![\"ZabelHeadshot\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ZabelHeadshot-e1462549992644.jpg\")
There is a lot of work right now on building demand, value and interest in the contributions of art and artists to places, social change, economies and communities. This is the long overdue work to knit our creativity back into our daily lives and the way we address and confront the issues and inequities that face us. I am a true believer in this work and its many forms and structures. I also believe that it is not enough to work on the demand for this work \u2013 we also need to work on the supply of this work. Essentially, art comes from artists and if we are building the demand for artist-led, community-engaged work, then how are we supporting artists to build the skills and capacity they need to fulfill this demand?<\/p>\n
Things that hold us back:<\/strong><\/p>\n 6 artist syndrome:<\/em> At Springboard, we travel a lot and we\u2019ve started making this joke that every community has 6 artists. There are usually about 6 artists that everyone in a given city points to as the exemplars of work that engages community. We call on them whenever we need a mural, a community created play, an innovative project with the city. These six artists do amazing work, work that is powerful, important and in need of support, but they can\u2019t do everything. By relying on the same people over and over again we\u2019re not building systems of investment, support and training that would allow more artists and more communities to make creative change.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, this work is not for everyone\u2026\u201d:<\/em> People say this to mean that OF COURSE not all artists are interested in community-based work, or creative placemaking, or engaging in social issues. I\u2019ve said it myself. But the more I think about this idea, I think it is wrong. ALL artists need relationships, ALL artists need to understand the context in which their work happens, ALL artists are trying to communicate and connect. In repeating the \u201cthis work isn\u2019t for everyone\u201d trope we are reinforcing a binary between artists who have a studio practice and artists who have a social\/civic\/community practice. This perspective narrows down the ways in which artists contribute to community life to a fraction of the full possibility. Yes, some artists work intentionally to co-create work with community members and other artists work alone in their studio. But the reality is that most artists do some of both. Our communities benefit from multiple ways of approaching and defining artistic impact. Even the most studio based artists need relationships with their community to inform and support their work.<\/p>\n Artistic quality vs. community engagement.<\/em> Honestly, I can\u2019t even bring myself to write about this conversation anymore. This tedious, insider argument serves no one.<\/p>\n What we need:<\/strong><\/p>\n Expansive definitions:<\/em> Artists are everywhere and every community has creative capacity within it. We need artists from all backgrounds and all walks of life to be recognized, supported and celebrated for their contributions. There is room for everyone.<\/strong> There are a lot of different ways for artists to build relationships, support communities, use their artistic skills to make contributions. For example, a singer-songwriter who lives in a neighborhood that is changing rapidly and is worried about displacement of longtime residents might write songs with her neighbors, or she might write her own song about the neighborhood and perform it on her national tour, or she might be intentional about playing gigs at bars and restaurants that are important institutions in her neighborhood\u2014these are all equally valid ways to make an impact.<\/p>\n Multiple on-ramps and opportunities:<\/em> We need to provide opportunities for artist training and learning, and, more importantly, low-risk opportunities to try new ideas and ways of working. Opportunities for artists to build new relationships and test ideas. This isn\u2019t work that can be learned in a classroom alone, artists need an invitation and a charge (and resources) to find partners in their community and begin a relationship. At Springboard our artist-training in community development is almost always coupled with financial support to try out a small project. People learn by doing and when it comes to building relationships, only the experience of actually doing something together gets you farther down the path.<\/p>\n Mechanisms that make it easy for communities to find and connect with artists<\/em>: In the arts we consistently underestimate how opaque it is for those who are not steeped in this work to navigate our systems and jargon. Here\u2019s a conversation I\u2019ve had approximately one thousand times:<\/p>\n \u201cHi, I\u2019m calling from a community development organization\/city agency\/private business and we are working on an exciting new project to build affordable housing\/address health disparities\/get community feedback and someone told me we should work with artists.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes, absolutely, you should do that!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut how??\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Because we\u2019ve had this conversation so many times, at Springboard we\u2019re kind of obsessed with mechanisms: how to make the bridge between two people or two sectors easy to see and easy to cross? We recently launched a project called Ready Go<\/a> that is a roster of artist-designed projects purpose-built to pique curiosity, prompt interaction and are available for hire. Our goal is to make it just as easy for a community organizer to work with an artist as it is for them to rent a bounce house. We hope Ready Go is a mechanism that introduces more people to the idea of working with artists, and also introduces them to actual artists.