ANIMATING DEMOCRACY E-NEWS

 Animating Democracy News and Updates

Animating Democracy to be featured at pARTicipate 2004

www.pARTicipateWeb.org
pARTicipate 2004, the second joint convention of Americans for the Arts and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies in Washington DC, July 17–20, 2004, will bring together more than 1,200 artists and cultural leaders to learn from each other in the creation of a national arts action agenda that explores how cultural organizations can increase individuals’ engagement in community through the arts. Convention attendees will explore the intersection of artistic imagination and the civic realm through five concurrent sessions on Monday, July 19, hosted by Animating Democracy. The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Sojourn Theatre, Marty Pottenger, the Blackout Arts Collective, and the Danville (VT) Project will present their provocative, arts-based civic dialogue projects. Sessions will feature artistic work and interactive experiences. They will illustrate how artists and cultural institutions can play a vital civic role as catalysts, conveners, or forums for civic engagement and dialogue. Civic engagement breakout sessions will also be featured. Participants will learn from experts and share ideas with peers in facilitated interactive discussions about one of six critical ways to involve individuals to improve communities through the arts. To register for pARTicipate2004, visit the convention website.

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Leroy Jenkins among 2004 Guggenheim Fellowship recipients

www.gf.org/newfellow.html
Leroy Jenkins, composer of the score for the jazz opera project The Three Willies (produced by the Kitchen in New York City and supported by Animating Democracy), has received a 2004 Guggenheim Fellowship in the 80th annual U.S. and Canadian competition sponsored by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Jenkins, among the 185 recipients this year, was chosen from a pool of 3,200 applicants for awards totaling $6,912,000. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The Fellowships are offered to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts.

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Americans for the Arts introduces new choice membership

www.artsusa.org/get_involved/membership/default.asp
Americans for the Arts is the leading national organization working to ensure that every American has the opportunity to appreciate, value, and participate in all forms of the arts. And with its new membership structure, you are able to determine the level of membership that best fits your needs by deciding what level of service you or your organization needs most. Whether you are an arts administrator, board member, educator, artist, funder, or advocate devoted to using the arts to build community, there is a membership category that will provide you with the tools you require to help you achieve your goals. Join us today as we work together to create a climate in which the arts can thrive. For more information on Americans for the Arts' new membership structure and benefits, visit our website or e-mail membership@artsusa.org.

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 News from the Field

MetLife Foundation releases 2004 guidelines for Museum Connections Program

www.metlife.com/Applications/Corporate/WPS/CDA/PageGenerator/0,1674,P284,00.html
The MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic arm of New York City-based MetLife, has released the 2004 guidelines for its Museum Connections Program, a multiyear initiative designed to increase interaction between museums and the people in their communities. In this second year of the three-year program, grant awards are based on clearly defined project outcomes, the project's potential for involving communities in the arts, demonstration of an organization's sustained commitment to the community, innovation and creativity of the project, and the project's long-range implications and potential for replication. Emphasis also is placed on increasing access to the arts for traditionally underserved communities. Art museums that have been in existence for more than five years are eligible to apply; funding is available only to museums in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. For complete guidelines and an application form, see the MetLife Foundation website. The application deadline is July 30, 2004.

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New WORLD Theatre announces open artistic director position

New WORLD Theater at the Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, seeks a highly qualified individual to develop the artistic program for New WORLD Theater. The responsibilities of the position include producing and/or directing theatrical performances; designing artistic program for annual theater season, play laboratory, community-based projects, and national convenings; collaborating on the development of grant proposals; overseeing staff in the development of accompanying educational programs for these programs; literary management and editing of related publications; and coordinating programs within the Five College setting—with all activities oriented toward cultural diversity. New WORLD Theater is a leader in multicultural arts, dedicated to the creation, commissioning, development, and presentation of high-quality work by artists of color in both formal and community settings. Qualifications: Master's degree or equivalent to two years of graduate study in theater or the fine arts, plus three to five years in teaching, directing, or dramaturgy; theater production and management; and multicultural experience. Ability to exercise judgment and discretion in applying organizational policies. Hiring salary range: $46,200–$59,400; normal starting salary range: $46,200–$52,800. Interested applicants should send a letter of application, resume, and the names of three references to: Search # R21236, Employment Office, 167 Whitmore Administration Building, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA  01003-8170. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. The University of Massachusetts is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.

