Art and Community Development: Community Art: Forms of Engagement

Community-Based Artistic Practice: Perspectives from a Gathering of Exemplar Artist Companies (Treuhaft, 2008)

meeting between Cornerstone Theater Company, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Sojourn Theatre, and Urban Bush Women
goals of the meeting

express core values and working methods of each organization
link Summer Institutes
examine ways theatre and dance function differently and similarly in their work
discuss engagement strategies, partnership-building, and ensemble-based work
discuss the role of the leader/director/facilitator in projects and organizations doing work that involves collaboration within groups of artists and within community contexts

works of all four companies involve eye contact, connection, physical sharing, gestural dance, bilingualism, and storytelling
community partnership: "a partnership with others who bring equal value to the table and then we figure out together what our commonalities are and how we work together"

process of learning from one another, of entering the work humbly and with curiosity

"All the artists agreed that the work must be connected to specific community needs: it can't just live as generalized "medicine," a cure-all intended to work for every problem" (5)
need for an exit strategy in community work, lay groundwork for community to take up the project/new projects on their own

need for action inside the leave-taking
ritualizing the leave-taking

all groups were committed to providing training in community-based practice for the next generation of artists via "institutes"

organizing group acts as both a learner and a teacher, brings a passion for collaboration
groups expressed interest in some form of collective institute

ways of achieving a fiscally healthy company: corporate sponsorship/partnership

can these corporations be looked at as diverse communities instead of homogenous monoliths
can these partnerships be formed with denigrating the artistic process in some way?
redefining idea of a corporate community makes it possible to see how art could play a role

place where people are engaged in more diverse surroundings than their home lives
need to understand their own cultures and address the ways that outside communities look at them, the successful integration of a product, the impact of a product on society, and the concept of a company's footprint on the environment

can a national organization have a local impact?

need to find ways to develop roots at home while broadening national audience
having a home necessitates accountability

issue that many of these organizations don't have a space of their own in their hometown

each company seems to have a different definition of "home"
all have a commitment to how the arts can deepen a personal and communal sense of place

Live from Your Neighborhood: A National Study of Outdoor Arts Festivals (NEA,

"art works": artist productions, arts engaging and inspiring audiences, arts workers as real workers
festivals and fairs collectively attract more unique audience members per year than most arts events
festival audiences are on average more diverse that those for many other types of live art events; their audiences more closely resemble the general population that no other groups of art-goers
arts festivals as tokens of civic pride, demonstrated by the government and community support they receive
activities usually span a wide array of art forms which converge in a single space
usually create a high-quality arts experience (juried, curated, managed by professionals, etc.)
arts educational opportunities form a component of most outdoor arts festivals

some even form partnerships with schools/school districts

most are free or offer discounted ticketing

in the case of Houston's IFest, even charging for admission still seemed to draw an economically-diverse audience

usually take place in small or mid-sized communities
tend to occur in accessible and family-friendly spaces
most have occurred in the same community for more than a decade; a part of the community's
culture
support of local government agencies is crucial to success of outdoor arts festivals

most funds however come from corporate sponsorship and vendor fees
public-private partnerships have much lower costs than private non-profits due to breaks from municipal government on licenses, services, etc.

rely heavily on volunteers and small number of dedicated staff
festival as an opportunity to showcase their community, give the public the gift of art and culture, and promote cultural understanding, appreciation, and acceptance
festivals engage greater interaction between audiences and artists
opportunity to expose audiences to unfamiliar artistic forms and styles and to introduce lesser-known artists alongside big names
audiences are usually involved more in the arts either as observers or as active participants (or both)
less traditional (i.e. not "high-art") festivals seem to have a more diverse audience based on snapshots of case studies
jazz is the most common type of music played at music festivals, followed by blues, folk/traditional, bluegrass, and then rock/pop music and more popular music
survey used qualitative and quantitative data

Feminist Aesthetic Practice of Community Development: the case of Myths and Mirrors Community Arts (Clover, 2007)

article argues that "paying attention to the aesthetic dimension of politically-oriented pedagogies can add to the knowledge and understanding of community development and social learning theory and practice. Imagination and creativity are powerful tools inherent to all human beings that enable risk-taking, the reclamation of public space, and the simultaneous exercising and contesting of power within the neo-conservative landscape"; also augments cultural leadership
Myths and Mirrors Community Arts "uses the arts to creatively build community, encourage creative forms of civic dialogue, learning and engagement, and stimulate imaginative critiques that challenge neo-conservatism and injustice"
neo-conservatism as a danger to civic participation (causing a decline) and to long-establish social policies and practices (shift to more market-based policies)
empowerment, feminist, and transformative approaches to community development emphasize process (especially dialogue, collective decision-making, and debate) and address issues of oppression, social justice, and exclusion, "linking personal issues to those that are local, national, or even global"

focus on concept of social learning, which can go hand in hand with "consciousness-raising," which supposedly always includes creativity and imagination
ex: small arts and crafts industries for self-sufficiency are used to alleviate some adverse excess of globalization
community development and adult education as integral parts to feminist movement in northern Ontario

feminist aesthetic: made connections between oppression and culture, the culture industry and the absence of women's voices as these women developed their own practice to address issues such as violence and poverty
brought together professional artists with residents to collectively create art to explore modern 'myths' and reflect or 'mirror' back their own stories, knowledge, and experiences

A Show of Hands: community art project which prompted reflection, analysis, and discourse on the theme of neighborhood
Quilt Project: alternative space where women's voices could become an integral yet creative part of the public discourse about the future of northern Ontario

outreach beyond those who usually get involved in political work; not activist, but "real women who were really interested in talking about their dreams and their community for the future" (516)

