cultural Center and Ohio State African American and African Studies Community Extension Center; the Columbus Black Art Forum; and educational outreach like Artists' First Fridays at Arts Impact Middle School. The project operates through a "Performance Regime" model - a coalition of partners working across a flat hierarchical structure that enables shared responsibility and decision-making. This approach is guided by the Irrepressible Soul Model, which integrates arts and humanities approaches with specific focus on communities with barriers to access.

Rather than imposing academic priorities, we recognize community expertise and allocate resources based on criteria that prioritize safeguarding creative spaces within traditionally underserved populations against co-optation and commercialization. We embrace principles of solidarity economy that value art created by artists from historically underrepresented traditions and infused with their experiences, ensuring resources flow back into communities.

Why is engaging the community important to you and your work?

Community Engagement is essential to my work because authentic collaboration is the only way to bridge the historical divide between academic institutions and the communities they purport to serve. Institutional silos - particularly around higher education - create barriers to meaningful community impact. So, it's urgent that I serve as a bridge between university resources and community needs, recognizing that true engagement can only happen when we center community expertise rather than imposing academic priorities.

For diverse communities specifically, engaging authentically means acknowledging the harm that extractive research models have caused and creating new paradigms where community members are co-creators rather than subjects. The Irrepressible Soul Model that guides my work treats community engagement as a form of self-care for communities with historical barriers to access, fostering spaces that nurture imagination and innovation. In my role, I've witnessed how community engagement transforms not just the community but the university itself. When we approach partnerships with humility and reciprocity, we create opportunities for knowledge exchange that enriches academic discourse with lived experience. This approach reshapes institutional practices and creates more culturally responsive, ethical, and impactful scholarship that serves the public good..

What lessons have you learned from the community that have helped you as a university staff member?

The most profound lesson I've learned from community engagement is the power of flat hierarchical structures. Traditional academic approaches often position the university as the knowledge-holder and community members as recipients. Through my work with the Performance Regime model, I've learned that mobilizing collaborative efforts rather than enforcing control creates more sustainable and authentic engagement. This has transformed how I approach program development, resource allocation, and even assessment.

I've also learned to balance different conceptions of time and value. Academic calendars and funding cycles rarely align with the organic rhythms of community work. Community partners have taught me to develop flexible timelines that respect both institutional requirements and community needs, building in buffer periods and adaptive planning approaches that accommodate unexpected events and the time needed for authentic relationship-building.

Most importantly, communities have taught me that economic justice is inseparable from authentic engagement. Fair compensation for artists, equitable resource allocation, and transparent decision-making about funding priorities are not peripheral concerns but central to building trust. The solidarity economy approach I've adopted directly responds to community wisdom about sustainability and respect for cultural labor. These lessons have made me a more effective university staff member by helping me translate between institutional and community contexts while maintaining integrity to both.

What has been your favorite moment from your community-engagement work?

My favorite moment came during the Juneteenth on the Ave celebration that I coordinated with the Irrepressible Soul Collective, the Maroon Arts Group, and the AAAS Community Extension Center. As we were creating a community mural, I watched a young artist from the Columbus Bronzeville Community guide an elder through adding her marks to the canvas. The elder was hesitant at first, insisting they weren't an artist, but the young artists reaffirmed that their mark belonged there too. That moment encapsulates the existence of art as a vehicle for community connection and intergenerational dialogue. The completed mural now stands as a lasting symbol of community, identity, and collaboration..

This moment reinforced my belief that authentic engagement happens in these small, human interactions that build trust and mutual respect. It reminded me why we do this work - not just to create beautiful artifacts or impressive metrics, but to foster genuine connections that strengthen community bonds across generations and experiences. That mural represents not just artistic expression, but the kind of care-centered practice that drives all my community engagement work.

What advice do you have for other staff members who are interested in getting involved in community engagement?

First, approach community engagement with humility and a genuine desire to listen. Before proposing any initiatives, spend time understanding the community's existing strengths, needs, and priorities as defined by community members themselves. Position yourself as a learner rather than an expert.

Second, be prepared to reexamine institutional practices that may create barriers to authentic engagement. This might mean advocating for flexible timelines, different assessment methods, or more equitable compensation structures. Your role as a bridge between the university and community often requires translating between different value systems and priorities.

Third, invest in relationships before projects. Community engagement is fundamentally about human connections, not deliverables. The strongest initiatives emerge from established trust and mutual understanding, which takes time to develop. Budget this relationship-building time into your planning.

Fourth, ensure that resources flow equitably. Advocate for fair compensation for artists from diverse traditions and transparent decision-making about resource allocation. Remember that community expertise is valuable and should be compensated accordingly.

Finally, be willing to share power authentically. True co-creation means community partners have genuine decision-making authority, not just advisory input. This can feel uncomfortable within hierarchical university structures, but it's essential for meaningful engagement that respects community agency and wisdom.

Remember that effective community engagement transforms not just communities but institutions themselves, creating more responsive, relevant, and ethical academic practices.