When my good friend Maryo Gard Ewell asked me to write a reflection on the Gard Foundation/Americans for the Arts collaborative collection of Robert Gard's writings (To Change the Face & Heart of America), I was more than willing. Eager would probably not be a stretch. When I began teaching arts management, I remember Gard's The Arts in the Small Community almost leaping off the library shelf at me. His insistence on the importance of the … [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...]
Reflections on a Symposium
Last week I provided daily summaries of The Robert E. Gard Foundation's Our Communities: A Symposium on the Arts at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread's conference center. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 To be honest I have not had the courage to go back an re-read them as I am well aware of the fact that my listing of topics and key points was without synthesis and with very little context. With the advantage of a few days distance (and … [Read more...]
Gard Foundation Symposium–Our Communities: Day 3
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...]