{"id":3844,"date":"2014-10-07T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2014-10-07T04:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=3844"},"modified":"2014-10-07T00:01:07","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T04:01:07","slug":"let-make-the-artists-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/10\/let-make-the-artists-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Let (Make) the Artists Do It (?)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CorpsDeBallet\"<\/strong>There is an unfortunate tendency in discussions of community engagement for an organization\u2019s first response to be that all (or most) of the work should be in the hands of its artists. I hear this presented as an assumption at many conferences, especially discipline-specific ones. This can stymie engagement efforts for two significant reasons. First, to be credible, engagement must reflect the will of the organization and be visible in all<\/em> its work. \u201cOutsourcing\u201d engagement to artists is a bit like a nonprofit board hiring a development director and deciding that therefore they do not need to participate in fundraising.<\/p>\n

Second, with many wonderful exceptions, artists have not been trained in and are sometimes uncomfortable with the work of engagement. They may not have the tools necessary for relationship building with groups or individuals not part of the art world, and, importantly, that was not the work for which they were originally hired. This has been one source of significant labor disputes in the arts industry over the last decade. Certainly artists can be some of the best ambassadors for their art, but they will need time, training, and the opportunity to come to see such work as part of their job\u2013without a gun to their head. Like all other staff they will become invaluable resources for engagement, but they are likely not the place to begin.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, much can be done to engage with new communities that does not involve direct participation by artists in the process. Programming of works meaningful to the community; contextualizing them in ways that highlight their relevance; and presentation of them in venues with which the community is comfortable are ways to begin\u2013establishing credibility and building relationships as everyone inside the organization develops skills working outside of traditional boundaries.<\/p>\n

The work of engagement is not work that belongs entirely in the purview of any single subset of an arts organization. All must be involved, eventually. There are good ways to begin without immediately throwing everybody into the deep end of the pool.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"\"Noncommercial\"\"Share<\/a><\/span> Some rights reserved<\/a> by Jack Devant ballet photography<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOutsourcing\u201d engagement to artists is a bit like a nonprofit board hiring a development director and deciding that therefore they do not need to participate in fundraising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3847,"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":"Let (Make) the Artists Do It (?) http:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-100","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":[5,10],"tags":[12,13,43,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-3844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-principles","8":"category-the-practice-of-engagement","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-community-engagement","11":"tag-programming","12":"tag-relationships","13":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CorpsDeBallet.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-100","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5627,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/06\/shades-of-meaning\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":0},"title":"Shades of Meaning","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"June 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Lesson from Western Australia: Far-flung small towns necessitate a nuanced understanding of the relationship between audience engagement and community engagement.","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":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/CircuitWestAttendees2019-500x500.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2724,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/03\/outreach-%e2%89%a0-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":1},"title":"Outreach \u2260 Community Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I \u00a0sometimes hear people equate outreach with community engagement. In my ongoing effort to clarify the language we use about these matters, I'd like to differentiate between these two terms. For me, the simplest distinction is that outreach is (at best) done \"for,\" community engagement is done \"with.\" \u00a0Outreach, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NotEqual","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/NotEqual.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2307,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/01\/mainstreaming-on-my-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":2},"title":"Mainstreaming on My Mind","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"My basic beliefs about the arts and community engagement are fairly well-known to anyone who reads this blog or who has read my book. 1) Community engagement is vital to a healthy future for the arts; 2) substantive community engagement is relatively rare in the established arts world; and 3)\u2026","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":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/OnMyMind.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5335,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/08\/an-orchestral-musicians-view-of-community-engagement-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":3},"title":"An Orchestral Musician\u2019s View of Community Engagement: I","author":"Guest Blogger","date":"August 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest post on the value for artists of community engagement work.","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Post"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/guest-post\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/PennyBrill-240x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2873,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/05\/lessons-from-the-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":4},"title":"Lessons from the Road","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Since mid-January I have been on a whirlwind tour of the U.S. (and Toronto). I have kept thinking I am going to stop and reflect on all I've learned. So far, though, there's not been time. But I thought I'd at least take a few moments to thank all of\u2026","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":"north america - Google Maps","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/NorthAmerica-300x152.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2914,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/05\/the-arts-benefit-from-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":3844,"position":5},"title":"The Arts Benefit from Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog is all about the arts and community engagement. 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