Creativity That Continues
Expanding access to creative work beyond the original experience.
An exhibition can become activity sheets that inspire new artworks.
A mural festival can become a coloring book + public art guide.
A community contribution can become shared ownership.
Every resource in this archive is free and accessible, offering a low-barrier way for the public to engage with fine art and public art. People can experience the work on their own terms, respond through creativity and reflection, and make a new, unique connection of their own.
About the Archive
Community Coloring Book | Art is a growing digital archive for free creative resources created by Tammy Barnes or facilitated in collaboration with other artists and communities.
The archive brings these resources together in one lasting, public place where they can remain available beyond the projects, exhibitions, festivals, and community experiences that first inspired them.
Some resources begin as part of Tammy's own creative practice. Others are developed through collaborative projects that bring together the artwork, ideas, and perspectives of multiple contributors. The format may change from project to project, but each resource is created with the intention of extending how people of all ages can encounter and engage with the work.
When a collaborative resource includes work by other artists, each creator retains the intellectual property rights to their original artwork. Community Coloring Book | Art serves as a shared point of access, connecting the public to these materials while keeping the creative work connected to the artists who made it.
Behind the Archive
Tammy Barnes |
Community Coloring Book | Art was created by Tammy Barnes (they/them), a Washington, DC–based muralist, teaching artist, and community engagement facilitator. The archive grew from Tammy's broader creative practice and their approach to designing experiences that give people multiple ways to participate in art.
Through TBARNES | CREATES, Tammy develops community-engaged projects that invite participation through art-making, storytelling, conversation, observation, and shared creative experiences. That same approach extends to the resources collected here. Sometimes Tammy creates the resource directly; other times, they develop and facilitate a process that allows artists and community members to contribute their own artwork, ideas, and perspectives.
Community Coloring Book | Art is an initiative of TBARNES | CREATES, created to give these resources a dedicated home centered on public access, participating artists, and the creative experiences they make possible. The archive represents one part of Tammy's broader creative practice and a commitment to creating opportunities for people to do more than encounter art: they can participate in it.
