Carrie Boucher is a social practice artist. Her work is rooted in relationships and centered in equity.

She believes that:

• creative expression is a human right

• all forms of expression are important

• all members of a community collectively create its unique culture

After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Carrie spent a decade working as a visual artist in Chicago. In 2011, upon returning to the Tampa Bay Area, she witnessed the beginnings of a cultural renaissance, but she noticed that the benefits of this weren’t shared by all. She began looking into who had access to arts programming and taking note of whose perspectives were celebrated, whose were suppressed, and why the difference existed. This inquiry led to her 2013 transition into social practice with her mobile project NOMADstudio (Neighborhood-Oriented Mobile Art + Design studio), based on a 30-foot bus. 

Through NOMAD she and her team work to bolster community resilience and wellbeing, and shed light on systemic disparities. They facilitate creative engagements and organize networks of support in places where people typically lack access to the means of creative production. The team continues to do deep work in places like juvenile detention centers, group children’s homes, and neighborhoods that have been adversely impacted by structural systems and/or policies.

With similar intention, SPACEcraft (Social Practice Activating Creative Environments, launched in 2020 by Carrie and fellow artists Mitzi Gordon and Bridget Elmer) is a project that converts shipping containers into programming spaces that are deployed throughout Pinellas County. Programming is delivered under the themes of make, play, read, and grow. It is a derivative of NOMAD and is executed with the help of a diverse community of creative partners.

Carrie’s social practice work was featured at The Ringling Museum of Art as part of the 2021 Skyway exhibition–a celebration of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay region.