Dialogue and the free exchange of ideas are the bedrock of democracy. Our newspapers are full of accounts of nations and communities struggling with this concept. Can the arts help? More important: What roles in this process of democracy can the arts play?

In 1996, the Ford Foundation awarded a grant to Americans for the Arts to study current activity and best practices among artists and cultural organizations whose work engages the public in dialogue on key civic issues. This resulting report, Animating Democracy:The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue, maps the current field, identifies issues and trends, and suggests opportunities for arts entities, policymakers, and funders to work together to strengthen the evolving activity in this sometimes volatile arena.The study reinforces the key and creative roles that the arts can play in the renewal of civic dialogue as well as challenges arts and cultural organizations face as they engage in this work.

This report best serves as a framework upon which to build. In publishing Animating Democracy through its Institute for Community Development and the Arts, Americans for the Arts is pleased to launch a broader effort: the Animating Democracy Initiative. Supported by the Ford Foundation, the Initiative will be a four-year endeavor to continue to chart and bolster this work.

At the heart of the initiative is the Lab, providing funding to support a collection of projects. Some 30 projects will be selected that advance the creation and presentation of arts-based civic dialogue work and that, individually and collectively, enhance field learning about the philosophical, practical, and social dimensions of that work. In addition to being provided funding support for projects, leaders of those projects will participate in learning exchanges and gain access to technical assistance to help meet their full potential for success. The initiative will document Lab projects, as well as many others, so that what is learned may be shared widely over the four years and beyond.An interactive web site and list serv, national convenings, and published materials will disseminate ideas, approaches, principles, and practices of arts-based civic dialogue with artists, cultural leaders, scholars, public policymakers, civic dialogue organizers, and funders. [Introdution by Robert L. Lynch]

For more than 40 years,Americans for the Arts—itself an evolving national entity—has held dear the concept that the success of the arts and the success of community in America are magnificently intertwined. With the publication of this study, we are excited to contribute to the continuing dialogue around this idea.

This report best serves as a framework upon which to build. In publishing Animating Democracy through its Institute for Community Development and the Arts, Americans for the Arts is pleased to launch a broader effort: the Animating Democracy Initiative. Supported by the Ford Foundation, the Initiative will be a four-year endeavor to continue to chart and bolster this work.