ANIMATING DEMOCRACY E-NEWS
March 2006
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Animating Democracy News and Updates |
Report from Animating Democracy/Working Capital Fund Exemplar Program Santa Fe Convening posted onlinewww.americansforthearts.org/AnimatingDemocracy/reading_room/reading_001.asp
Representatives of the 12 small and midsized organizations participating in the Americans for the Arts Exemplar Program convened in early December 2005 in Santa Fe, NM. Recognized for outstanding cultural work in their communities and in the field based on their participation in Animating Democracy and the Working Capital Fund, the groups explored topic areas related to aesthetic investigation, institutional health and capacity, and civic engagement. From the convening, a report was compiled by Caron Atlas highlighting the event from beginning to end. With implications for the entire field, the report summarizes key topics areas in relation to challenges and opportunities among cohort members. The Exemplar Program is funded by The Ford Foundation.
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News from the Field |
LAPD launches new residency project in Charlotte, NCwww.lapovertydept.org
Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a theater company that creates performances to connect lived experience to the social forces that shape the lives and communities of people living in poverty, is developing new short-term residency project in Charlotte, NC. Tentatively called Emergency Evacuation Plan for the City of Charlotte, the performance will be built using insights of homeless and low-income citizens living in Charlotte to gain a better understanding of the experience of Hurricane Katrina. Performers will be a combined cast of four company members, homeless neighbors of Urban Ministry Center—one of the project’s community partners—and several college students. Planned residency activities will include daily workshops, research activities, and public presentations at Urban Ministry Center and at Davidson College. Emergency Evacuation Plan for the City of Charlotte will run March 23–April 2, 2006.
Cornerstone Theater Company to present Demeter in the Citywww.cornerstonetheater.org
In June 2006, LA-based Cornerstone Theater Company will present Demeter in the City, a community collaboration with 20 year olds from throughout the city. In celebration of Cornerstone’s 20th anniversary season, Demeter in the City is a new play—loosely based on the Greek myth of Demeter, goddess of the harvest—that honors the lives and stories of individuals born in 1986. Gathered through story circles and one-on-one interviews, Demeter in the City explores the diverse experiences of 20 year olds as they face separation and forge new identities as single mothers, college students, and military personnel. Demeter in the City is written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Shishir Kurup.
ITVS seeks minority producers for Diversity Development Fundwww.itvs.org
The Independent Television Service (ITVS) Diversity Development Fund (DDF) is currently seeking talented minority producers to develop single programs for public television. The program, made possible through funding from The Ford Foundation, invites independent producers of color to develop single public television programs in any genre (drama, documentary, docudrama, animation, experimental works, or innovative combinations thereof) that will resonate in multicultural communities.
Projects must be in the research or development phase and cannot have begun production. Applicants must be independent producers; at least 18 years of age; citizens or legal residents of the United States or its territories; have some previous film or television production experience in a principal role (producer, co-producer, director, or co- director); and identify themselves as minority producers belonging to one or more of the following communities: African American, Latino/Latina, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American/Native Alaskan, or Arab American. For complete application guidelines, visit the DDF homepage: www.itvs.org/producers/ddf_guidelines.html. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2006.
Do Something announces spring deadline for youth community project grantswww.dosomething.org
Do Something, a youth-service organization that supports young people seeking to change the world, has announced the deadline for its spring grantmaking round. Available to young people who submit creative proposals for solving local problems, proposals for the $500 grant award will be evaluated based on how applicants are addressing challenges in the areas of community building, health, and the environment.
Applicants must be 25 years old or younger on May 1, 2006, to receive a 2006 Do Something grant, must have a mentor to apply for a grant, and may apply for a grant either individually or on behalf of a group or team. Visit the Do Something website for complete program information and application procedures. The proposal deadline is May 15, 2006.
Faith Quilts Project to culminate in April www.faithquilts.org
For the past three years, the Faith Quilts Project, under the artistic direction of Clara Wainwright, has helped faith groups and interfaith groups to engage in collaborative quilt-making and rich conversation. The result: More than 55 faith works of fabric art that express deeply held values and beliefs.
