{"id":5682,"date":"2019-09-18T02:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T06:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=5682"},"modified":"2020-06-29T11:31:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T15:31:00","slug":"the-chasm-of-disbelief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/09\/the-chasm-of-disbelief\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chasm of Disbelief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Think you (or your organization) don’t understand the people you are trying to reach? If you are talking about people other than your current attendees\/donors and their peers, you are 100% correct; and they understand you even less. (And if you don’t think you don’t understand you are probably deluding yourself.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is, between the general public and those of us on the “inside” of the nonprofit arts industry, a gap in perception that I think is insufficiently understood by stakeholders in the arts. Simply put, we are powerfully aware of the incredible value of the arts. The rest of the world is not. This gap makes communication extremely difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The onus for breaking the logjam is on us. Who else has the motivation to try? But we can’t do so if we don’t recognize it. And even more daunting, the disconnect is deeply systemic. It is not a “simple” matter of presenting arguments about the wonderfulness of the arts. In spite of all the research and the myriad of studies demonstrating the power of the arts, people are not convinced. This always confused me until I interviewed Jonathan Katz, then CEO of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, for my first book (Building Communities, Not Audiences<\/a><\/em>). He framed things in a way that set me back on my heels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Neither professionals [or community leaders] in the relevant disciplines nor the general public put sufficient stock in . . . studies to alter policy. This disinclination to believe is rooted in unexamined assumptions that the arts do not touch the lives of more than a select few.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, people do not believe the stories or the studies because they don\u2019t believe they can<\/em> be true. For many<\/strong>, the arts are <\/strong>so inconsequential, so void of impact on their own lives, <\/strong>any<\/strong><\/em> proof of their power is literally unbelievable.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So whether you are trying to convince people of the merit of the arts or the value of your organization or you are simply trying to get them to attend your events, there is a profound chasm of disbelief to be overcome. The way across this divide is not by words. It is action alone that will work. Being perceived as valuable must be earned by doing things that make us so. If we have to tell people we are valuable, we\u2019re <\/strong>not<\/strong><\/em> to them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doug<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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

For many, the arts are so void of impact on their own lives any proof of their power is literally unbelievable. Being perceived as valuable must be earned by doing things that make us so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5684,"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 Chasm of Disbelief: Being perceived as valuable must be earned by doing things that make us so. 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This will pit social service providers against all others. In the face of this threat, we must learn to more fully engage with our communities.","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/TunnelOpening.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2328,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/01\/an-engagement-continuum\/","url_meta":{"origin":5682,"position":1},"title":"An Engagement Continuum","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Note to new readers: This is a very old and widely read post. In the interest of providing up-to-date information about thinking on this topic, you can find updated definitions of terminology related to community engagement and related arts management tools on the ArtsEngaged website here.] I'm on a roll\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/TownHallMeeting-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2166,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/11\/public-benefit\/","url_meta":{"origin":5682,"position":2},"title":"Public Benefit","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"November 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Public benefit (or one of many closely related concepts) is becoming an increasingly important element in rating grant applications and in assessing the value of arts organizations to their communities. As I discovered in my recent work on a grant review panel for Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, there needs to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/GettysburgAddress-183x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":281,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/09\/public-value-public-funds\/","url_meta":{"origin":5682,"position":3},"title":"Public Value, Public Funds","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Fear and trembling I have. Yes. Talk of public funding for the arts. Happy no one will be. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Some time ago, Kelly Kleiman wrote a blog post for the Stanford Social Innovation Review that I only recently discovered: Second (and Third) Thoughts about Public Funding\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\/08\/BlueStar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3120,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/08\/not-or-and-but\/","url_meta":{"origin":5682,"position":4},"title":"Not “Or”, “And”, but . . . .","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent Op-Ed piece by Peter Singer in the New York Times, \u201cGood Charity, Bad Charity\u201d, has been the subject of considerable discussion in the arts world. 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