ANIMATING DEMOCRACY E-NEWS
May 2006
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Animating Democracy News and Updates |
Animating Democracy to host arts-based civic engagement peer group at Americans for the Arts 2006 Annual Conventionwww.AmericansForTheArts.org/events/2006/convention/default.asp
In June 2006, an arts and civic engagement peer conversation will be convened at the Americans for the Arts 2006 Annual Convention—Living Cultural Democracy: Arts in Changing Communities. In two interactive sessions, participants will meet new colleagues and discuss demographic and cultural changes in their communities and how the arts can and are playing a role in enhancing civic engagement. In addition, an Animating Democracy roundtable to exchange arts-based civic engagement program ideas and practices will also be offered. For more information on the convention schedule—including keynote speakers and local activities in Milwaukee, or to register—visit the 2006 convention website.
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News from the Field |
Festival of Arts and Ideas to present Uprooted: The Katrina Projectwww.artidea.org
The 2007 Festival of Arts & Ideas, a New Haven, CT-based annual festival that works to build community and advance economic development, will present Alternate ROOTS’ Uprooted: The Katrina Project. Featuring displaced actors, poets, dancers, and musicians from the Gulf Coast, Uprooted will gather stories from fellow evacuees and perform story circles in New Haven. From the circles, the performance collective will develop a moving, multimedia performance workshop that captures voices of the uprooted in the region.
Association of Performing Arts Presenters announces new Innovations grant programwww.TheCreativeCampus.org
As part of the Creative Campus initiative, Arts Presenters announces a new grant program for college and university presenters seeking to more fully integrate their work into academic and community life. Six to 12 awards will be made in 2007, consisting of one- to two-year project grants ranging from $50,000–$200,000. The Innovations grant program encourages college and university presenters and their campuses and partners to propose projects that go beyond conventional practice and perspectives—featuring innovative or experimental approaches, connecting with arts and nonarts constituencies, and stimulating discussion and debate. All online applications must be submitted by June 15, 2006, to be eligible.
Center for Art and Public Life presents 100 Families Oakland: Art & Social Change West Oakland www.cca.edu/about/press/view/2006/100familieswo
This spring, the Center for Art and Public Life at California College of the Arts is presenting an exhibition of artwork created by 25 families, each from four Oakland neighborhoods. During the project, participating families spent the 10 weeks getting to know one another while working individually and collaboratively on art projects centered on the theme of family. Next year, the project will culminate with an exhibition opening January 2007 at the Oakland Museum of California that will feature work from all the families.
History Channel invites proposals for Save Our History grant programwww.saveourhistory.com/pres_org/grants.html
The History Channel, in collaboration with the American Association for State and Local History and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, invites proposals for the 2006–2007 Save Our History grant program. Awarding grants of up to $10,000 each to U.S. historical organizations, the program focuses on hands-on and experiential educational projects that teach students about local history and engage them in its preservation. The deadline for proposals is June 2, 2006.
City of Flint receives First Annual Arts and Cultural Community Awardwww.macaa.com
The City of Flint, MI, has been chosen as the recipient of the First Annual Arts and Cultural Community Award. Presented by the Michigan Cultural Alliance, the award is given to communities for their efforts with showcasing and promoting arts and cultural activities. On behalf of several arts and cultural organizations in Michigan, the award will be presented at a statewide arts and cultural celebration on May 15, 2006, in Lansing, MI.
Communications and Resource Associate position available at Partners for Livable Communitieswww.livable.com
Partners for Livable Communities—a 30-year-old nonprofit organization working to improve the livability of communities by promoting quality of life, economic development, and social equity—is hiring a communications and resource associate. The position works to strengthen communication and outreach strategies, as well as develop and market partners’ resources, including for the Culture Shapes Community program. Interested parties should send a cover letter, writing sample, and resume via e-mail, mail, or fax to Laura Tan, 1429 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; or ltan@livable.com. Please include links to online portfolios if applicable.
