{"id":3784,"date":"2014-08-13T06:47:37","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T10:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=3784"},"modified":"2014-08-13T06:47:37","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T10:47:37","slug":"improving-lives-vs-arts-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/08\/improving-lives-vs-arts-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Lives “vs.” Arts Mission ??!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seattle\"As part of last June’s conference of the League of American Orchestras in Seattle, I got to sit in on a pre-conference session of League members’ Education and Community Engagement staff. It was great to be around a group dedicated to the work I believe is so important to the future of the arts. While there was much of value for me in that session, one participant question has haunted me for the weeks since. In a Q & A period, one woman asked how she could reconcile her passion to improve people’s lives through the arts with her orchestra’s mission<\/strong>. To me, the question was an incredibly jarring one. If arts organizations’ missions are not, centrally, about making lives better, what is<\/em> their purpose?<\/strong> And yet, I and I assume almost everyone there understood exactly what she meant. Our organizations, and it may be particularly our orchestras, can get so focused on the arts product that taking time to consider, much less respond to, the needs of our communities is deemed wasteful or inappropriate. This artcentricity is a bit more obvious when it’s called out like this, but until it is, it’s such an unconscious part of the world view that it’s invisible. (See Frames of Reference<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

I call frequently for a reconsideration of mission in the arts, from product-centered to community-centered. (The Metamission of Arts Institutions<\/a>, Examining the “Mission Model.”<\/a>) Acknowledging that that arts administrator’s question reflects an on-the-ground reality can serve as a catalyst for movement in rethinking core purpose in the arts.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"<\/a><\/span> Some rights reserved<\/a> by .Bala<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If arts organizations’ missions are not, centrally, about making lives better, what *is* their purpose? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3695,"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":"Improving Lives vs. Arts Mission?\u2013If arts missions are not about making lives better, what *is* their purpose?:","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":[4],"tags":[12,13,48,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-3784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-overview","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-mission","11":"tag-public-good","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Seattle.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-Z2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2785,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/04\/engaged-mission-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":0},"title":"Engaged Mission: I","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When I first outlined my series of posts on mainstreaming community engagement I had not intended to address mission. I did not want to (nor did I think it necessary) to \u201ctake on\u201d the definition of our core principles in addressing modes of mainstreaming engagement. However, as the posts and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Compass","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Compass-300x300.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":3784,"position":1},"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 "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":452,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/10\/engagement-uber-alles\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":2},"title":"Engagement Uber Alles?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"To date I've avoided a direct answer to the unspoken question some of you may have about all of this. Even if engagement is important for some arts organizations, do I really think it is essential for all? After my Quality and Community posts (Quality and Community; Quality and Community-2),\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\/2011\/09\/Excellence.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/07\/the-self-centered-pursuit-of-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":3},"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 "Principles"","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":1692,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/06\/art-is-not-fundamental\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":4},"title":"Art Is Not Fundamental","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"June 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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.)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5729,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/10\/doomed-to-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":3784,"position":5},"title":"Doomed to Fail","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are vital to the future of the arts. The commitment to community that community engagement requires is an essential foundation upon which to build efforts in DEI.","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\/2019\/10\/Fail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784","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=3784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}