It's no secret that I advocate for arts organizations addressing community interests. (Well, duh!) And, in order to do that, we have to know what those interests are. (Again, duh!) On my website I address some of the ways we can start to discover those interests. (Community Learning) Of course, the simple answer is to talk to members of those communities. And we absolutely should do so. But if this is so important, here's another thing we could … [Read more...]
From Mileposts to Through Line
Mileposts are those small signs we see (or, usually, ignore) as we speed along the interstate that indicate how far we've travelled. It's only in the rarest instances that anyone pays them any attention. Some people probably never do. Arts organizations are event-driven. We maintain in our heads an often unacknowledged chronology of progress from one event to the next. We pay extreme attention to the content and production of each event but this … [Read more...]
Excellence and Engagement: III
In my two previous posts I have been exploring the question of excellence as it applies to community engagement in the arts. (Excellence and Engagement: 1; Excellence and Engagement: II) Here, I want to address issues of equity and respect for communities in this context. Equity A complicating factor in discussions of excellence is the issue of equity. The arts of the European aristocratic cultural tradition have benefited for centuries from … [Read more...]
Excellence and Engagement: II
Last time I began a discussion of excellence in community engagement, saying "Advocates for community engagement in the arts often get pushback from people who assume that concern for the interests of our communities necessitates a 'lowering of standards.'" This time I continue with a consideration of three potential categories of excellence that are often not part of our discussions in the arts. Participatory Experiences Rather than focus on … [Read more...]
Excellence and Engagement: I
Advocates for community engagement in the arts often get pushback from people who assume that concern for the interests of our communities necessitates a “lowering of standards.” What follows is my attempt to address the misgivings (legitimate and otherwise) people have and to address them as clearly as I can. It is intended almost exclusively for arts organizations. Artists should be perfectly free to approach their art in whatever way seems … [Read more...]
Community Engagement Training
Welcome to the Shameless Commerce Department of ArtsEngaged. I've indicated here over the past year that we have been developing training programs for the field. They are intended for people interested in moving their organizations toward more effective community engagement. We have piloted three beta test (actually alpha and beta) groups and are putting together two or three more. We will soon be beginning the regular offerings described below. … [Read more...]
Zero Sum Funding?
The pursuit of grants, sponsorships, and donations is a central focus of all nonprofits–the arts no less than any other type of tax exempt entity. It keeps us up at night, permeates our dreams (and nightmares), and occupies many, if not most, of our working hours. Over the years I've come to observe that this work is often rooted in an assumption so deep we don't even realize we assume it. That is, the universe of funds from which we may … [Read more...]
Evaluating Engagement: Outcomes
Evaluation of any kind is a challenge for nonprofit organizations generally and for nonprofit arts organizations in particular. Resource constraints and focus on mission, sometimes at the expense of critical management issues, make evaluation a frequent afterthought if considered at all. Evaluating community engagement is particularly difficult because it is in its infancy as a practice for arts organizations. As such, it is no surprise that … [Read more...]
Why Engage?
I am frequently asked about the rationales for community engagement. I have spent so much time with my head in the weeds about the subject that my responses have a tendency to go on for a long time, attempting to list all the reasons. But recently, in a videoconference with a group of graduate students, a lightbulb went off. I realized that, in essence, there were just two broad categories of rationales. The first is the existential one. If … [Read more...]
Wingspread Symposium 2016 Revisited
A year ago, the Robert E. Gard Foundation, along with the Johnson Foundation, the Wisconsin Arts Board, and Americans for the Arts, sponsored a conference to consider the past, present, and future of community arts work in this country. Today, the outcomes of that conference, in reflections, written summaries, written and audio versions of the presentations, and video interviews with presenters are available on the Gard website. This is a … [Read more...]