{"id":2724,"date":"2013-03-20T06:47:53","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T10:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=2724"},"modified":"2013-03-20T06:47:53","modified_gmt":"2013-03-20T10:47:53","slug":"outreach-%e2%89%a0-community-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/03\/outreach-%e2%89%a0-community-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Outreach \u2260 Community Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-996\" alt=\"NotEqual\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/NotEqual.jpg\" width=\"84\" height=\"100\" \/>I \u00a0sometimes hear people equate outreach with community engagement. In my ongoing effort to clarify the language we use about these matters, I&#8217;d like to differentiate between these two terms. For me, the simplest distinction is that outreach is (at best) done &#8220;for,&#8221; community engagement is done &#8220;with.&#8221; \u00a0Outreach, as the word implies, keeps the &#8220;outreacher&#8221; at the center. The &#8220;targets&#8221; of the outreach are outsiders. The entire center of gravity as well as most of the concern is with the arts organization.<\/p>\n<p>Community engagement is rooted in relationship building. The &#8220;what&#8221; that is the art grows out of the relationship, factoring in the interests and needs of the community. This is not simply a semantic distinction. The frame of reference of the arts organization impacts the quality (or even the existence)\u00a0of the relationship. It will also affect the nature of the work presented. If \u00a0the art does not bear evidence of community involvement, the work is not a result of community engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Outreach can be more accurately equated with audience engagement-the effort to deepen relationships with current stakeholders and to extend an organization&#8217;s reach. \u00a0Audience engagement is, properly, self-focused and somewhat more immediately concerned with butts-in-seats\/eyes-on-walls results. (Audience development is, of course <em>most<\/em> immediately concerned with those things.) Some common examples of outreach efforts are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Artists meet audiences (one-way presentation and answers from artists)<\/li>\n<li>New population centers (under-served towns, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>New Venues (neighborhood centers, construction sites, public parks)<\/li>\n<li>Relatable cultural idioms; Familiar\/popular forms (often new work)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To me, understanding distinctions between outreach (and audience engagement) and community engagement is helpful in that it supports a broader palette of potential in the service of both organizational sustainability and community service.<\/p>\n<p>Engage!<\/p>\n<p>Doug<\/p>\n<p>Not Equal image <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Attribution\" alt=\"Attribution\" src=\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_attribution_small.gif\" border=\"0\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Noncommercial\" alt=\"Noncommercial\" src=\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_noncomm_small.gif\" border=\"0\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Share Alike\" alt=\"Share Alike\" src=\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_sharealike_small.gif\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a title=\"Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Some rights reserved<\/a> by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/holeymoon\/\" target=\"_blank\">holeymoon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I \u00a0sometimes hear people equate outreach with community engagement. In my ongoing effort to clarify the language we use about these matters, I&#8217;d like to differentiate between these two terms. For me, the simplest distinction is that outreach is (at best) done &#8220;for,&#8221; community engagement is done &#8220;with.&#8221; \u00a0Outreach, as the word implies, keeps the [&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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,13,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-2724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"tag-arts","8":"tag-community-engagement","9":"tag-terminology","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-HW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6442,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/09\/terminology-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":0},"title":"Differentiation","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Differentiating between seemingly related terms is important to understanding them. This post looks at outreach and education in relationship to community engagement.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;10th Anniversary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"10th Anniversary","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/10th-anniversary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/10.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2818,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/05\/engagement-vocabulary\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":1},"title":"Engagement Vocabulary","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Note to new readers: This is a very old and widely read post. In the interest of providing up-to-date information about thinking on this topic, you can find updated definitions of terminology related to community engagement and related arts management tools on the ArtsEngaged website here.] I have on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Dictionary","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Dictionary-300x153.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3875,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/10\/outreach\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":2},"title":"Outreach","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Outreach\" implies we are at the center and must do \"for\" others rather than \"with.\" That's not a great way to build relationships.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"090806-N-6220J-004","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SoupKitchen-e1404330931502.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2451,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/01\/outreach-and-audience-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":3},"title":"Outreach and Audience Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll admit it. I have a bad attitude about the word \"outreach\" in the context of the arts. Whether that attitude is rooted in the way the word has been used or in some quality inherent in it is not clear to me. I have difficulty with what often seem\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\/2013\/01\/StreetTheatre.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1592,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/05\/audience-engagement-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":4},"title":"Audience Engagement-Community Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"[Note to new readers: This is a very old and widely read post. In the interest of providing up-to-date information about thinking on this topic, you can find updated definitions of terminology related to community engagement and related arts management tools on the ArtsEngaged website here.] OK, I lied. I\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":4476,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/03\/diversity-and-genuine-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2724,"position":5},"title":"Diversity and Genuine Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Diversity is not achieved via \"programs.\" It's the result of genuine community engagement\u2013organic, on-going, permanent relationships.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Diversity","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Diversity.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2724","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=2724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}