daniel johnson is a multi-disciplinary artist, public historian, and dad working in community in the United States Southeast region. Focused on agency, equity, and the formation of agreements, johnson roots the artistic process in the unfolding, intersecting stories of everyday life. Through deep listening, reflections on belonging, and facilitated community storytelling, johnson works with groups of people to harness their unique cultural expressions in a co-design process to disrupt power dynamics and realize shared intentions. johnson firmly believes that the communicative, connective power of culture provides the most powerful tools for forming affinity and focusing energies toward practical impacts for everyday life. He currently serves as the Board Secretary for both Alternate ROOTS and the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production. His work has been featured by PolicyLink, Center for the Future of Museums, Georgetown University’s Gnovis journal, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Community Development Innovation Review, and Mississippi Today.

Features & Reviews

Center for Art & Public Exchange | September 2021
Compassion, Art, People, and Equity: The Story of the Center for Art and Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art

Under the Rainbow: Children’s of Mississippi | Spring 2021
Healing Arts

PolicyLink |  October 2020
Moving from Engaging to Organizing with Arts and Culture Strategies

Mississippi Today | December 2019
Land & Power Summit Creates “Magical” Community Connection

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco | November 2019
Arts and Culture from the Inside, Not the Outside

Find It in Fondren | May 2019
Traditional Technique, Practical Consideration: daniel johnson

PolicyLink | May 2019
Working with Artists to Deepen Impact

Jackson Free Press | March 2019
Becoming Curious Citizens

Jackson Free Press | January 2019
The Most Intriguing of 2018

Jackson State Newsroom | March 2018
Margaret Walker Center to Unveil Interpretive Plaque in Farish Street Park

The Clarion Ledger  | October 2017
Artist Engages Jackson with Social Artworks

Center for the Future of Museums | March 2017
Museum Work as Socially Engaged Art

Medium | November 2017
Digital Interface and the Content of Our Thoughts

Mississippi Modern | Summer 2016
(Social Media)ting the Generaion Gap: Art Works in the City of Jackson

Mississippi2: The Alternate Voice of the South | October 2015
daniel johnson, Community Artivist

Hattiesburg American | March 2014
Hattiesburg Students Tour Jackson Art Installation

Jackson Free Press  | February 2014
C3’s Social Art

Jackson Free Press | May 2012
Creative Conversations

Jackson Free Press | January 2012
Pizza, Beer, and Improvisation

Millsaps Purple & White | September 2011
Debris as Art Narrates Story of Midtown

Jackson Free Press | May 2011
An Unlikely Artifact

Jackson Free Press | December 2009
Whose Line Is It, Anyway?

Jackson Free Press | April 2008
Bloom, Improv, Bloom

Panels

Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University, Creative Arts & Scholarly Engagement Festival | April 2022
The Performance of Public History. What Happens When We Call It Art?

University of Mississippi, Navigating Chaos conference | April 2021
The Circumstances Called for Agency: an examination of the Prospectus and Proposal for a Free Southern Theater

National Guild for Community Arts Education | January 2021
Anti-Racism as Organizational Compass w/ Sipp Culture

PolicyLink | May 2020
How Community Development Corporations Change When They Embrace Arts and Culture

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts & Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco | Nov 2019
Expanding Practice for Community Development Organizations

American Planning Association | April 2019
Placemaking’s Role in Preserving Community Identity

ArtPlace America | May 2018
Collaborative Practice from the Artists’ Perspective

Millsaps College | Feb 2017
Must the Novelist Crusade? Art as a Form of Activism

Workshops

Alternate ROOTS | August 2021
Toward a Community-Centered Project Evaluation with CAPE and Land & Power

Jackson Public Schools | Sept 2019
Connecting the Classroom to Nature through Arts Integration

Alternate ROOTS | Aug 2019
Non-issue-based Frameworks for Increasing Political Participation

Southwest Mississippi Multiplex for Early Innovation Intervention | June 2019
Who Are We? Defining Our Community Roles Through Comic Strips

Mississippi Council on Economic Education | Mar 2017
Economics & Art: Making the Connections

South East Museum Coalition | Oct 2015
Selfie Culture and Copyright: Harnessing the Power Legally in a Museum Setting

Alternate ROOTS | Sept 2015
Socially Engaged Artists in Institutions: Embedded Engagements

Association of State Arts Agencies | Sept 2015
Territory and Trust: Building the Skills to Open Up and Move Between Arts Education Spaces

Affiliations

Alternate ROOTS | Board Secretary
Aug 2020 - present

conNECKtedTOO:TINYisPOWERFUL | Circle of Advisors
April 2020 - present

Alternate ROOTS | Executive Committee
Aug 2019 - present

Mississippi Center for Cultural Production | Board Secretary
Jan 2018 - present

AND Gallery | Advisory Board
May 2017 - present

Association of African American Museums | Member 
2020 - present

Intercultural Leadership Institute | Fellow
2017 - 2018

Jackson Medical Mall Foundation | ArtPlace Advisory Board
2016 - 2018

Michelada Think Tank | Visiting Facilitator
Feb 2016

Business Association of Midtown | Board Member 
Feb 2015 - Oct 2020

Purple Word Center for Book & Paper Arts | Board VP of Outreach
2014 - 2016

Joan Mitchell Foundation | Visual Arts Scholar for ROOTS Week
August 2013

FIGMENT | Jackson Festival Curator
2012 - 2013

Midtown Partners CDC | Creative Hub Development Partner
2012 - 2013

Belhaven University Dance Department | Community Collaboration Connector
Aug 2011 - Jan 2012

VSA Arts of Mississippi (now Art for All MS)| Board Member
2008 - 2013

Mississippi Improv Alliance | Lead Organizer
2007 - 2012

Greater Jackson Arts Council | Board Member
2009 - 2012

Rainbow Natural Grocery Cooperative | Board VP
2008 - 2011

Jackson Arts Collective | Moderator
2007 - 2011