ArtsJournal's recent blog series, Lead or Follow, on the role of arts organizations' relationship with their communities was fascinating in the variety of points of view on the subject. I began reading with what I assumed was a typical academic's aversion to either/or constructs. While that was true of my response, the more I read the more I came to believe that the lead/follow dichotomy also held within it a central problem with engagement as … [Read more...]
Random Acts of Culture™
Last year (in Engagement via Participation) I confessed my fascination with flash mob arts experiences and got several links to groups that organize them. My favorite is one of the best funded and most visible of such efforts, Random Acts of Culture™, a program of the Knight Foundation. The Foundation funds such work because of the Foundation's interest in "promoting informed and engaged communities. To that end, we strongly believe in the … [Read more...]
The Results Are In
Even very casual readers of this blog have seen numerous mentions of Nina Simon, her blog Museum 2.0, and references to her work at The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz. There are at least two reasons for that. First, she writes well and often in her blog. Second, and more important, her work puts into practice a deep belief in community engagement as a key to successful arts organizations. Having spent my life in academia, I have a … [Read more...]
LAA’s and the Community
In my previous post, The Ink People, I highlighted a fascinating local arts agency that is facilitating community engagement work by acting as an incubator for arts-focused engagement work. This time, I want to follow up, as promised, with some ideas put forward by Roberto Bedoya (Executive Director of the Tucson Pima Arts Council) in another ARTSblog post, Stewardship: Culture Wars 2.0 and Placemaking. He has a very particular view of the role … [Read more...]
The Ink People
It is a pleasure to highlight an organization that came to my attention via a post on ARTSblog, Expanding Community Participation. The Ink People is a longstanding (since 1979) part of the community in Eureka, CA. They serve artists and the community by: Encouraging excellence in the showing, teaching, and making of art Exploring the boundaries of art and culture Helping develop community-generated arts and cultural … [Read more...]
Healthy Art!
Ever since I posted an entry citing lessons from the Slow Food Movement for community engagement work–Slow Food, Engaged Arts (still my most widely-read post)–I've been bookmarking articles dealing with the arts and health. It's a surprisingly long list. Coming on the heals of the Holidays, it seemed this might be an opportune time to be thinking healthy thoughts. In a post last September (Museums Can Change the World: Improving the Nation’s … [Read more...]
Survival First?
In my introductory course in not-for-profit management, early on I pose a question to the students, "For a not-for-profit corporation, which is more important: mission or survival?" There is usually some lively chicken and egg conversation around the fact that no good can be done if the organization ceases to exist, but when reminded of the structural theory of the sector, it always comes down to the public service mission. If that is sacrificed, … [Read more...]
Art for Art’s Sake? There’s No Such Thing
So here is a bit of heresy for the New Year. A recent post by Clayton Lord on his blog New Beans, This Is Your Brain on Art (sizzle, sizzle), reminded me of my first exposure to the Rand Corporation's 2005 Gifts of the Muse study. A distinction was made there between instrumental and intrinsic benefits of the arts. I remember feeling a bit uncertain about its reasoning at the time. I've remained so. Its central premise is that there are two kinds … [Read more...]
The Question of Equity
I am gratified to see that the question of equity and the arts remained on people's radar screens over the Holidays. A number of end-or-the-year posts listed it as a major topic of 2011. (Notably, Ian David Moss's Createquity post The Top 10 Arts Policy Stories of 2011 and Barry Hessenius's Barry's Blog post Resolved.) It looks like it will continue to have some traction. And, as is always the case when there is the prospect of oxen getting … [Read more...]
Pomegranate Center
I have been waiting for an excuse to write about the Pomegranate Center, one of those organizations built on a cool concept that more people need to know. Then I realized I didn't need an excuse. Here's the founding premise, as presented on the website: "magic happens when art, creative thinking, and community join forces." Milenko Matonovic, the founding executive director "is a self-described recovering artist." How could I not highlight … [Read more...]