Beyond Alternatives focuses on bringing together artists and organizers outside of large metropolitan areas. Through founding and operating the artist residency Say Uncle located in Central Illinois, that landscape became distinct and revealed small art communities in cities and towns. The first iteration of the Beyond Alternatives symposium emerged naturally from visiting and spending time in those smaller cities. An entire structure was revealed in that region, it required a car and about an hour drive to go to openings and exhibitions. It was enriching to have conversations about artist-led projects in the places where the work was (and still is) happening.