This film guide creates wondrous pathways for neighbors to learn about their imaginative thinkers within a one-mile radius of their community.
Robert DiMaio and Agnes Gunn discuss strategies for ‘first talks’ with children about imagination and creativity.
How The Radius Project Achieves Impact
Our grant-supported three-part film and talk series creates a radius that is relevant to our audiences of the hyperlocal activities, efforts, and accomplishments of:
Artists who deepen how we experience and enrich our surroundings
Environmental stewardship, emphasizing practical ways to care for and defend local ecosystems
Mutual assistance, connecting volunteers through compassion, service, and collective support
These interactive, thematic experiences turn local libraries, community centers, and schools into dynamic think tanks for the next generation of visionaries.
How We Choose Our Film Subjects
We collaborate with PTAs, arts and environmental organizations, residents, and civic leaders to identify individuals and groups making a meaningful difference.
Each project culminates in the production of a short film, which is presented at a public screening followed by a conversation about the diverse ways people contribute to their communities.
Post-film Q&A sessions encourage parent-to-parent discussions, offering strategies for introducing children to the roles of artists, environmentalists, and volunteers, and helping them understand the concept of community impact.
Our intergenerational collaborations offer immersive experiences that invite audiences to reimagine their community as a resource for informal educational experiences.
These free public events feature the insights of historians, curators, and community leaders who offer post-film Q & A on divergent thinkers—right where we live.
Creating a Radius
Each of our films establishes a specific location—the center of a one-mile radius. The surrounding neighborhood then becomes the focus of research and exploration, highlighting the diverse impact on the quality of a neighborhood by local artists, environmentalists, and volunteer organizations.
Rather than focusing solely on well-known cultural institutions, we map a “radius” around a particular point—often a street, block, or community hub—and uncover the thinkers, makers, and innovators who shape and enrich a neighborhood’s identity.
Our radius-based approach transforms neighborhoods into hubs of exploration, discovery, and shared local knowledge. By blending dialogue with guided tours, we invite audiences to reimagine their communities as sources of inspiration for future thinkers, leaders, and changemakers.
These interactive, thematic experiences turn local libraries, community centers, and schools into dynamic think tanks for the next generation of visionaries.
Robert DiMaio, director of The Radius Project at Queens Public Library film screenings and discussions.
Robert DiMaio and Martin Birnbaum at the JCC discuss with the audience how imaginative people designed Central Park.