<\/p>\n There is so much opportunity right now to help communities understand and value the role creativity can play in supporting the agency and power of people, in building new social connection, in contributing to health, equity and happiness. So many of our challenges need and want artists\u2019 contributions. We need to make sure we\u2019re supporting, challenging and resourcing artists to make these contributions.<\/p>\n Laura Zabel is the Executive Director of\u00a0Springboard for the Arts<\/u><\/a>, which operates\u00a0Creative Exchange<\/u><\/a>, a platform for sharing free toolkits, resources, and profiles to help artists and citizens collaborate on replicating successful and engaging community projects.<\/p>\n An economic and community development agency run by and for artists, Springboard provides programs that help artists make a living and a life, and programs that help communities connect to the creative power of artists. Based in Minnesota, Springboard’s projects include:\u00a0Community Supported Art (CSA)<\/u><\/a>, which is based on the Community Supported Agriculture model and connects artists directly with patrons; the\u00a0Artists Access to Healthcare<\/u><\/a>\u00a0program; artist entrepreneurial development; and\u00a0Irrigate<\/u><\/a>\u00a0artist-led creative placemaking, a national model for how cities can engage artists to help reframe and address big community challenges.<\/p>\n An expert on the relationship between the arts and community development, Zabel has spoken at leading conferences and events including the\u00a0Aspen Ideas Festival<\/u><\/a>, the Urban Land Institute, and\u00a0Americans for the Arts<\/u><\/a>. A\u00a02014 Bush Foundation Fellow<\/u><\/a>, Zabel\u2019s insights on industry trends have also been featured in outlets from\u00a0The Guardian<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The New York Times<\/u><\/a>. Zabel serves on the board of directors of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Artists and Relationship Building: Laura Zabel on opportunities for artists<\/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":"Artists and Relationship Building: Laura Zabel on opportunities for artists","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":[61,62],"tags":[63,12,13,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-4545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-customer-client-collaborator-series","7":"category-guest-post","8":"tag-artists","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-community-engagement","11":"tag-relationships","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-1bj","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":4545,"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":4545,"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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Unfortunately they had to close up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gard Foundation logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Gard-Foundation-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2984,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/10\/irrigate\/","url_meta":{"origin":4545,"position":3},"title":"Irrigate","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4oePXcW6axk Springboard for the Arts has been developing buzz in the creative placemaking world of late. I've heard presentations about their work at several conferences this year. At the Americans for the Arts conference in Pittsburgh in June I got to meet Laura Zabel, Springboard's extremely energetic ED. Springboard began\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Examples"","block_context":{"text":"Examples","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/4oePXcW6axk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4266,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/11\/fracking-and-arts-marketing\/","url_meta":{"origin":4545,"position":4},"title":"Fracking and Arts Marketing","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"November 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While we are developing the relationships that will support us in the long term, better marketing is a great way to help us get from here to there.","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":"FrackingRig","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FrackingRig-e1438015074754.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4674,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/09\/gard-foundation-symposium-our-communities-day-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4545,"position":5},"title":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Day 3","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Gard Foundation Symposium\u2013Our Communities: Day 3","rel":"","context":"In "The Arts and . . ."","block_context":{"text":"The Arts and . . .","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-arts-and\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gard Foundation logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Gard-Foundation-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545","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=4545"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4551,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4545\/revisions\/4551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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