Do communities have to be tied to geography? Locality? Your Youtube Cat Video Appreciation community might have something to say about that. Social media allows us to connect with people from geographic communities both near and far. Distance is no longer a barrier to people who have common interests, passions, or projects! Explore the wide, wild world of online communities through this fun, interactive map from XKCD. … [Read more...]
Choosing the path
Over on her ArtsJournal blog, Jumper, Diane Ragsdale examines the means versus ends issue discussed by Lyz Crane in our last blog post. The question of whether the arts can truly contribute to community building is still widely debated. She concludes that the path between the two does not have to split, and that arts organizations have long worked to use arts and culture to bring people together. What are your thoughts? … [Read more...]
Arts as Ends, Means, and Everything In Between
ArtPlace America, "works to position arts and culture as a core sector of comprehensive community planning and development." In this article, Lyz Crane, Deputy Director of ArtPlace America, dives into the field of arts-based community development - from the practitioner and researcher point of view. She showcases how many stakeholders can work together to create sustainable communities and reflects on the different terms we use to talk about community, the arts and community development: culture-based development, artist space development, … [Read more...]
Why the arts?
How do the arts fit into the many definitions of community? Creative Community Fellows alumna, Director of Art in Praxis and Interim Director of the Bromo Arts District, Jess Solomon shares her perspective in conversation with Marty Pottenger, artist and director of Art at Work. Both artists reflect on the increase of artists who work within communities, and on the unique role that art can play in strengthening and supporting communities: "Art has always been used to make things better, to inspire people, to bring people together. But … [Read more...]
An invitation
Like people, communities are complex. Communities are not only defined by location, but also by human relationships and needs. In "A Model of Identity and Community", David Pollard shares consultant Aaron Williamson's definition of the four essential elements to a community: he states that communities are groups of people who come together based on shared intent, identity, interest, and experience/capacities. Pollard also addresses the challenges of building community. Communities, he states, self-organize. Nobody can create a community, … [Read more...]
Communities, Complexities and Commonalities
What does community mean to you? What are the most important aspects of a community? In this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, David Chavis and Kien Lee discuss many of the elements that are key to community: location, meeting common needs, a sense of safety and belonging, and a shared history. They also point out the complex nature of communities: "When a funder or evaluator looks at a neighborhood, they often struggle with its boundaries, as if streets can bind social relationships. Often they see a neighborhood as the … [Read more...]
Language Matters
Once a year, NAS gathers 24 creative changemakers from all over the nation for a week-long residential program called Creative Community House. We spend this week living and learning alongside each other, sharing ideas and experiences and chewing on new information presented by NAS and our partners. And we also debate with each other. A lot. One of the most enlightening debates we had at last year’s Creative Community House was around language. The words some brought into conversations in hopes that they would offer clarity ended up … [Read more...]
Place, process and making your own reservation
This week, we're sharing reflections on the Summit at Sundance process and on the ideas leaders in the Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture worked on during this Summit last month. We encourage you to add your voice, questions and experiences to the conversation, and to use the information and conversations to inform action! How might we ensure the arts are a convener and participant in identifying and addressing important community issues and in community planning? When we asked Chief Executive Program: Community and Culture … [Read more...]
On Values & Building Community
Inclusivity. Creativity & Innovation. Integrity. These are the values that Irfana Jetha Noorani thrives on through her work with the 11th Street Bridge Park. Each day is about bringing communities together around a civic space and it is these values that serve as the thread stringing all the aspects of her work together. … [Read more...]
What is the place of cultural institutions within their communities?
NAS produces publications, videos and other management tools to inspire those working in the field to take a fresh look at their work and the challenges they face. Over the last few years we have amassed quite a large catalog of content. We’ve sent NAS staff members into the archives to pick their favorites and share them here. This week NAS' Program Coordinator, Taylor Craig and Josh Miller, Executive Assistant share their reactions to one of their favorite videos. Place Becomes Identity By Taylor Craig Tisa Ho, Executive … [Read more...]
Growing the Pie Together: Fostering Giving Networks in the Arts
Over the past nine months, I’ve witnessed something truly remarkable take shape: a network of committed givers in the arts. Not a network that operates on a tit-for-tat basis, not a group that invests in others with the goal of personal gain in the long run, but individuals who are just as dedicated to advancing each other’s work as they are to advancing their own. This network is the Creative Community Fellows cohort. If you’ve ever been involved in an arts network (or, heck, any job-focused affinity group) you know this is rare. The flow … [Read more...]
An Arts Advocacy Day Conversation in Hartford, CT
Kristina Newman-Scott, Director of Marketing, Events and Cultural Affairs for the City of Hartford, Connecticut asks her colleagues Brian Matthews, Director of Housing for the City of Hartford and Khara Dodds, Director of Planning for the City of Hartford how they see, value and advocate for the arts. Listen to their conversations below and share what you heard from colleagues outside of the arts. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/90218204" … [Read more...]
An Arts Advocacy Conversation in Thayer, MO
Founder of the Oregon County Food Producers and Artisans Co-Op, Rachel Reynolds Luster poses the three simple questions to a member of her Thayer, MO community. Elizabeth, 16 years old: When I say “the arts,” what does that mean to you? "music, dancing, acting" Where do you see arts in your community? "I don't." Tell me about a moment you connected with arts personally. “Learning to clog dance at Marilynn's Clogging Studio and play guitar.” Advocate for the Arts! Click on the Twitter logo to … [Read more...]
An Arts Advocacy Conversation in Lynchburg, VA
I spoke with Anna Bentson, the Assistant Director of the City of Lynchburg's Office of Economic Development, about how she views and values art. What most struck me is that her early childhood contact with art and artists was through her family and in turn that has influenced how she values and views art in her life today. Her relationship to art is personal and I think this gets to the core of a very valuable lesson. Anna's family was filled with musicians. She said, "My grandparents were musicians (actually from a long line of professional … [Read more...]
What’s the Matter with “Why the Arts Matter?”
Next week we celebrate Arts Advocacy Day. We come together as a field to lobby congress and talk about why what we do matters. Last year many of our staff even shared our thoughts on the value of the arts. Arts Advocacy Day is an important event, to be sure. The arts do matter. But, chances are if you're reading this you're likely already a believer. Therein lies the problem... or at the very least an opportunity. What if we tried something different? (I'm not advocating that we stop lobbying congress, but...) What if we saw this … [Read more...]