Myths and Mirrors attends to socioeconomic and political issues while at the same time places at the centre the cultural, aesthetic, and creative elements of humanity and community

aesthetic reclaiming or recreation of spaces, filling it with people's visions, artworks, and abilities so they may begin to see themselves and the 'creative possibilities of their own lives in a different light'
conscious effort to use women's arts/crafts and create projects that attract women
make artists socially responsive

artists do more than create art pieces based on input of community; they work to create artists, cultural actors, and agents of socio-cultural change--foster a collective art piece or multiple individually-created art pieces

puts product and process on same level (rather than valuing process more)

since the product is going public, it must be of a quality that makes the creator proud and the audience take notice

make concepts of hope, celebration, and fun fundamental to both their process and product

Common Ground: cultural action as a route to community development (Matarasso, 2007)

view from England
shift in cultural policy from collective to individual outcomes is in line with growing individualization of policy since the 1980s
difficult to work on longer-term community objectives with grants are more often given on a project basis
changes reflected in nomenclature--"community arts" becoming "community-based arts" or "participatory arts"
rural touring networks: establish genuine equality between the partners; effects of empowerment can be seen in those communities that have gone on to promote other performances independently and, more usually, those that have developed other cultural and social activities as a result of the experience, confidence, and skills gained through rural touring
south-east Europe "Living Heritage" program

developed set of guiding principles on the method, intention, and approach
intended to convey that every community has heritage or cultural resources that are important to them, and in respect of which they have unique expertise
necessary that people proposing the project cared about it and could demonstrate a similar commitment in the wider community
wasn't open to applications from existing organizations

aimed to support marginalized and disempowered communities

provided non-financial support in form of formal training, site visits, specialist assistance through local experts, support in negotiating with public bodies, etc.
offered small grants; program had to enable a process of local capacity building and organizational development that would leave each community better able to work collectively toward shared goals

gave funds directly to communities they were working with rather than intermediary agencies or arts organizations

money as form of empowerment, proof of respect

unlike most community arts practice, didn't rely on professionals with artistic/cultural expertise; residents were key players in project implementation

learning process for the participants
strengthened existing community associations and development of new ones
created new ties and partnerships

recognizes intrinsic cultural value of such projects and the broader developmental outcomes they can produce

culture however is not a secondary issue but a way in which to understand and address other problems
focus on community assets not problems

self-managed cultural projects are within people's existing means
art and the community activism it can nurture aren't final solutions to social problems, but they can be tools used in achieving those final solutions

form nucleus of self-determination, even of resistance

Skimmed readings:

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Arts Education for At-Risk Youth (Silbert and Welch, 2001)

though many support arts education, few are committed to paying for it
five program features most strongly associated with quality: extended in-time program, complementary program components, ties with other community organizations, youth mentorship opportunities, emphasis on performance and presentation
found average cost of "quality arts education program"; while acknowledging prosocial and academic developments associated with such programs, this cost is compared to benefit in dollars of the reduction in criminal activity (and thus court and prison spending) such programs can cause; also compares it to the tax benefit state will receive if these children grow up to have higher-paying jobs due to their academic achievements

Eloquent Evidence: Arts at the Core of Learning (President's Committee of the Arts and Humanities, 1998)

cites facts about how arts educated students score higher on SAT
cites facts about prosocial improvements as they relate to participants in specific arts programs
cited how arts programs can aid in job-preparedness
cites arts as a vehicle to teach other subjects
cited art as particularly useful for at-risk youth

Questions/Comments

What are the problems created by national organizations seeking to have local impacts in specific places? Is it possible to have effects both at home and in these new places? Is that even necessary?

ex: If your organization is reaching out to underserved places, do you really have to have a physical grounding in Brooklyn where you're based from?
How does home-based support affect an organization?

How can these redefinitions of corporate communities be spread to a greater number of arts organizations? How might these organizations accept these redefinitions? Do corporations actually want to be considered as communities, or do they want a more removed role (get their name on as sponsors and nothing else)?

Can this be carried over to discussions of corporate sponsorships at festivals?

possibility for contradiction between addressing community needs rather than claiming to be some general panacea and creating developmental rather than remedial impacts

claims that positive development is more successful that remedial solutions in arts impacts

For festivals, are jazz/blues/bluegrass actually the most played at festivals, or did this study not consider more 'corporate' music festivals (Bonnaroo, SXSW, etc.)

How does this statistic relate to other studies which have found interest in jazz to have decreased--is it that people aren't realizing they're listening to jazz, that it's not displeasing so it's played more at these festivals, or are these festivals appealing more to older crowds?

How can arts organizations use what has been learned from outdoor arts festivals to diversify and broaden their own audiences?

How do these festivals impact the other programs some of these organizations put on? Are their other programs more likely to have some spillover effects from the festivals?

What are the problems and benefits created by Myths and Mirrors focusing on "women's crafts/projects"? Is this limiting participation? Is this reinforcing stereotypical gender-norms? Or is it attracting people who wouldn't often involve themselves in the public sphere and voice their own opinions?

Can an equal balance actually be achieved in value given to process and product? in attention given to socioeconomic and political issues verse aesthetic and creative development?

How do international approaches and intentions of cultural community development differ from that in America?

Why do these differences exist?

How can self-managed cultural projects be made possible when outside sources are in fact involved in some way?

Are the outsiders meant to instigate projects then step away? How do they help with management and oversight while the project still claims to be "self-managed"?

How can cost-benefit analyses and other more typical policy evaluations be used to promote the arts in the public realm?

Art and Community Development

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Community Art: Forms of Engagement - Week 8

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