{"id":1692,"date":"2012-06-13T06:44:06","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T10:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=1692"},"modified":"2012-06-13T06:52:50","modified_gmt":"2012-06-13T10:52:50","slug":"art-is-not-fundamental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/06\/art-is-not-fundamental\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Is Not Fundamental"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Now that I have your attention . . . .<\/p>\n<p>I have just concluded an eight week marathon attending five conferences across the U.S. and beyond. At each, something leapt out at me for blog posting. (Indeed, I think I milked the American Association of Museums Conference for four entries.) There are still some left to craft and inflict upon you. However, today, the last shall be first.<\/p>\n<p>At the Americans for the Arts Conference in San Antonio last weekend, I attended a session on &#8220;innovation.&#8221; It focused on\u00a0 EmcArts&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/artsfwd.org\" target=\"_blank\">ArtsForward<\/a> program, but that&#8217;s not what I want to talk about here. Attendees at that session were asked to examine basic assumptions for the purpose of considering whether such assumptions get in the way of valuable change. (That&#8217;s a weak paraphrase of the assignment.)<\/p>\n<p>I had already been thinking about a way to articulate what I consider to be an important change of perspective that&#8217;s required for effective community engagement. The assumption that needs consideration is the one many (most) of us have, that art, in and of itself, is . . . fundamental. As I intimated earlier in <a title=\"Art for Art\u2019s Sake? There\u2019s No Such Thing\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/01\/art-for-arts-sake\/\" target=\"_blank\">Art for Art\u2019s Sake? There\u2019s No Such Thing<\/a>,<strong> the deification of art removes<\/strong> (or at least distances) <strong>it from its role in human experience<\/strong>. And it is <em>that<\/em> role that is crucial. Isn&#8217;t it the power the arts have in our own lives that drew us to the field? In addition, and this is the important part with respect to engagement, <strong>focus on the art as opposed to its role in individuals&#8217; lives makes it easier to (unconsciously) ignore the fact that many are not moved by what we do<\/strong>. The art-focused view has the subliminal effect of supporting the &#8220;If we build it . . .&#8221; mindset. This impedes the potential for community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Art <em>is<\/em> vital to human experience. I take a back seat to no one in my commitment to the importance of art. I am simply observing that <strong>our &#8220;habit of mind&#8221; about the utter centrality of art can get in the way of serving the community;<\/strong> <strong>and, on the practical level, it can in turn get in the way of the arts being supported by that community.<\/strong> I have discussed before, and will again, the implications for our work of reassessing this assumption. There are many. But for now, imagine how your work would be different if its focus were on the point where art and people (many more than do so today) connect. For those of you who are already there, my hat is off to you.<\/p>\n<p>Engage!<\/p>\n<p>Doug<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that I have your attention . . . . I have just concluded an eight week marathon attending five conferences across the U.S. and beyond. At each, something leapt out at me for blog posting. (Indeed, I think I milked the American Association of Museums Conference for four entries.) There are still some left [&hellip;]<\/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":[4,5],"tags":[12,13],"class_list":{"0":"post-1692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-overview","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-ri","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/07\/the-self-centered-pursuit-of-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":0},"title":"The Self-Centered Pursuit of Diversity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Diverse audiences\" as a goal is self-serving. It\u2019s about making the organization look better or feel better about itself. The goal should be serving\/making life better for diverse communities.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nashville","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Nashville-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4213,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/07\/afta-thoughts-2015-equity-watershed\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":1},"title":"AftA Thoughts 2015: Equity Watershed?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts 2015 conference in Chicago appeared serious about addressing diversity and equity.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Equity","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Equity-e1435255742641.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1477,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/04\/rustbelt-to-artsbelt\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":2},"title":"Rustbelt to Artsbelt","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I am attending a conference in St Louis hosted by the Regional Art Commission of St. Louis and the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture of Cleveland. The conference\u2019s title is Rustbelt to Artsbelt: At the Crossroads, Arts-Based Community Development Convening. I attended the initial At the Crossroads conference two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3784,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/08\/improving-lives-vs-arts-mission\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":3},"title":"Improving Lives &#8220;vs.&#8221; Arts Mission ??!!","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If arts organizations' missions are not, centrally, about making lives better, what *is* their purpose?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seattle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Seattle.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2234,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/11\/brilliant-advice\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":4},"title":"Brilliant Advice","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"November 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently returned from the National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Charlotte where I led a roundtable on mainstreaming engagement (pursuing all organizational systems from a community engagement perspective) and had a book signing. I had been concerned that I might feel like a fish out of water. (A pre-conference\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","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\/07\/LightBulb-500x333.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3001,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/07\/afta-2013-thoughts-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":1692,"position":5},"title":"AftA (2013) Thoughts: II","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In AftA Thoughts (2013) : I I began to debrief on my Americans for the Arts 2013 Conference experience. On the second day I had a moment of cognitive dissonance worth exploring. Two back-to-back sessions were inspiring. The Town Hall meeting featuring Bill Strickland of Manchester Bidwell Corporation highlighted wonderful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pittsburgh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Pittsburgh-300x133.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1692","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=1692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}