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program tracks
Civic Engagement: Sessions
Innovator: Christopher Gates
Christopher Gates is executive director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, a new organization founded to bring attention to issues of civic engagement and to encourage the philanthropic community to make civic engagement a part of their funding priorities. Gates served for eleven years as President of the National Civic League, a national, non-profit advocacy organization that focuses on revitalizing democracy at the local level. During that period he served on the National Advisory Committee for the Museums and Community Initiative of the American Association of Museums. Gates was co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a research project based at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government working to find ways to build social capital in America. Prior to his work with the National Civic League, Gates was a consultant to communities and corporations dealing with issues of change, and as a speechwriter and policy aide to then Colorado Governor Richard Lamb.
Presenters:
- Christopher Gates, Executive Director, PACE
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Animating Democracy: Basics and Best Practices of Arts & Civic Engagement
Arts organizations and artists are motivated and challenged by the responsibility of addressing civic issues that affect people in real ways. The know-how to create meaningful civic engagement is becoming a required skill set—as important as fundraising, planning, and marketing. Learn key concepts of arts-based civic engagement, as well as principles and best practices via project examples, video, and lively exchange. Participants will have the opportunity to share projects in progress or that have potential in their communities with colleagues, and to troubleshoot planning and project roadblocks.
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Community Voices: A Model for Collaborative Urban Planning
The Arlington County, VA, Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development and the Folklore and Public Art sections of the county’s Cultural Affairs Division have formed a partnership that has resulted in an alternative approach to community redesign and redevelopment. As part of a revitalization effort in Nauck, a traditionally African-American neighborhood, county staff and citizens have been working in concert with a folklorist to bring community members into the process of reimagining their neighborhood’s central square via a process of shared personal narrative called the Nauck Community Heritage Project. The project team will discuss this interactive community venture—how and why it was conceived, details of the process, and the project’s goal of designing a town square and commercial development that reflects and honors neighborhood character and history. The panel will also discuss the fragility of community survival amid the upheaval of planning and physical change.
Presenters:
- Mary Briggs, Director of Cultural Development, Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington, VA
- Angela Adams, Public Art Administrator, Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington, VA
- Chikwe Njoku, Planner, Virginia Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development
- Harold Anderson, Folklorist
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Fostering Cultural Citizenship: How Can and Should We Support the "Informal Arts”?
Recent studies reveal a growing field of “informal” art practices, ranging from watercolor classes at craft store chains to amateur musicians playing in local cafes. Community arts leaders are beginning to acknowledge these participatory practices as enlivening notions of cultural democracy. While the potential rewards of democratic inclusion and broad support for the arts are huge, few arts organizations are taking concrete strides to cross the entrenched divide between “formal” or “professional” arts and “informal” arts. This session offers an analysis of some of the policies and practices that arts organizations and funding agencies employ that may engender or impede broad-based formal/informal crossover and civic participation. You will hear major findings on participatory arts research by leading voices in this area; a case study by the director of MACLA, a Latino arts organization in San Jose, CA, working to expand participatory practices as a means of recharging civic life; and a lively group discussion led by a local arts agency director considering the informal arts in the context of a current cultural planning process in Tucson, AZ.
Additional online resource: “Higher Ground: Informal Arts, Cultural Policy and the Evolving Role of Nonprofits,” by Tom Borrup, includes text drawn from Borrup’s presentation in this session and explores changes in the cultural infrastructure of the arts nonprofit in regards to increasing participation in the informal arts.
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Communicating across Rural Miles: Civic Engagement through Arts and Technology
In rural places, where distances between communities can lead to isolation, arts programming can act as a powerful conduit for civic engagement and public awareness. Providing people in rural areas with the means for self-expression through digital technologies and hands-on arts participation opportunities can enable social networks and build public awareness of rural issues. In this interactive session, representatives of three exemplary organizations—Western Folklife Center, Radio Bilingue, and the Center for Rural Strategies—will share arts program models that are sensitive to the issues and interests of rural people and that use communication strategies, Internet technology, and advocacy work to bring visibility to rural communities and rural issues. Participants will discuss their work in the context of populations that are changing demographically. See and hear exciting examples of their work and imagine together how their approaches, as well as those you share, can engage rural communities.
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Taxing Maine: Theater Brings Tax Debate to Life
With a contentious tax bill looming on the fall 2006 election ballot, the Maine Humanities Commission and The Theater at Monmouth teamed up to move the debate beyond the usual knee-jerk posturing. Through historical characters, little known facts and stories, and plenty of slapstick silliness to temper the facts, Taxing Maine explored what taxes mean for Maine communities, landscape, state government, and Mainers’ wallets. Across the state, the actors facilitated discussions after each show, aiming for honest exchange about what constitutes “the common good” and how much citizens are willing to pay for it. In this session, you will enjoy excerpts from a live performance of Taxing Maine and become part of the dialogue! Actors David Greenham and Dennis Price will share observations about using theater and history as catalysts for civic dialogue and the workings of the statewide tour and partnership with the Maine Humanities Commission. Explore how you might enlist the arts for creative civic dialogue, too!
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Artist Fellowships: Values and Vision
Direct funding to artists—the topic embraces the notion of risk and reward, particularly when it comes to committing public dollars for these programs. The recent launch of the United States Artists fellowship project challenges us to explore the ever-present issue of funding for artists. Although artist fellowships have been publicly embraced for years, today decisions are being made that appear to marginalize fellowships as a tool of arts development policy. Participants in this session will look at the history, value, and significance of artist fellowships to our field and for the public good. Proponents, opponents, and those who see both sides of the artist fellowship question will provide an engaging session and a rich context for future discussion. See the debate and participate in the discussion to deepen your understanding of this complex and important issue.
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How Can the Arts Address Homelessness?
Homeless people are arguably among the most marginalized groups in our society. Communities across the United States are looking for solutions to the ever-increasing incidence of homelessness. What is the role for the arts? What role could your agency play in addressing this ever-thorny social issue? Meet “social visionary” and theater artist John Malpede, founder of the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD). Since 1985, LAPD has created high-quality, challenging performances that express the realities, hopes, and dreams of people who live and work in Los Angeles’s Skid Row. Learn about the LA County Arts Commission’s recent survey and program initiative to address homelessness through the arts in Los Angeles. Help start a national dialogue in the filed on this important issue.
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The Risks and Rewards of Authentic Engagement—Effective Group Process
Meetings and group processes are an important part of our work. Often we are poorly prepared to make the most of the time we spend together. Changing our approach feels very risky. If you are willing to take the risk of giving up some control in favor of genuinely engaging your colleagues and constituents in an authentic dialogue, you may be rewarded with a rich and diverse set of information and a highly motivated and effective group effort. The Institute of Cultural Affairs has developed a reliable and effective process for engaging our colleagues and fellow citizens in authentic conversations and group decision-making. Learn ways of extracting greater value from group processes, achieving greater satisfaction within the group, and enabling more and better participation in a highly democratic process that replaces a hierarchy of power with the power of authentic engagement.
Presenters:
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For more information about this program or any Americans
for the Arts programs and services, please contact us by e-mail
or call us at 202.371.2830
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