COMMON WEALTH is a socially engaged project organized by artist and librarian Jonathan Lee. In order to participate, you must be currently working as a librarian in Virginia.

To see an example of another socially engaged project the artist has done, GO HERE.

ORDER YOUR PROJECT ENVELOPE(S) HERE.

Each project envelope includes: a 10 page workbook, a square, two rectangles, a sheet of notebook paper, an enlarged date due slip, a contact slip, and return postage.

Inside this workbook, there are three activities: Core Values. Fear and Hope. Future Growth.

To see an example of what activity one could look like, GO HERE.

Each activity requires written and visual responses. The objective of these exercises is to examine where we are, as individuals and as a profession, in this moment, in this state. As Virginia nears 250 years, our profession, and the communities we serve, face a wide range of challenges, new and old. It’s an important time to reflect, respond, dream, and persist. Common Wealth is a mechanism for doing just that.

The workbook is for note taking – no complete sentences required, just get your thoughts down. It’s also a sketchbook, so use the pages to doodle, color, paste, or experiment. Each activity has a series of prompts to consider followed by a creative task to complete. High prose and fine art are not expected. Capturing your ideas is the primary goal. All the questions and directions are open ended, leaving room for a variety of unique responses.

When all the tasks have been completed, sign and date the inside cover then return all the materials from the project envelope. By doing so, you are donating your work and consenting to its use in this project. The contents of every returned envelope will be photographed before being combined with all other submissions to make a series of collective artworks for display and an archive of primary source information for research. All contributions will be utilized. The imagination and point of view of each participant will inspire a body of work that can’t be fully known until completed.

Return by January 1, 2026. Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

Any personal / contact information you share will be protected. Your privacy is valued.

If you got a misprinted project envelope from VLA, the video below is for you: