Reading Room
Animating Democracy publishes a range of books, case studies, essays and other tools and resources about civically engaged arts and humanities. Practitioners, scholars, and students interested in the intersection of arts, humanities, culture and civic life will find useful resources here for understanding and undertaking this work. Check out:- Animating Democracy Publications
- Case studies
- Essays and commissioned writings
- Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue
- National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue Program Binder
- Critical Perspectives
- Recommended Reading
- Americans for the Arts Bookstore
Animating Democracy Publications
Animating Democracy offers the field an array of published materials:-
Case Studies
A growing collection of online case studies provides in-depth portraits and analyses of arts and humanities-based civic dialogue projects, many supported by the Animating Democracy Lab. They offer detailed description of the civic issue addressed by the project, civic and cultural context, project goals, design, arts/humanities activities, and artistic and dialogic methodologies. Case studies also offer analysis of impact and extrapolate lessons learned and issues raised about the principles, practices, and philosophical underpinnings of this work.View a list and summaries of completed case studies. [link to page that provides list plus abstracts of completed case studies + forthcoming]
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Essays and Commissioned Writings
Essays and articles written and commissioned by Animating Democracy explore philosophical, practical, and aesthetic dimensions of civically engaged arts and humanities work. They include: reflective essays inspired by Animating Democracy convenings and other field gatherings, theoretical explorations, and Animating Democracy’s own observations and synthesis of what we are learning. -
Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue
Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Cheryl Yuen, Pam Korza
This field study launched Americans for the Arts’ Animating Democracy program. In 1996, The Ford Foundation awarded a grant to Americans for the Arts to profile a representative selection of artists and arts and cultural organizations whose work engages the public in dialogue on civic issues. This study’s resulting report maps the field, identifies issues and trends, and suggests opportunities for leaders in the field, policymakers, and funders to work together to strengthen activity in this lively arena. The study reveals pivotal and innovating roles that the arts can play in the renewal of civic dialogue, as well as challenges faced by arts and cultural organizations as they engage in this exciting work.127 pp, spiral bound full version including 50 project profiles, b/w illus (1999)
34 pp., staple bound condensed version, b/w illus (1999)Download PDF version [link]
Purchase in the Americans for the Arts Bookstore -
National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue Program Binder
Called "one of the signal arts events of the last decade," by Linda Frye Burnham of Art in the Public Interest, Animating Democracy’s October 2003 conference drew 250 artists, cultural organizers, community and civic leaders, dialogue practitioners, scholars, and activists from across the United States and three countries. Held in Flint, Michigan, the Exchange offered a lively exploration of the philosophical, practical, and aesthetic aspects of arts and humanities activities that seek to stimulate civic dialogue on important contemporary issues. The National Exchange Program Binder includes: session notes from 7 of 30 outstanding sessions and a full set of session descriptions and Grace Lee Boggs’ featured speech. Also included are: participant biographies, essays and case studies about arts-based civic dialogue work, and links for further information.
approx. 225 pp, binder , color illus (2003)Purchase in the Americans for the Arts Bookstore
Some components of the binder are available online at National Exchange. [link] -
Critical Perspectives
Critical Perspectives is both a collection of writings and an experiment in multi-voiced writing about civically engaged art. The collection comprises 12 reflective, critical, and creative essays about the role of arts and humanities in civic dialogue. They focus on three very different projects implemented as part of the Animating Democracy Lab:- The Dentalium Project, Dell’ Arte theater, Blue Lake, California
- Ties That Bind, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultural Latino Americana, San Jose, California
- Slave Galleries Restoration Project, St. Augustine’s Church and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York City
As a writing project, Critical Perspectives was designed to respond to observations that existing forms of reflective and critical writing rarely recognize the unique features of civically engaged art and are often inadequate for communicating the multidimensional nature of the work. For each project, four writers bring different professional and personal perspectives to the project. Writers include: arts writers, a journalist, anthropologists, a sociologist, a storyteller, historians, community participants, and project directors. The collection as a whole is discussed in a featured essay by noted cultural writer Lucy Lippard.
Recommended Reading
Animating Democracy regularly posts essays, articles, and book reviews from arts, humanities, civic engagement/dialogue and other fields that illuminate this realm of work. New publications from Animating Democracy are also featured here.
Americans
for the Arts Bookstore
Visit the Americans for the Arts Bookstore to purchase Animating Democracy publications and a host of other books and monographs of related interest in areas of: public art, community development, and community cultural development. The Bookstore also carries publications by Americans for the Arts’ distinguished convention speakers including: August Wilson, Ray Suarez, Chuck D, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Fred Wilson, and Russell Simmons.