Today was the final day of The Robert E. Gard Foundation's Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread's conference center. New Ideas for a World in Transition: A Next Generation of Work Savannah Barrett, Tatiana Hernandez, and Laura Zabel explored elements of structure and operations from the perspective of the youngest generation of community arts workers. This was for many a highlight of the conference. … [Read more...]
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Day 2
Yesterday I began my reporting from The Robert E. Gard Foundation's Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread's conference center. Today was a full day presenting the history and current status of community/arts relationships and an introduction to thoughts about future directions. As you may well imagine, there is virtually no way to do justice to the presentations and discussion in a blog post or even a … [Read more...]
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Day 1
Today marked the beginning of The Robert E. Gard Foundation's gathering at the The Johnson Center at Wingspread's conference center outside Milwaukee. Announced here earlier this year, Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts is a reflection on the state of arts/community connections on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Robert Gard's The Arts in the Small Community. To begin, tonight featured introductory welcomes by … [Read more...]
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Begins Today
Today marks the beginning of The Robert E. Gard Foundation's gathering at the The Johnson Center at Wingspread's conference center outside Milwaukee. Announced here earlier this year, Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts is a reflection on the state of arts/community connections on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Robert Gard's The Arts in the Small Community. Since this is a by-invitation-only event, I have been … [Read more...]
Fifth Anniversary Highlights: Transformative Engagement
During the month of August, Engaging Matters is republishing some of the most widely read articles from the five years this blog has been in existence. In a post from last December (Transformative Engagement), I introduced a new stage in my thinking about engagement. Engagement is a funny word. Among other things, we have to consider who is engaging with whom toward what end. Ultimately, though, if the work does not lead to some change in the … [Read more...]
Fifth Anniversary Highlights: The “Pandering” Straw Man
During the month of August, Engaging Matters is republishing some of the most widely read articles from the five years this blog has been in existence. The criticism that community engagement is "just giving people what they want" is, in some circles, as pervasive as it is maddening. A February 2014 post, The "Pandering" Straw Man addressed that issue. This post is not part of a series, so it may seem a bit out of context. I’ve addressed the … [Read more...]
Fifth Anniversary Highlights: Considering Whiteness
During the month of August, Engaging Matters is republishing some of the most widely read articles from the five years this blog has been in existence. One of the most pressing issues facing the future of the nonprofit arts industry is the role of race and culture in our work. Guest posts by Roberto Bedoya (Considering Whiteness, copied below, and The White Racial Frame) are important and have been widely read. My own response to his challenge … [Read more...]
Fifth Anniversary Highlights: Art for Art’s Sake?
During the month of August, Engaging Matters is republishing some of the most widely read articles from the five years this blog has been in existence. Several times I have suggested it’s necessary to understand that some of our internal, somewhat coded language is off-putting to the world beyond our inner circles. “Arts for arts sake” is one example. Art for Art’s Sake? There’s No Such Thing (from early in 2012 and copied below) attempts to … [Read more...]
Five Years On
July 30 marked the fifth anniversary of Engaging Matters. On the one hand, it seems like yesterday that this journey began; on the other, it feels like it’s been going on forever. I can barely remember what it was like not to think about the blog potential of virtually every single thing I do. (Some of you may remember posts about minor league baseball games I attended!) I began posting twice a week, but after a couple of years exhaustion led me … [Read more...]
Community Engagement Training?–Request for Assistance
For the last four years my professional life has been focused almost exclusively on community engagement advocacy, workshops, and training. Most of the work has been advocacy and workshops, along with some one-on-one work with arts organizations. State and local arts agencies–due to their broad accountability to communities and to public officials–most consistently see the need to change our mental models for doing business in the arts. … [Read more...]