Harnessing the Power of the Arts to Transform Communities

Create Your State (CYS) is a movement dedicated to empowering communities through music, arts, and creative entrepreneurship. We believe that creativity has the power to revitalize neighborhoods, strengthen local economies, bring people together, and catalyze healing, and we provide changemakers with knowledge, inspiration, and support they need to help make it happen.

While our free offerings are focused on West Virginia—thanks to the support of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation—our mission extends far beyond state lines. We share our experiences and strategies with communities across Appalachia and beyond, helping leaders everywhere harness the arts as a catalyst for transformation.

Our Story

Create Your State (CYS) was born out of our journey creating the RiffRaff Arts Collective (RRAC) in Princeton, WV. For decades, we have worked to revitalize downtown Princeton through music, arts, and creative enterprise, transforming once-vacant spaces into thriving hubs of culture and community. Princeton’s evolution has become a model for arts-driven development, inspiring towns across West Virginia, Appalachia, and beyond.

Through immersive learning experiences, coaching, workshops, and gatherings, CYS shares the lessons, strategies, and energy of Princeton’s creative renaissance, helping communities shape their own unique paths toward growth and renewal.

CYS is an initiative of RiffRaff Arts Collective (RRAC), an organization dedicated to inspiring, empowering, and uniting communities through the arts. Since 2004, RRAC has been at the forefront of creative placemaking, fostering an ecosystem where artists, entrepreneurs, and community builders collaborate to ignite change and bring new life to their towns.

learn more about riffraff arts collective

Current Offerings

➡ If you’re ready to fuel creativity in your community, explore our Current Offerings to see how CYS can support your journey.