Anna D’Aste makes and teaches ceramic art on 12th Street in the “”Village of the Arts” in Bradenton, FL. She was part of the original group of artists who moved into the neighborhood 13 years ago to start the Village.
When Anna moved in, she dreamed of living in a real community—where people know and care about each other and do things together. She hoped to have strong relationships not just with other Village artists but with other neighbors as well.
Since then, Anna had seen a lot of great connection and activities happen among the artists in the Village, but not as much as she’d hoped between artists and the rest of the neighborhood. She was almost ready to give up on her dream for the Village when April came by her home a few months ago and told her about an effort to connect the community in just the way she had always envisioned. Anna began meeting with a group of other neighbors who shared her dream for the Village and, in their own way, had all been making efforts as “Connectors” in the neighborhood.
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