{"id":4339,"date":"2015-12-02T02:00:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2015-11-30T10:14:17","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T15:14:17","slug":"relationships-all-the-way-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/12\/relationships-all-the-way-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Relationships All the Way Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the last of a series of blog posts in conjunction with TRG Arts on the interrelationships among marketing, development, fundraising, and community engagement. (Cross-post can be found at Analysis from TRG Arts<\/a>.) <\/em><\/p>\n

\"StackedTurtles\"Two months ago, Jill Robinson and Amelia Nothrup-Simpson of TRG Arts<\/a> and I (OK: the commercial\u2013of ArtsEngaged<\/a>) began exploring the fact that almost every important facet of arts administration is (or should be) rooted in developing and maintaining relationships with external constituencies, what I would call \u201ccommunities.\u201d This post brings that series to a close. However, see the note at the end about what the future holds.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the following is an excerpt from my second book, Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable<\/a><\/em> that can serve as a benediction for the series.<\/p>\n

\n

Stephen Hawking\u2019s 1988 book A Brief History of Time, <\/em>begins with the following story:<\/p>\n

A well-known scientist . . . once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: \u201cWhat you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.\u201d The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, \u201cWhat is the tortoise standing on?\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re very clever, young man, very clever,\u201d said the old lady. \u201cBut it\u2019s tortoises all the way down!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In some versions of this story the punchline does not come until after a series of tortoises has been identified, each supporting the one before it, but the essence is the same. When the story is cited in discussions of cosmology or philosophy the point, of course, is the fallacy of basing arguments on an unverifiable \u201cfirst principle.\u201d In the context of the arts and community engagement, however, it can serve another purpose. The story is a reminder that to achieve success the focus in every aspect of the arts organization\u2019s work must be on developing and maintaining ties with others\u2014individuals, informal groups, and organizations. The first principle in and foundation for everything is engagement; \u201cit\u2019s relationships all the way down.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

An awareness of the need to establish connections outside the organization must be central to the mindset of every person that cares about its health and every functional unit must understand it has a role (and stake) in engagement.<\/p>\n

At the macro level, attention must be paid to being of <\/em>the community, supporting its organizations, informal groups, and individuals. At the unit level, each function and program needs to examine and pursue its work with an engagement perspective, addressing the questions, \u201cHow can we help?\u201d and \u201cHow can we nurture relationships?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

So far we\u2019ve heard from a few responders to this series. In the spring we are hoping to have more people provide insight into the importance of relationships from a variety of perspectives. We\u2019ve been in touch with a few people to see if they will be willing to prime the pump. We are interested in hearing from others who might want to weigh in on the importance of relationship building to their work. And, of course, if you disagree with the premise, we\u2019d like to see you make your case. If you want to participate in a more extended conversation in the spring, contact me at doug.borwick@artsengaged.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For those who missed any of this series (and want to look at them), here’s the list, with links:<\/p>\n

Farmer and the Cowman Redux<\/a><\/div>\n
Inside Out vs. Outside In<\/a><\/div>\n
Marketing and Development Terminology<\/a><\/div>\n
Measure Revenue Differently. Cultivate Loyalty Collaboratively<\/a><\/div>\n
Making My Peace with Sales<\/a><\/div>\n
Both Sides, Now<\/a><\/div>\n
Fracking and Arts Marketing<\/a><\/div>\n
Learn-Unlearn<\/a>
\nRelationships All the Way Down<\/a><\/div>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo: Some rights reserved<\/a> by Troy B Thompson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first principle in and foundation for everything is engagement; \u201cit\u2019s relationships all the way down.\u201d Arts organizations need to address the questions, \u201cHow can we help?\u201d and \u201cHow can we nurture relationships?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4340,"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":"Relationships All the Way Down: Concluding the initial series w\/ @TRGArts","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":[61],"tags":[12,13,45,31,27,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-customer-client-collaborator-series","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-fundraising","11":"tag-mainstreaming","12":"tag-marketing","13":"tag-relationships","14":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/StackedTurtles.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-17Z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4523,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/04\/client-customer-collaborator-a-roadmap\/","url_meta":{"origin":4339,"position":0},"title":"Client, Customer, Collaborator: A Roadmap","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Roadmap to the Customer, Client, Collaborator blog series sponsored by Engaging Matters\/ArtsEngaged and TRG Arts.","rel":"","context":"In "Customer-Client-Collaborator Series"","block_context":{"text":"Customer-Client-Collaborator Series","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/customer-client-collaborator-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"community-engagement-conversation-map","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/community-engagement-conversation-map-e1461006366868.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4467,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/04\/customer-client-collaborator\/","url_meta":{"origin":4339,"position":1},"title":"Customer, Client, Collaborator?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Successful community engagement is a partnership entered into for mutual benefit, based on mutual respect, and honoring the expertise of both parties. 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