What Makes a Great Good Space?
This summer, we partnered with a local community design studio to host two crafting events at the Container Barn. Called A Great Good Space, this playful project is the brainchild of Denise Gunter and Jeannine Erasmus, both Raleigh natives who met in their high school art class. With backgrounds in art education and creative writing respectively, they joined forces last year to share their love of art and making with the community through pop-up crafting experiences.
Their studio name is a reference to seminal sociological text, A Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg, in which he talks about the need for more inclusive and informal public [third] places in our everyday life such as coffee shops, bookstores, local spots, and more. Denise & Jeannine attribute the pop-up nature of their project as “beneficial to our mission because we can create a third space, that cozy gathering space, wherever we go. It’s also really fun to see how different audiences interact with a Great Good Space.”
In our first event together, Denise and Jeannine facilitated a block printing workshop. Guests were shown how to make linotypes by stenciling and carving linoleum blocks, then applying ink and printing the carved design onto paper. While attendees were given complete freedom in terms of the design they made, a theme quickly emerged, inspired by the farm’s surroundings. Linoypes of tomatoes, of flowers, and other flora on display at the farm was a dominant theme of the night’s masterpieces.
A few weeks later, A Great Good Space hosted a program geared toward younger children called Art Stories. About 15 kids between the ages of 2 and 8, along with their parent or guardian, gathered in the Container Barn for a storytime activity - we read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert - followed by a crafting activity of making our favorite vegetable out of various supplies.
In both instances, the creative act of slowing down and crafting proved to be a functional vehicle for visitors to engage with and think about the farm - from the crops to the wildlife. This, for Denise and Jeannine, is the whole point: “We believe that the process of making–how we feel, how we each experience the materials, our environment, and the connections we make–are most times more important than the final product.”
That same statement could be applied to our philosophy at Burkett Farm. Our greatest opportunity for impact is when we get to share the process of growing and preparing local food with the community. We invite people to participate in a harvest as a volunteer, to learn from local farmers at one of our events, to tour our building and explore its climate-smart design. These experiences, connections, and on-site contexts create a more powerful message in support of local, sustainable food systems than a single tomato or cucumber could.
We’re excited to partner with A Great Good Space in 2025; until then, follow them on Instagram to learn more about other upcoming crafting events that they’re doing around Raleigh!