In April, the project will culminate in a month-long series of events. The Grand Exhibition will be at the Cyclorama, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, April 7–10. Within the circle of quilts there will be several events and performances. Exhibit hours: 10:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Monday; 12:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. on Sunday. After the Grand Exhibition, the quilts will move to other locations across the city. Related programs will include a performance of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme at Trinity Church in Copley Square on April 27.
New WORLD Theater announces Project 2050 coordinator searchwww.umass.edu/fac/nwt/
New WORLD Theater at The Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst seeks a highly qualified individual to serve as the coordinator of New WORLD Theater’s Project 2050—a hip hop theater-based youth program that engages professional artists, youth communities, scholars, and community activists in civic dialogue and artistic creation. The Project 2050 coordinator directs and facilitates all Project 2050 activities, including an annual summer retreat, and develops and manages the Project 2050 budget and administration. The coordinator is responsible for establishing and maintaining partnerships with community based-organizations, supervising youth assistants, and coordinating participant recruitment and orientation. The individual is responsible for program documentation and evaluation and assists with identifying financial support for the program. Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s degree or equivalent experience preferred. Driver’s license required. Position will necessitate working a flexible schedule, including some evenings and weekends. Normal starting salary is $32,200. This is a grant-funded position; continuation is contingent upon funding. Send a letter of application, resume, and three letters of reference by March 24, 2006, to Search # R25649, Employment Office, 167 Whitmore Administration Building, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-8170.
Liz Lerman Dance Exchange announces development director searchwww.danceexchange.org
The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange has announced its search for a development professional to work with the founding artistic director, executive staff, artistic leadership, and trustees in raising the organization to its next fundraising level. The candidate will demonstrate strong capabilities in strategic development planning, solicitation of major gifts, staff and volunteer leadership, fundraising management, representing the organization externally to funders and constituents, and a commitment to the mission of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. To apply send letter of interest, resume, and salary requirement to Development Director Search, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, 7117 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD, 20912, or e-mail kquick@danceexchange.org.
Guilford College organizes Global FACES Festival as part of A Week Without Violencewww.guilford.edu/newsEvents/index.cfm?ID=600002990
In Greensboro, NC, March 30–April 6, Guilford College's annual observation of A Week Without Violence will feature a student-organized festival, Global FACES, and other public events. An event for action, change, empowerment, and sustainability, A Week Without Violence is billed by organizers (members of Guilford’s peace and conflict studies program) as "an empowering celebration of the human spirit, of community and diversity, and of the power of the arts to build and inspire social change." In addition to performances, the week will feature panel discussions on topics ranging from free trade and human rights in Latin America to activism, art, and social change.
Funding Exchange invites proposals for Paul Roberson Fund for Independent Mediawww.fex.org
The Funding Exchange, a network of social justice foundations throughout the United States, is currently accepting proposals for grants from the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media. The fund supports media activism and grassroots organizing by funding the preproduction and distribution of social issue film and video projects, as well as the production and distribution of radio projects. Currently, the fund solicits projects in all genres that address critical social and political issues, combine intellectual clarity with creative use of the medium, and demonstrate understanding of how the production will be used for progressive social justice organizing. The maximum grant award is $20,000; most grants will range between $5,000 and $15,000. The next proposal deadline is May 15, 2006.
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Articles and Publications |
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church’s Slave Galleries featured in New York Timeswww.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/nyregion/thecity/26gall.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
In February, The New York Times featured the story of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church’s Slave Galleries. With quotes from both The Reverend Deacon Edgar W. Hopper and historian Rodger Taylor, the article includes an overview of the galleries and the project, as well as a short video piece.
The Slave Galleries Restoration Project was featured as a part of Critical Perspectives: Writings on Art and Civic Dialogue; and a case study about the project is included in History as Catalyst for Civic Dialogue: Case Studies from Animating Democracy. Both can be purchased through the Americans for the Arts online bookstore: www.AmericansForTheArts.org/bookstore.
