Recommended Reading
Animating Democracy regularly posts essays, articles, and book recommendations and reviews from arts, humanities, civic engagement/dialogue and other fields that illuminate arts- and humanities-based civic engagement and dialogue work. New case studies and other publications from Animating Democracy as well as “good choice” from the Americans for the Arts Bookstore are also highlighted.
Animating Democracy Essays
Report on the Animating Democracy/Working Capital Fund Exemplars Convening
December 7 – 9, 2005 - Santa Fe, New Mexico
Summary: Representatives of the 12 small and mid-sized organizations participating in Americans for the Arts Exemplar Program convened in early December 2005 in Santa Fe New Mexico. Recognized for outstanding cultural work in their communities and in the field based on their participation in Animating Democracy and the Working Capital Fund, the groups explored topic areas related to aesthetic investigation, institutional health and capacity, and civic engagement. From the convening, a report was compiled highlighting the event from beginning to end. With implications for the entire field, the report summarizes key topics areas in relation to challenges and opportunities among cohort members.
The Exemplar Program is funded by The Ford Foundation.
Making Exact Change: How U.S. Arts-Based Programs Have Made A Significant and Sustained Impact on Their Communities
by William Cleveland
Summary: Making Exact Change: How U.S. Arts-Based Programs Have Made A Significant and Sustained Impact on Their Communities, a new study by William Cleveland and published by Art in the Public Interest explores how 10 successful arts-based community programs define and measure their own success. Through case studies and analysis, the study explores the challenges, opportunities, and triumphs of each group and makes recommendations to service organizations and arts funders on how best to support and advance the field of community arts in the immediate future. Making Exact Change is available to read online, as a free download, or for sale in print at the Community Arts Network: www.lulu.com/can.
New from Animating Democracy
Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy
by Pam Korza, Barbara Schaffer Bacon, and Andrea Assaf
Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy explores the power of the arts and humanities to foster civic engagement and demonstrates how arts and humanities organizations can be vital civic and cultural institutions. This book examines the experiences of 37 arts and humanities projects, realized by a wide range of cultural organizations, and supported by Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts. These projects explored such issues as race relations, economic inequity, gentrification, school violence, and the influx of immigrants and refugees in communities, among others. The book shares the findings of this highly regarded initiative by capturing the perspectives of artists, cultural leaders, and community partners involved with these projects. Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture contributes to deepening our understanding of the artistic, civic, and organizational dimensions of the work, as well as the principles and practices that underpin effective work.
Good Choice from the Americans for the Arts Bookstore
Invitation to the Party: Building Bridges to the Arts, Culture and Community
by Donna Walker-Kuhne
Acknowledged as the nation's foremost expert on audience development involving America's growing multicultural population by the Arts and Business Council, Donna Walker-Kuhne has now written the first book describing her strategies and methods to engage diverse communities as participants for arts and culture. By offering strategic collaborations and efforts to develop and sustain nontraditional audiences, this book will directly impact the stability and future of America's cultural and artistic landscape. Donna Walker-Kuhne has spent the last 20 years developing and refining these principles with such success as both the Broadway and national touring productions of Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, as well as transforming the audiences at one of the U.S.'s most important and visible arts institutions, New York's Public Theater. Invitation to the Party is a practical and inspirational guide on ways to invite, engage and partner with culturally diverse communities, and how to enfranchise those communities into the fabric of arts and culture in the United States.