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Articles and Publications |
Center for Arts Policy launches Democratic Vistas Profileshttp://artspolicy.colum.edu/DVProfiles.html
The Center for Arts Policy at Columbia College Chicago has launched Democratic Vistas Profiles, a continuing series of literary profiles featuring artists and arts leaders who live and work at the intersection of the arts and democratic life. The current issue, “Following the Heard” by Lauren Cowen, explores how Jay Allison went searching for sound and inspired a radio revolution. Previous issues feature arts and cultural leaders Umberto Crenca, Liz Lerman, and Franco Dragone. Courage becomes permanent part of Levine Museum of the New Southwww.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/14477861.htm
Courage, a project developed and exhibited at the Levine Museum of the New South in 2004, will become part of the permanent collection thanks to a $500,000 gift from Bank of America. The exhibition traces the story of Rev. J.A. De Laine and the other brave citizens of Clarendon County, SC, who brought the first of the five lawsuits that eventually became the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education that declared "separate but equal" unconstitutional. The exhibition was on display for eight months and included a dialogue component called "Conversations on Courage," as well as extensive programming for the community. Back to Top
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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.AmericansForTheArts.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 onsite 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. Second International Institute for Community Research Conference
Crossroads II: Transformations through Community-Based Research Conference
Dates: June 7–9, 2006
Hartford, CTwww.incommunityresearch.org/news/crossroads.htm
Crossroads II: Transformations through Community-Based Research will explore the potential of community-based collaborative research to promote social justice. Featuring interactive presentations and workshops concerning health, education, arts, ecology, and community and cultural development, the conference will identify and address underlying causes of disparities, present diverse community voices through the fusion of art and research, and discuss how to sustain social transformations. Saving Small Towns IV
Dates: June 8–9, 2006
Cumberland, Vancouver Island, BCwww.cumberlandbc.net
Communities are complex creatures. What attracts and holds people is not just “art culture” but also the “social culture” of a small community. It’s an elusive mix of affordability, access to good services, civic places, community events, and friendly neighbors that help to transform a community into “a good place to live.”
During Saving Small Towns IV, participants will explore the layers that create social culture in different communities and the role of politicians, community members, professionals, and policymakers in helping to foster the culture of small communities. Summer Institute for Publicly Engaged Studies (SIPES)
Dates: June 26–August 18, 2006
Providence, RIwww.risd.edu/sipes.cfm
The Summer Institute for Publicly Engaged Studies (SIPES) offers an opportunity for students, cultural leaders, teachers, and public intellectuals to immerse themselves in an interdisciplinary approach to an investigation of the emerging fields of public arts practices. Students experiment with a rigorous grounding in theoretical, art historical, and practicum-based collaborations with Providence-area communities. The institute offers four two-week courses that focus on the core practices of public engagement in the arts. A nationally renowned visiting artist or scholar leads each course as an Artist-in-Residence, and classes use a think-tank style, working-group arrangement to produce a group project at the conclusion of each two-week period. This is a graduate-level course of study. For more information, contact Seth Goldenberg, SIPES coordinator, at sgoldenb@risd.edu. Public Conversations Project announces summer training scheduleThe Power of Dialogue
July 30–August 5, 2006
Rhinebeck, NY www.eomega.org/omega/workshops/396d73e302c0b857b91312902e256806 Inquiry as Intervention: Crafting Questions with Purpose and Impact
September 25, 2006
Boston, MAwww.publicconversations.org/pcp/index.asp?page_id=124&catid=51 The Power of Dialogue
November 9–11, 2006
Boston, MAwww.publicconversations.org/pcp/index.asp?page_id=123&catid=51 Public Conversation Project (PCP) workshops fill quickly. To register or to explore possibilities for bringing a customized PCP training to your organization, call Manda at 888.PCP.TEAM, x13 or e-mail training@publicconversations.org. Youth Arts, Social Justice, & Community Transformation Summit 2006
Date: July 24, 2006
Richmond, CA www.eastbaycenter.org
The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts will convene its Youth Arts, Social Justice, & Community Transformation Summit to explore the challenges of combining youth development with repertoire and culture-specific arts training. The summit will identify practical ideas for field advancement and potential partnerships between participating organizations. Topics include, but are not limited to, how different types of art have been used for different types of civic engagement, the role of multicultural art forms in local public education environments, and the emergence of the Web and new media in arts programming and youth culture. Local and national groups will be invited to send youth and adult representatives to present at and attend panels and roundtables throughout the day. Creative youth work will be featured throughout. The summit is supported in part by the Animating Democracy/Working Capital Fund Exemplar Program, in which the East Bay Center is a participating organization. Public participation is available on a limited basis. For more information, contact Yvonne Chiu at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts at 510.234.5624. Call for Poster Presentations
Imagining America
Engaging through Place
Dates: October 7–8, 2006
Columbus, OHwww.ia.umich.edu
Place has many dimensions for individuals and institutions committed to public scholarship and art, active citizenship, and engaged learning. The 2006 Imagining America Conference, Engaging through Place, will explore the many dimensions of public engagement in higher education through new programs and civic collaborations. Imagining America is calling for proposals for poster presentations at its annual national conference. To submit a proposal or to ask questions about this format, send Juliet Feibel (julietf@umich.edu) a brief description of your project and how you intend to display it. Proposals are due by July 1, 2006. Back to Top
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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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