Vermont Public Radio features audio documentary on Town Meeting Daywww.vpr.net/vt_news/commentaries/town.shtml
More than a century ago, lawmakers designated the first Tuesday in March as a day for a town meeting. However, changing times are threatening the health of this democratic institution. On March 1, 2006, Vermont Public Radio presented an hour-long documentary exploring the tradition of Town Meeting Day, its importance to Vermont life, and the challenges to grassroots democracy during changing times. With stories and comments from voters, moderators, clerks, the governor, the secretary of state, the legislature, and the political scientists, the show also includes ideas that are being put forward to strengthen town meetings in the future.
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Events on the Horizon |
Living Cultural Democracy: Arts in Changing Communities
Americans for the Arts 2006 Annual Convention
Dates: June 3–5, 2006
Milwaukee, WIwww.artsusa.org/events/2006/convention/default.asp
Immigration, migration, mobility, racial and ethnic fusion—historically and today, shifting demographics are a profound reality in U.S. cities and towns. These shifts transform every level of community life, from the ways citizens relate to each other to aspects of community priorities and economic policy. It is in this environment that civic and business leaders endeavor to develop creative, viable communities. The arts play a major role in this development. They are a stimulus for imagination and innovation, a proven platform for community building, an engine for economic development, and a vehicle for diverse cultural expression. The challenge for arts leaders is to activate the full power of each community’s diverse cultural assets. Participants in the Americans for the Arts 2006 Annual Convention will explore opportunities for cultural development in the context of cultural democracy. Living Cultural Democracy: Arts in Changing Communities offers an array of on-point presentations, in-depth dialogues, and on-site experiences. Arts professionals and civic leaders can contribute to and benefit from lively exchanges about the implications of demographic trends, cultural competence within arts agencies, strategic partnerships, and new service models. Milwaukee is a bold collection of cultures, creativity, and cool that is leveraging these assets to regenerate and build its future.
The early-bird registration and scholarship opportunities deadlines have been extended to March 31, 2006. To register or for more information, visit the Americans for the Arts 2006 Convention website.
Building Future Audience
2006 Theatre Communications Group National Conference
Dates: June 8–10, 2006
Atlanta, GAwww.tcg.org/frames/events/fs_events_conf06.htm
The 16th Theatre Communications Group (TCG) National Conference, Building Future Audience, will be hosted this year by the Atlanta theater community June 8–10. 2006. Held at the Woodruff Arts Center, home of the Alliance Theatre, the 2006 conference will build on conversations from the 2005 conference, which explored the widening polarization in American society and the fraying of social discourse—more specifically, issues of social organizing and connection. How can theaters connect to the dialogues happening in the communities they serve? Can theaters become leaders in organizing and mobilizing communities? Given the diversity of the theater field, how do we embrace and respond to the full diversity of the communities in which we live and work?
Any staff or board member of a TCG member theater is welcome to attend the conference. Individual artists are also eligible to attend if nominated by TCG or one of its member theaters. University affiliates may also send one representative. Other guests are by invitation only. For full details on registration and fees, visit the TCG website.
Leadership for Artistic Directors offered by the Theatre Communications Group
Dates: June 20–21, 2006
Portland, ORwww.tcg.org/frames/events/fs_events_LAD.htm
Practicing artists often become artistic directors without any training for organizational leadership. While an artist’s strong intuitive sense and ability to generate confidence in others serves him or her well in the capacity of organizational leader, he or she may encounter a wide range of activities for the first time. Moreover, opportunities to develop leadership skills while on the job are limited to one’s own experience and do not profit from research into the broad experience of others. Leadership for Artistic Directors is a two-day seminar designed for the artistic director or prospective artistic director who wants to understand more clearly the leadership responsibilities of the position. Topics covered will include how to position your organization advantageously in the minds of artists, patrons, donors, and staff; how to manage relationships with board members, the managing director, and other key staff; and how to identify and influence the organization's internal culture, including how decisions are made, how conflict and is handled, how information is communicated, and how ethical standards are established.
