{"id":5053,"date":"2017-10-25T02:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=5053"},"modified":"2017-10-24T11:19:33","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T15:19:33","slug":"excellence-and-engagement-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/10\/excellence-and-engagement-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Excellence and Engagement: III"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

In my two previous posts I have been exploring the question of excellence as it applies to community engagement in the arts. (Excellence and Engagement: 1<\/a>; Excellence and Engagement: II<\/a>) \u00a0Here, I want to address issues of equity and respect for communities in this context.<\/span><\/p>\n

Equity
\n<\/span><\/i>A complicating factor in discussions of excellence is the issue of equity. The arts of the European aristocratic cultural tradition have benefited for centuries from financial support for infrastructure, education, and presentation that has been totally unavailable to the arts of other cultures. One result is that gatekeepers in the arts who are products of this system are largely unaware of the arts of other cultures and so continue to make assumptions about excellence that favor the art they know.<\/span><\/p>\n

A more practical result of the access to resources is that visual and performing artists working in these European traditions have been provided time to hone their technique in ways sometimes not possible for artists whose work is rooted in other cultures. It is patently unfair to compare levels of technical excellence (especially with respect to institutions) in Eurocentric presentation with that of other cultures. The fact that many individual artists are on a par with their Western peers with respect to technical proficiency in their native styles and forms is a testament to the hold that the arts have on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Respect
\n<\/span><\/i>Community engagement is rooted in relationship building and the indispensable foundation for that is respect for those with whom one is attempting to engage. Unfortunately, discussions of excellence in the arts are sometimes clouded by an undercurrent of dismissiveness about the ability of people (the \u201cunwashed masses\u201d) to appreciate great art. This assumption of cultural (and\/or intellectual) superiority is usually, though not always, unconscious. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The issue of cultural traditions is important here. I have some understanding of Indian classical music\u2013ragas, rhythmic practices, and musical structure, but I can\u2019t say that it speaks to me. That does not make me lesser nor does it demean Indian music. It\u2019s just that I don\u2019t make a point of attending concerts. That, I am sure, is largely due to the fact that I am not a product of the culture of the subcontinent of India; and it demonstrates why it can be difficult to grow an arts organization by attempting to connect with people who do not share the culture of the art presented. People whose cultural background is not tied to the European aristocratic tradition can hardly be faulted for a disinclination to participate in arts experiences derived from it.<\/span><\/p>\n

With respect to the more general issue of capacity, there is one view that a lack of interest in our art demonstrates that \u201cthose people\u201d lack a basic depth of feeling or understanding. (If, reading this, your reaction is that no one believes that, trust me. I\u2019ve had these conversations.) The inherent arrogance of this perspective should be self-evident. Most people on this planet have passionate attachments to home and family, to their god, and sometimes to their region or country. When they have the time and luxury of thinking about things other than basic necessities (and this is a key issue) they <\/span>are<\/span><\/i> concerned about the big questions of their place in the universe and the meaning of life. To believe otherwise, consciously or not, is simply indefensible. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a related view that the success of mass culture proves that people are incapable of reflective experience. To be sure, there is much in mass culture that is superficial and easy, but there are also many examples of popular works providing profound insight\u2013the songs of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, television shows like <\/span>The West Wing <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>Breaking Bad<\/span><\/i>, movies like <\/span>Sophie\u2019s Choice<\/span><\/i>, and the cultural phenomenon of <\/span>Hamilton<\/span><\/i>\u2013to name a few. In addition, frankly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with some entertainment being easy. (For more on the nature of different types of cultural experiences, see <\/span>https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/reflective-art-visceral-art\/<\/span><\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, to address a negative assumption that some people make about community engagement, we are not talking about \u201cgiving people what they want.\u201d Polling people about what works they want presented is particularly counter-productive when they have little or no awareness of what works exists. As I often say, community engagement is not \u201cgiving them what (we think) they want.\u201d Rather, it demands learning enough about communities to know what work of the international cultural canon will be meaningful to them and then programming that with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unquestionably, it takes education, effort, and experience to appreciate great art, but people without access to any or all of those cannot be held to account for that lack. We, the workers in the nonprofit arts industry, are the ones with the most direct, practical vested interest in the success of our organizations. It is not the responsibility of others to come to us. It is our job to figure out how to become more meaningful to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

If it were true (and unalterable) that many are incapable of appreciating reflective art, that would be devastating for the future of arts organizations. Fortunately, that is not the case. For the health of the industry, widespread relevance is an important goal. Indeed, as I have argued elsewhere, relevance may not be sufficient in an era of conflicting priorities. Achieving recognized indispensability may be vital. (<\/span>Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>) Finding appropriate ways to be meaningful to greater numbers of people is the key to our future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion
\n<\/span><\/i>There are many categories of excellence. No individual or organization can be excellent in all things. Unfortunately, some in our industry use the shibboleth of technical and expressive excellence (in one very specific cultural tradition) as a means of stopping conversation about connecting with communities. This is tragic when the need for ever greater relevance is critical to the future of the nonprofit arts industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no question that technical and expressive excellence in art of the European cultural tradition will be a central goal for many arts organizations, but these are not the only types of excellence. Frankly, they may not be the categories of excellence most necessary to move us toward relevance and certainly not toward the goal of indispensability. Organizations can and should make choices about how to focus their efforts and choose the areas of excellence they want to highlight, but this should be done with full understanding of the impact of those choices on their path to sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

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

Excellence and Engagement: Considering equity and respect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2578,"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":"Excellence and Engagement: Considering equity and respect.","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":[12,13,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-5053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-principles","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-excellence","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ExcellenceSign.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-1jv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5047,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/10\/excellence-and-engagement-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":0},"title":"Excellence and Engagement: II","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Excellence and Engagement: Participatory activities, community benefit, and personal meaning.","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\/2013\/02\/ExcellenceSign.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5345,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/07\/announcing\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":1},"title":"Announcing","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's official. As predicted in Changes, ArtsEngaged has a new and, to my eyes, snazzy website. The snazziness is entirely due to the efforts of our Marketing and Sales specialist, Achia Floyd. Many, many thanks Achia! While new is always (well, often) fun, what is most important to me about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"arts\"","block_context":{"text":"arts","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/tag\/arts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/HeraldTrumpets-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5378,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/09\/announcing-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":2},"title":"ICYMI: Announcing","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The new and improved ArtsEngaged website has many resources for community engagement which you may find of value.","rel":"","context":"In \"arts\"","block_context":{"text":"arts","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/tag\/arts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/HeraldTrumpets-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":452,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/10\/engagement-uber-alles\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":3},"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":392,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/10\/quality-and-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":4},"title":"Quality and Community","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A respondent to an earlier post raised the issue of \"quality\" with respect to community engagement, suggesting in essence that engagement efforts inevitably result in a reduction in the artistic merit of the work. My response was, among other things, that if there is a decline in artistic quality in\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\/ElephantInRoom.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2575,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/04\/excellence-to-what-end\/","url_meta":{"origin":5053,"position":5},"title":"Excellence\u2013To What End?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Taking a time out from mainstreaming engagement and questions of diversity (although both really are related to this), I feel a need to revisit (briefly) the \"question of quality.\" This is something that needs to be done with some regularity by anyone advocating for a community-oriented perspective in the arts.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ExcellenceSign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/ExcellenceSign-300x148.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053","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=5053"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5088,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5053\/revisions\/5088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}