{"id":6,"date":"2011-07-06T02:28:21","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T02:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2018-02-26T14:50:33","modified_gmt":"2018-02-26T19:50:33","slug":"engage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/engage\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The arts began as collective activity around the campfire, expressions of community. In a very real sense, the community owned that expression. Over time, with increasing specialization of labor, the arts\u2013 especially Western \u201chigh arts\u201d\u2013 became distanced from the community. Today the survival of established arts organizations hinges on their ability to shorten that distance. Engagement is important; engaging matters.<\/p>\n

To engage successfully, arts organizations need to make authentic, substantive connections with their communities.\u00a0 Those communities should not be seen as a collection of market segments to be tapped in an effort to sell tickets or extend reach; they should be seen as indispensable partners in improving lives. It is the creation and support of healthy, vital communities that provide the ultimate justification for the allocation of financial and human resources that the arts require. Communities do not exist to serve the arts; the arts exist to serve communities.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging a whiff of hyperbole in that last sentence, along with the potential for irritation in a misunderstanding of it, the issue nevertheless needs to be faced squarely. This blog will examine the topic of community engagement on the part of the arts community in both abstract principles and practical application. I welcome you to the discussions, debates, arguments, and rants.<\/p>\n

2018 Addition to This Page
\n<\/span>To help give readers context about “where I am coming from” and my own understanding of the limits of my work, the following are the frames that form the basis of my writing:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I\u2019m an old white guy. My personal and professional lives have benefitted from extreme privilege. While I can never truly understand the experience of those from other backgrounds, I am working to maintain awareness of the difference and continually learn ways to address the inequities that exist in our social and cultural systems.<\/li>\n
  2. My work is almost solely focused on bringing systemically privileged nonprofit arts organizations to understand the moral and practical importance of community engagement and provide them with support in becoming effective in such engagement. My background supports me in this. I do not presume to be able to advise other categories of arts organizations except in that the basic principles of relationship building that support effective community engagement apply to any group seeking to engage with new communities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The arts began as collective activity around the campfire, expressions of community. In a very real sense, the community owned that expression. Over time, with increasing specialization of labor, the arts\u2013 especially Western \u201chigh arts\u201d\u2013 became distanced from the community. Today the survival of established arts organizations hinges on their ability to shorten that distance. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-6","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1G6h9-6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1434,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/ems-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":0},"title":"EM’s List","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"EM's list exists to recognize arts organizations and arts programs that promote substantive engagement between the arts and the community. Its goals are to: Encourage arts programs that effectively engage their communities Reward and promote arts organizations that are committed to substantive engagement Highlight the effectiveness of community engagement programs\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/StephanieMooreColor.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4083,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/engage-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":1},"title":"Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Available Formats: Paperback-Order Here Ebook-Kindle For information on bulk purchases (\u2265 10), click here. For some, the arts as indispensable is a preposterous idea, yet nearly every stakeholder in the industry believes the arts\u2019 value to be unquestionable. That gap accounts for most of the challenges arts organizations face. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"EngageNowCoverFinal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/EngageNowCoverFinal-e1429285807202.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":174,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/building-communities-not-audiences\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":2},"title":"Building Communities, Not Audiences","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Available Formats: Paperback-Order Here Ebook-Kindle, Nook, available at iBookstore (using iBook app) For information on bulk purchases (\u2265 10), click here Online Excerpts Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the U.S., written and edited by Doug Borwick, holds that established arts organizations, for practical and moral\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/building-communities-not-audiences\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/9780972780421-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5140,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/resources\/community-engagement-what-you-need-to-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":3},"title":"Community Engagement: What You Need to Know","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"December 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a summary of community engagement essentials as put together by ArtsEngaged. It is available as a pdf to download here:\u00a0What You Need to Know Community Engagement: What You Need to Know Nonprofit arts organizations are facing an existential crisis stemming from skyrocketing expenses, rapidly changing demographics, and vastly\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Essentials-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4088,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/books\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":4},"title":"Community Engagement: Why and How","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the United States Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable[Purchase info below] I have to be honest, I haven\u2019t finished it yet because I\u2019m constantly having to digest the \u2018YES\u2019 and \u2018AMEN\u2019 moments I get from each section.Beth\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/BookBannerAdNoURL.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6077,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/community-engagement-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":6,"position":5},"title":"Community Engagement Network","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Community Engagement Network exists to strengthen the quality of community engagement work in arts organizations and to foster understanding of and support for CE in the nonprofit arts industry. We hope to create a space for practitioners and administrators to share ideas and learn from each other. To learn\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5248,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/5248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}