Facilitation Begins Where the Artist Stands

At Art Enables in Washington D.C., U.S.A. studio assistant Toni Lane, right, talks with artist Charmaine Jones as she works on a painting.

In creative facilitation, we often use the language of "supporting someone on their journey" or "leading them forward"—but toward what, exactly? Where is this elusive forward?

The truth is, to lead someone farther doesn’t mean leading them to a specific point. In fact, it cannot. Because in truly supportive creative work, we don’t lead to, we lead with. The destination isn’t predetermined. It emerges. It shifts. It’s shaped moment by moment by the individual’s interests, abilities, and motivations.

This kind of facilitation requires sensitivity, not certainty. Attunement, not agenda. It asks us to hold questions—Where are we going? How do we get there? When do we intervene? And perhaps most importantly, Why are we doing this?—as open and shared inquiries, rather than pre-scripted answers.

This approach isn’t built on simply transferring information from one person to another. Instead, it’s a way of working that allows growth to emerge—one that begins with the person, not the curriculum. The artist becomes the source of the light, and we—the facilitators—walk beside them, adjusting our steps to what that light reveals. The path is not shown to them; it is shown by them.

So perhaps the better question is not “Where do we lead someone?” but “How do we keep our eyes open to where they are already headed—and honor the light they shine on the way?”