ANIMATING DEMOCRACY E-NEWS

 Animating Democracy News and Updates

Session details for Americans for the Arts Convention Civic Engagement Track posted online

www.AmericansForTheArts.org/events/2007/convention/default.asp
With conference planning going strong for the Americans for the Arts 2007 Annual Convention, Risk and Reward: Balancing Acts in Arts and Community, details on the eight sessions presented as part of the Civic Engagement Track (in addition to more than 75 sessions being presented throughout the event) have been posted online. Track highlights include presentations exploring:

• Case-based sessions such as the Los Angeles County Arts Commission’s recent survey and program initiative to address homelessness through the arts in Los Angeles—featuring artist John Malpede; Director of Grant Programs, Los Angeles County Arts Commission Janine Perron; and founder and Artistic Director of the Fringe Benefits Alliance Norma Bowles.
  
• Skill-building workshops such as a new group process for engaging colleagues and fellow citizens in authentic conversations and decision-making from the Institute of Cultural Affairs—presented by Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Phillip Horn and Principal of Sierra Circle Consulting Pat Tuecke.
  
• Peer networking opportunities such as a conversation with the Western Folklife Center, Radio Bilingue, and the Center for Rural Strategies in which they'll sahre arts programming models that bring visibility to rural communities and rural issues.

Register today! The deadline for advance registration is April 16, 2007. For more information on registration and rates, visit
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/events/2007/convention/003.asp.

Animating Democracy presents workshop at UCONN Education for Democracy Series

www.advance.uconn.edu/2007/070319/07031909.htm
Earlier this month, Animating Democracy Co-Director Pam Korza participated in the Education for Democracy series at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Exploring the connections between university education and democracy, the series featured six guest presenters whose experiences lend insight into developing college-level democracy-related programs. Through her session, Korza explored models and projects at colleges and universities across the country that tap the unique capacity of the arts to encourage civic engagement by students, scholars, and their higher education institutions.

For more information about Animating Democracy’s workshops for colleges and universities, check out the Animating Democracy Workshop Brochure or contact Animating Democracy Co-Director Pam Korza at pkorza@artsusa.org.

Public Art Network opens call for submissions for 2007 Year in Review

www.AmericansForTheArts.org/PAN/Year_In_Review
www.callforentry.org
Americans for the Arts’ Public Art Network Year in Review is an annual publication that highlights innovative and exemplary examples of public art, as selected by two reviewers—this year by artist James Carpenter and writer and professor Miwon Kown. Projects selected for inclusion in the 2007 Year in Review will be presented as part of the national Americans for the Arts 2007 Annual Convention—June 1–3, 2007, in Las Vegas.

This year, Americans for the Arts is pleased to be partnering with WESTAF and using the CaFE™ program for the online Year in Review submission process. The deadline for submission is April 12, 2007.

Previous Year in Review CD-ROMs, including the recently released 2006 Year in Review, may be purchased in the Americans for the Arts Online Store.

 News from the Field

South Burlington, VT, launches public art initiative

http://vermontartscouncil.org/tabid/300/Default.aspx#SBURL
Launching its Art in City Center program, the city of South Burlington has begun a new public art initiative with an invitation to nine Vermont artists to submit proposals for its initial public art project. Working with Danville Project veterans John Zwick and Andrea Wasserman, South Burlington is working to create a new downtown district with commercial, residential, municipal, recreational, and cultural facilities that celebrates natural resources and community through innovative urban design. In 2005, the city hosted a Community Workshop during which residents, local business owners, artists, and design professionals identified the need to incorporate public art in any plan for City Center to ensure its vitality and success. This April, an art selection panel will review proposals and invite three artist finalists to present preliminary concepts to residents.

Massachusetts College of Art announces Director of Programs position

www.massart.edu/partnerships
The Massachusetts College of Art in Boston has posted a new position as part of the college's three-year-old Center for Art and Community Partnerships (CACP). The Director of Programs will work with other Center staff (two co-directors and a staff assistant) to establish new partnership projects and manage existing ones. Geared for an individual invested in building bridges between the country’s only freestanding public art college and the diverse communities of Boston, the position will manage and direct the day-to-day logistics of all projects and programs of the CACP. This includes the conception and development of projects, oversight of budgets, hiring of project leaders and MassArt students, communications with respective partners, site visits, collection of data, and evaluations.

For more information, visit http://careers.massart.edu and select “Search Postings” from the menu bar on the left. The position will remain open until filled; however, resume review begins on April 2, 2007.

 Articles and Publications

New on the Community Arts Network: Help Wanted! Communities Reach Out

www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2007/02/help_wanted_com.php
Last month, in search of an answer to the question, “If…art really is a community asset, an essential part of community life, then why aren't communities initiating more community-based projects?” the Community Arts Network did a quick survey of 25 community-arts professionals—and got some interesting responses. The good news: It’s starting to happen. As evidenced through more than 20 examples, Steve Durland and Linda Frye Burnham find that there are indeed a growing number of projects that are community-based and community-initiated. Communities are hearing about what has been accomplished and are learning that artists want to help—and are capable of it.

 Events on the Horizon

The Seventh Annual Imagining America National Conference
Citizenship for a Just World: Activating Knowledge, Cultivating Engagement
September 7–8, 2007
Syracuse, NY

www.ia.umich.edu
Bridging campus and community requires public scholars in the arts, humanities, and design to consider different aspects and responsibilities of citizenship. How can one create pathways to knowledge from public practice and intellectual projects that foster new collaborations in a globalizing world? This fall, as Imagining America moves to its new location in Syracuse, NY, it will invite scholars, artists, and those involved in public engagement to discuss the forms of collaboration and kinds of knowledge that emerge from their work.

Imagining America is currently soliciting submissions of proposals for seminars, roundtables, workshops, and panels. For more information, visit the Imagining America website. The deadline for proposals is April 15, 2007.

 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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