![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Why.jpg\" "\\"Why\\"")
Photo credits below<\/p><\/div>\n
So, why, again, am I doing this? It has something to do with the fact that the arts are important; there is under-recognized value, there is insufficiently tapped potential in the arts’ ability to improve communities and individual’s lives.<\/p>\n
Imagine a world where<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Artists are recognized and valued as community assets Pipe dreams? Na\u00eevet\u00e9? Impossible? Certainly, given the status quo. But rather than bemoan our distance from that imagined world, let’s ask why we do not live there.<\/p>\n Why are there no artists’ portraits on U.S. currency? France had numerous musicians, painters, and designers on franc notes; Poland had Chopin on the 5000 Zlotych. <\/strong><\/span>When will Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington, or Georgia O’Keefe be on the $1000 bill? Why do U.S. citizens not identify with opera the way Italians do? And why, unlike in tribal societies, doesn’t everyone attend and participate in our community festivals? Parallel questions could extend far down the page.<\/p>\n The answer, with respect to the arts about which those of us in the not-for-profit arts establishment are concerned, is that those<\/em> arts are not viewed as powerfully important to the lives of the bulk of general public. If they were, every one of the preposterously imagined scenarios in the list above would be true.<\/p>\n And why is that? The answers are legion: the subject of books, philosophical tomes, late night bull sessions, sleep-inducing lectures. But one thing is clear. Wherever and in whatever ways artists and arts organizations can be more engaged with more individuals, demonstrating the real power of the arts (as opposed to window dressing or light<\/em> versions of the arts), that is good for artists, for arts organizations, and for our communities.<\/p>\n The na\u00eeve, impossible utopia imagined above will never come to pass, at least not without social and structural transformations currently unimaginable. That is understood. But unless a path is blazed to move, even incrementally, in the direction of those fantasies, the future of at least some arts organizations we know today will be . . . challenging.<\/p>\n Regardless of which answers to the “Why’s” are correct, if the situation is going to be addressed, whose responsibility is it to do so? Politicians, teachers, factory workers, civil servants, health care providers? That’s not reasonable. Who has the most significant vested interest in altering the relationship between the arts and the community? Clearly, it is those of us in the world of the arts. Assigning fault or identifying excuses serves no purpose. It’s time to act.<\/p>\n This blog will be addressing many what’s and how’s of community engagement, focusing on those of us in the arts being the water carriers for change.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n And for the cool example du jour<\/em>, I give you Elizabeth Streb’s SLAM<\/a>, a Brooklyn-based modern dance company that is dedicated to the proposition that community matters. As Ms. Streb says on the website “At the heart of this machine is the driving force of art and action, and the belief that art can provide a service to a community such that voters, taxpayers, and consumers will consider it indispensable.” Her rehearsals are open to the public. The schedule is posted online and “outsiders” are invited: “Come in and watch the process as it unfolds and if you have a great idea let us know. \u00a0STREB believes that the cross section of activity in our space feeds the creativity. \u00a0Bring lunch and use our WiFi!”<\/p>\n I’m in debt to fellow AJ blogger Diane Ragsdale (see Jumper<\/a>) for the heads up on Ms. Streb. Actually, Diane uses SLAM as a key example in the essay she has written for Building Communities, Not Audiences<\/em>. I’ll say more about that essay in another post. In the meantime . . . .<\/p>\n Engage!<\/p>\n Doug<\/p>\n Photo <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First, thanks to everyone who bothered to click through to see the New Blog on the Block post. It’s gratifying to know that there are people out there interested in this stuff. That said, the pressure is on to see whether anything sufficiently interesting can be said in Engaging Matters to keep people coming back. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-overview","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s1G6h9-why","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4126,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/05\/engage-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":0},"title":"Engage Now!","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Arts organizations cannot long survive without earning impassioned support from the communities they serve. Communities cannot reach their full potential without the benefits the arts can provide.","rel":"","context":"In "Engage Now"","block_context":{"text":"Engage Now","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/engage-now\/"},"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":4219,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/07\/afta-thoughts-2015-bait-and-switch\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":1},"title":"AftA Thoughts 2015: Bait and Switch","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If we tout the arts as a means of bettering people's lives, we need to be sure that the funding we secure as a result is used in ways that are demonstrably transforming communities.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CarrotOnString","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/CarrotOnString.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4425,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/03\/committing-to-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":2},"title":"Committing to Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Draft of an arts organization's statement of commitment to community engagement \u2013a potentially useful tool in the trust-building process.","rel":"","context":"In "The Practice of Engagement"","block_context":{"text":"The Practice of Engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-practice-of-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MosesStoneTablets","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MosesStoneTablets-e1455894470832.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6252,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/01\/connect\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":3},"title":"Connect","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The viability of our industry depends upon developing relationships\u2013making connections\u2013with many new communities. The bases for success are respect and humility.","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Connect.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1177,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/02\/equality-in-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":4},"title":"Equality in Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"February 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since my Lead or Follow? post, I've been stewing a bit on its central premise. I suspect that a bit of amplification or clarification might be in order. The danger in trying to say several things in a single blog post is that the individual points can get lost.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Equal.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3169,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/magical-thinking\/","url_meta":{"origin":105,"position":5},"title":"Magical Thinking","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In discussion of the need for change in the arts industry, I am often met with responses that can only be classified as magical thinking. Such comments generally fall into one of two categories. The first holds that, while serious problems exist, all will be well if someone else does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MagicWand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/MagicWand-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2022 Communities demand quality arts instruction in the schools
\n\u2022 Public funding for arts activities is no more controversial than funding for police protection
\n\u2022 Private funding for arts activities comes, in some amount, from over half the community’s citizens
\n\u2022 Artists and arts organizations are sought out in planning community initiatives, solving community problems<\/p>\n![\"Attribution\"](\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_attribution_small.gif\" "\\"Attribution\\""){kind=icon}
![\"Share](\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_sharealike_small.gif\" "\\"Share"){kind=icon}
<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by quinn.anya<\/a><\/p>\n