Space is limited—only 20 slots are available to TCG members and slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration deadline is April 7, 2006.
2006 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation
Dates: August 4–6, 2006
San Francisco, CAwww.thataway.org
The 2006 National Coalition on Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) Conference, August 4–6, 2006, in San Francisco, CA, will bring together practitioners, scholars, trainers, artists, activists, teachers, and students from all of the various streams of practice to continue developing the growing field of dialogue and deliberation practice. Conference sessions will include participatory plenary sessions that allow participants to experience large-group dialogue and deliberation methods while enabling the community to explore issues relevant to the field; workshops focusing on the issues, challenges, and questions most relevant to your work; numerous opportunities throughout the gathering to experience how the arts (graphic, performing, etc.) can enhance dialogue and deliberation; and plenty of formal, informal, and self-organized opportunities to network and develop relationships with others who do dialogue and deliberation work or research.
NCDD’s conferences are accessible, with registration fees starting at $300, and with more than $20,000 already earmarked for scholarships. The 2006 conference is funded, in part, by the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Whitman Institute, and by leading dialogue and deliberation organizations.
NCDD conferences are planned collaboratively by people with all levels of experience in dialogue and deliberation. If you’d like to be part of the conference planning process, or if you’re interested in attending, presenting a workshop, offering a preconference training, exhibiting, co-sponsoring, or just staying informed as planning progresses, e-mail conference director Sandy Heierbacher at sandy@thataway.org.
Bridge-Building: Connecting Hearts and Minds, Arts and Sciences, Teaching and Research, Academy and Community
Association for Integrative Studies 28th Annual Conference
Dates: October 5–8, 2006
Atlanta, GAwww.ais.oxford.emory.edu
The Association for Integrative Studies will hold its 28th annual conference in Atlanta, GA, October 5–8, 2006, at the Westin/Atlanta North Hotel. With the theme Bridge-Building: Connecting Hearts and Minds, Arts and Sciences, Teaching and Research, Academy and Community, the conference will explore the many ways in which integration of human capacities, academic disciplines, career practices, and social institutions increasingly characterize higher education in the United States and around the world. A call for formal papers, panels, workshops, roundtables, book and research reviews, and poster sessions on topics has been made by the association. Proposals are due March 30, 2006.
Crafting a Vision for Art, Equity and Civic Engagement
Convening the Community Arts Field in Higher Education
Dates: November 2-4, 2006http://center.cca.edu/about/news/9
The CCA Center for Art and Public Life together with the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design and Massachusetts College of Art will bring together artists, students, scholars, and community activists to experience and exchange best practices in the field of community arts. This symposium will include performances, spoken word, installations, exhibitions, and panel discussions addressing service-learning pedagogies, civic engagement in community, identity and representation, and community partnerships. Theoretical, practical, and policy-related issues will be explored.
Space will be reserved for new and emerging voices in the field, particularly students, young artists, and new scholars. Scholarships will be available. Crafting a Vision for Art, Equity and Civic Engagement is funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and AICAD. For additional information please call 510.594.3757.
Décision Montréal
2006 International Association for Public Participation Conference
Dates: November 10–15, 2006
Montréal, Canadawww.iap2.org
Décision Montréal, the 2006 International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Annual Conference, will give practitioners an improved conceptual understanding of "the decision." Those who make the final decision will share their point of view on the importance and benefit of involving the public before, during, and after a decision is made. The conference will focus on the decision through the eyes of the decision-maker—a distinctive perspective for public participation practitioners.
IAP2 is currently accepting proposals for conference sessions that reflect a multitude of approaches. For full details on submitting a session proposal, check out the call for sessions proposals posted on the IAP2 website. Submissions are due by March 31, 2006.
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About Animating Democracy |
Animating Democracy is a four-year initiative of Americans for the Arts and is made possible with support from the Ford Foundation.
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Share With Us! |
Do you have news you would like to share with Animating Democracy and the broader world of art and civic engagement? Send an e-mail to adi@artsusa.org with "Animating Democracy E-News" in the subject line. Please be sure to include full contact information.
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