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 Articles and Publications

New essay by Grace Lee Boggs available online

www.artsusa.org/animatingdemocracy/reading_room/reading_013.asp
In October 2003, Detroit-based activist, cultural worker, and octogenarian Grace Lee Boggs energized and inspired a national gathering of artists, arts organization and community leaders, and activists with her speech at Animating Democracy's National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue. Describing a United States that is becoming increasingly jobless; jeopardizing its youth in a problem-wrought education system; and resented for its economic, military, and cultural domination, she implored, "Can we create a new paradigm of our selfhood and our nationhood?" In Boggs' subsequent essay (commissioned by Animating Democracy and now posted on its website), she expands on ideas seeded at that gathering. Stressing the need for tremendous philosophical and spiritual transformation to effect social justice and change, she advocates a shift from politics as usual and protest alone to positive and holistic change making. Boggs recognizes artists as key paradigm shifters and concludes with insights on how arts and culture have been transforming Detroit's decimated physical spaces, education system, and neighborhoods through Detroit Summer, a multicultural, intergenerational youth program/movement that she and her late husband, James Boggs, founded to rebuild, redefine, and respirit Detroit from the ground up.

Grace Lee Boggs' message is timely and inspiring as communities seek to motivate citizen participation in upcoming elections and other critical civic concerns. Cultural, civic, activist, and other organizations are invited to reprint the essay or use their own websites to post or link to it. Please credit as follows: “This essay by Grace Lee Boggs was commissioned by Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, April, 2004.”

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Documentation from the Minneapolis and Chicago Learning Exchanges available online

www.americansforthearts.org/AnimatingDemocracy/programs/programs_008.asp
Documentation from the Minneapolis and Chicago Learning Exchanges has been posted on the Animating Democracy website. In fall 2001, the Chicago Learning Exchange explored projects by the Jewish Museum, Northern Lakes Center for the Arts, and five Animating Democracy projects under the themes of “Artistic Practice in Theater-based Civic Dialogue” and the “High Stakes of History.” And in spring 2002, the Minneapolis Learning Exchange offered a focused opportunity to explore questions and issues of artistic practice and civic dialogue. Documentation from this exchange includes case sessions by Intermedia Arts and Cornerstone Theater Company, topic sessions, a compiled list of artist questions, and notes from several conversations convened using adapted open space technology.

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"Museums & Community: New Forums" published by the American Association of Museums

www.aam-us.org/newbookstore/
A new museum environment is taking shape in America, states author Bonnie Pitman. Art museums are becoming forums for the discussion of new ideas and places where people can interact and learn from one another. This book explains how this transformation is occurring in a nationwide test group of 11 art museums. Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Program for Art Museums and Communities, these museums were able to think creatively about enhancing the quality of the visitor experience and expanding service to their communities. Though the routes they took were different, from community-based artist residencies to fundamental changes in board/staff attitudes, all became institutions where learning, flexibility, and innovation are integral parts of the organizational culture.

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 Events on the Horizon

Urban Legacies
Dates: May 6–7, 2004
Cardiff, United Kingdom

www.cbat.co.uk
Organized by the CBAT, The Arts & Regeneration Agency, the conference will explore how the regeneration and transformation of postindustrial cities is increasingly a multidisciplinary practice. The importance of innovative and creative approaches, as well as participation and ownership by citizens, is high on the agenda of municipal authorities and regeneration companies. This conference brings together a number of professionals to debate the role of art, architecture, and cultural expression in shaping the contemporary public realm and effecting positive change from an international perspective.

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Imagining Michigan 2004
Strategic Alliances: Putting Culture to Work for Michigan
Dates: May 23–24, 2004
Grand Rapid, MI

www.ia.umich.edu
This conference will be a terrific opportunity to engage with people who are leaders in the work of cultural engagement and campus-community partnerships. Like all Imagining Michigan conferences, it will feature exemplary work from across the state, including remarkable public work based at Grand Valley State University. Jim Brooks, who is heading the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, will give the conference keynote at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids.

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pARTicipate 2004
Dates: July 17–20, 2004
Washington, DC

www.pARTicipateWeb.org
The arts play a critical role in developing communities that are vibrant, inclusive, and economically prosperous. During pARTicipate 2004, more than 1,200 artists and cultural leaders will come together and learn from each other as they create a national action agenda, detailing how organizations can affect individuals through the arts and increase their community engagement.

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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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