It has been some time since I first hinted that another book was coming out. And I am happy, nay ecstatic, to say, it's here. Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable is now available in paperback. The ebook version will be out very soon. It's wonderful to have this completed. Two years in the making is a pretty long gestation period. Regular readers of Engaging Matters have seen a good deal of it in draft form in this location. I'm … [Read more...]
Notes from St. Louis
In early December the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis brought me in to support its work in community engagement. Several elements were new. One was a discussion of misconceptions about the nature of community engagement. The other was specific one-on-one work with arts organizations in engagement planning. Here is the gist of the first part: The Myths Community engagement is A Fad It’s true that there is an over-focus and, more … [Read more...]
Community Engagement: A Habit of Mind
Perhaps the most important requirement for newcomers to community engagement is development of a new perspective, a new way of thinking that incorporates awareness of community into all their work. This is a frame of reference that places interests of the public high enough in unconscious thought processes that they influence creative choices. It is a perspective that grows out of belief, commitment, and practice. Belief and commitment are … [Read more...]
Let (Make) the Artists Do It (?)
There is an unfortunate tendency in discussions of community engagement for an organization’s first response to be that all (or most) of the work should be in the hands of its artists. I hear this presented as an assumption at many conferences, especially discipline-specific ones. This can stymie engagement efforts for two significant reasons. First, to be credible, engagement must reflect the will of the organization and be visible in all its … [Read more...]
Being Local
One (of many) ways artcentricity hinders community engagement is in its impact upon the relationship between the arts organization and its community as a whole. The “pursuit of excellence” as commonly understood often leads organizations to strive for a generic, rather than a location-specific, form of excellence. As one way of considering this, imagine a collection of season brochures or exhibition catalogs. In how many is it possible to tell … [Read more...]
Tapping FOMO
Last summer I read a NY Times article about MoMA's "Rain Room" installation. (Steamy Wait Before a Walk in a Museum’s Rain) The installation itself sounded interesting, a room that "rains" but knows where people are and doesn't rain on them. In other words, no one gets wet. Fascinating technology and an intriguing experience. However, what really struck me was the new concept I learned reading the article: FOMO, Fear of Missing Out. One … [Read more...]
In the Vineyards of Diversity
In July, Barry Hessenius posted an Interview with Aaron Dworkin, on Barry's Blog. Mr. Dworkin is founder and President of the Sphinx Organization, "the leading national arts organization that focuses on youth development and diversity in classical music." I was aware of Sphinx's work in identifying and supporting young people of color who aspire to careers in the classical music world. The desire to make our orchestras (in particular) less … [Read more...]
Engaging the Third Rail
The art. Programming. The reason artists create and arts organizations exist. The untouchable heart of the enterprise. (NB: In these posts on mainstreaming engagement, I am addressing only those individuals or organizations that want broader and deeper relationships with their communities but are uncertain how to begin or even whether it is possible to do so without completely reinventing the organization.) When I began an outline of how … [Read more...]