{"id":5274,"date":"2018-05-09T02:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T06:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=5274"},"modified":"2018-05-07T13:59:18","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T17:59:18","slug":"the-problem-of-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/05\/the-problem-of-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem of “Engagement”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In March I had the privilege of participating in the <\/span>Intersections Summit hosted by Milwaukee Repertory Theater<\/span><\/a>. It was a heady gathering of community engagement practitioners from theaters (mostly) across the U.S. As frequently happens, the conference sparked a number of thoughts. One has to do with the essence of the convening, the word “engagement.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Engagement is a problematic word; the way it gets used frequently prevents people from appreciating the potential it offers. Simply put, when we use\u2013or see\/hear\u2013it we need to be aware of what meaning is implied. Simply put, \u201cWho is doing what with whom to what end?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As I have mentioned before in this blog (Artcentric Engagement<\/a>), I have seen \u201cengagement\u201d used to mean providing members of the community the opportunity to engage with an arts organization. In other words, in that use, the obligation is upon people outside the arts organization to come to it. That may not technically be an incorrect use of the word, but this meaning does little (or nothing) to expand the reach of arts organizations. Only the \u201calready convinced\u201d would respond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, uses of the word where the arts organization is \u201cengaging\u201d with communities primarily for its own benefit\u2013to increase ticket sales or donations\u2013do nothing to make the organization more important to the life of the community. Indeed, many communities, observing such efforts, will conclude that the organization has no real interest in them.\u00a0<\/span>While both of these uses of the word are valid in a grammatical sense, I have long argued that the value of engagement lies in a deeper commitment to communities. What I\u2019ve been advocating is <\/span>effective<\/span><\/i> engagement, engagement that serves to make an arts organization\u2019s future more viable. The essence of such engagement rests in relationship building with new communities (since the \u201calready convinced\u201d do not represent a huge new pool of prospects) and the non-negotiable foundation for this is pursuit of mutual benefit and inclusion of those communities in the design and implementation of projects. (And, once again, <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> giving them what <\/span>we think<\/i><\/b> they want, but knowing them well enough to make suggestions of programs that might serve their interests.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

\n
Photo:\u00a0\"Attribution\"\"Noncommercial\"\"No<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Some rights reserved<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Ben Terrett<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Effective engagement is rooted in relationship building with new communities, pursuit of mutual benefit with them, and inclusion of them in the design and implementation of projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5276,"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":"The Problem of \"Engagement\": Despite many \"correct\" meanings of the word, effective engagement must pursue mutually beneficial outcomes.","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":[12,13,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-5274","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-terminology","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/ProblemPostit.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-1n4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5279,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/05\/justice-and-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":0},"title":"Justice and Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In attempting to engage many communities, working for justice is critical; however, advocating for engagement does not diminish the need to work for justice as well.","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\/2018\/03\/JusticeStatue-185x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6442,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/09\/terminology-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":1},"title":"Differentiation","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Differentiating between seemingly related terms is important to understanding them. This post looks at outreach and education in relationship to community engagement.","rel":"","context":"In "10th Anniversary"","block_context":{"text":"10th Anniversary","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/10th-anniversary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/10.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5227,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2018\/02\/one-wo-man-band\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":2},"title":"One Wo\/Man Band","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"February 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One Wo\/Man Band: Don't put all of your engagement eggs in a single basket.","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\/2018\/02\/OneManBand-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4272,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/09\/artcentric-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":3},"title":"Artcentric Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In artcentric engagement the community engages with the arts. In transformative engagement, the arts engage with the community.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"EngagementRing","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/EngagementRing-e1429555281389.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2724,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/03\/outreach-%e2%89%a0-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":4},"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":4631,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/08\/fifth-anniversary-highlights-transformative-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":5274,"position":5},"title":"Fifth Anniversary Highlights: Transformative Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If an organization is not doing anything differently as a result of its engagement efforts, it\u2019s not focused on the community. 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