Octagonal 2023: The All Media Show

Ash Hanson has 15 years of experience working with rural communities to activate stories, connect neighbors, and exercise collective imagination.

She is the Executive Director of the Department of Public Transformation (DoPT), an artist-led nonprofit working at the intersection of creativity and civic life in rural communities; the founder of PlaceBase Productions, a theater company that creates original, site-specific musicals celebrating small-town life; and, a member of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice Leadership Circle. Previously, she was the Program Director for the Minnesota Theater Alliance, serving the statewide performing arts community, and the Program Director for Public Art Saint Paul, producing large-scale public art events and experiences.

She was an Artist-in-Residence in the City of Minneapolis Planning Department and with the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership, where she employed creative community engagement strategies for equitable participation in urban and rural planning processes. She holds an MA in Applied Theater with a focus on Rural Community Development, and she was named an Obama Foundation Fellow and a Bush Fellow for her work with rural communities. She believes deeply in the power of play and exclamation points!

Click to visit Ash Hanson’s website