Doug Borwick on vibrant arts and communities
Warning: Rant Alert! Adam Huttler of Fractured Atlas fame recently blogged about data mining and preference discovery a la Amazon and Netflix as having important (although as yet unrealized and little examined potential for the arts). [Is House of Cards the Future of Cultural Programming?] This is vitally important territory, but as a self-acknowledged underachiever when it comes to research, I'll let others dig into this vital work. What … [Read more...]
Rocco Landesman's departure from the NEA and Barry Hessenius's interviews of Rocco and his Chief of Staff, Jamie Bennett, provide an occasion to reflect a bit on Mr. Landesman's legacy in federal arts policy and advocacy. (Disclosure: Jamie has been very good to me in providing support, advice, access to NEA staff, a brief "meet and greet" with his boss, and the Foreword that Rocco wrote for my book.) I suspect (hope) that the lasting impact … [Read more...]
I am just back from two weeks on the road. I spoke and "workshopped" in Toronto and Austin. (Temperature contrast! The highs in Toronto were in the teens; in Austin, in the 70's.) Thanks to everyone in both places for great hospitality and the opportunity to field test the ideas I've been developing around audience and community engagement. And, as usually happens, due to this work a new thought is creeping into the equation. Anyone in the … [Read more...]
In Communities Take Care of Things I raised the issue of mattering. It is our marginalization from the broad public that is a principal hindrance to sustainability. If we matter to our communities, we will be supported by them in all ways that are important, including financially. How do we reach this nirvana-like state of support? (Or more realistically, how do we simply get on the community's radar screen in a positive way?) Communities must … [Read more...]
In Shifting the Center I began a consideration of transforming the way we think about the relationship between art and community. Many of us in the arts see the world from the perspective of our arts discipline, and that discipline–along with the work that is its expression–is a value unto itself. Our commitment to art can be nearly all-consuming. But this is a hindrance to relationship building. It gets in the way of engagement. We cannot … [Read more...]
I'll admit it. I have a bad attitude about the word "outreach" in the context of the arts. Whether that attitude is rooted in the way the word has been used or in some quality inherent in it is not clear to me. I have difficulty with what often seem to be paternalistic activities undertaken in its name. If you think about the meaning of the word, at least it appears this way to me, outreach puts the reacher at the center and the other outside, … [Read more...]
I'm on a roll talking about types of engagement (New Thought on Audience and Community Engagement). So I thought I'd take a crack at one I've not addressed before: Civic Engagement. Early last month I spoke with a friend and colleague–Barbara Schaffer Bacon–who, along with Pam Korza (another buddy), is co-director of Americans for the Arts' Animating Democracy program. One purpose of the conversation was to see how we might best coordinate … [Read more...]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6ZBlYdyoeQ One of the joys of all the traveling and speaking I am undertaking is the opportunity to find out about cool examples of engagement work going on around the country. I am going to Austin for the Texas Commission on the Arts & Texans for the Arts conference, Strategies for Success. As part of the preparation, I asked the organizers to send me examples of interesting projects. The subject of this … [Read more...]
Let me make it clear up front that I am talking about a concept in progress here. That caveat out of the way . . . . As I have said before here, there is (or should be) a differentiation between audience engagement and community engagement. I have written about this on numerous occasions, but as I speak about it more and more I find that my understanding of the differences is emerging. Here are the current "top of my mind" thoughts. The … [Read more...]
My basic beliefs about the arts and community engagement are fairly well-known to anyone who reads this blog or who has read my book. 1) Community engagement is vital to a healthy future for the arts; 2) substantive community engagement is relatively rare in the established arts world; and 3) since there are no extra resources to add "new" stuff to the list of what we do, mainstreaming engagement–making engagement the core perspective in all … [Read more...]
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richard kooyman on The Locus of Value
The phrase " art for art's sake ("L'art pour l'art") is credited to the author and critic Théophile Gautier (1811–1872),...Barbara Lister-Sink on I Blame Beethoven
I agree with Dr. Borwick that this is a highly complex topic. But as someone who grew up on a...richard Kooyman on The Arts Benefit from Engagement
Real engagement with art. http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/siri-hustved-art-memoryrichard kooyman on The Arts Benefit from Engagement
Doug, I think you might have it exactly backwards. A good case could be made that the respect...Stephen Pritchard on More on Artists and Engagement
Good debate. Quick response. Are Lion King sequels, popularist propaganda and American Idol REALLY what 'people' WANT? Is art in any...Larry Murray on More on Artists and Engagement
One size does not fit all. There is no one art that fits both Joe and Jody Sixpack and Mr....richard Kooyman on More on Artists and Engagement
Doug, Thank you for allowing me to have a conversation with you regarding artists, their role in society, and the...Sally Whitwell on I Blame Beethoven
I like your "hyperbolic" heading! But yes, the word 'blame' carries with it the potential for much controversy, so...Craig Fleming on Shifting the Center
A Venn diagram is crucial.Doug Borwick on I Blame Beethoven
These are terribly complex issues, admittedly not well suited to this form of discourse. I've got two more posts coming...