Community Development, Civic Engagement, and Advocacy

Today's Brown Bag started with a brainstorm around three main questions:

Who is our community? kids, SFers, tourists, families, artists, NPOs, tweens, tweets, teachers, schools, students, media, teens, filmmakers, members, donors, biz partners, CBOs, YBG/SOMA, undeserved communities, museums, camps

What do we offer them? venue/space, educational environment, media studios, camps, DVDs, clay, field trips, inspiration, career development, creativity, mentorship, internships, rentals, bday parties, fun!, family time, exposure to arts and tech, fearlessness/safety, MAGIC

What do they offer us? feedback, art work, money, ideas, WOM (word of mouth), energy, inspiration, workshops, happiness, challenge, growth, staff, donations, youthfulness, network

From this I went on to talk a little bit about 3 arts organizations who presented at the Americans for the Arts Convention which I attended in Seattle last month. These three represented innovations in community development, civic engagement, and advocacy:

We first looked at the way the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle used it's Community Action Committee to curate their exhibitions and develop culturally specific programming. Through their sustained community network, the WLAM accepts exhibition proposals, curates, and helps facilitate their shows. One moving example of this was when the WLAM reached out to the Sikh community which was experiencing discrimination and alienation following the 9/11 tragedy. What started as a community vigil, became an ongoing partnership that included education programing created by and for the community itself. Teens worked to create a mural about the experience of being a second-generation immigrant, elders created oral histories, and community members gather both at the WLAM and at their own neighborhood center to share stories and create a comprehensive history of the Sikh people in the Pacific Northwest. This same Community Action Committee, came forward when it came time to fundraise for a new building. They raised $23 million over 5 years through 100% staff contributions, over $500,000 raised by the board of trustees, and community members doing "face to face ask" in the streets of Seattle's Chinatown!

Next we examined the way in which Urban Bush Women, a Brooklyn based performance group, developed civic engagement through telling under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to the light of dance. They began this process through an emphasis on Outreach, looking for strong black leaders outside the dance community to galvanize audience. However, over time they found this model to be too hierarchical. Next, they began doing Community Building by being invited into a communities and working closely with them to develop performances which shed light on their experience. In New Orleans, for example, they spent 3 months in meeting with groups in the town hall, community centers, bars, etc. to hear marginalized voices. However, simply telling stories was not enough. This is when they began Organizing/Mobilizing through their Summer Leadership Institute in which they married arts making with activism. They offered a toolbox to the young people who participated, creating a direct service opportunity that was linked with performance. Some of the performance that came out of that included“Are we Democracy?” which featured a voter registration drive as well as a performance which focused on body and safety and included HIV education and testing.

The last organization that we looked at was, Big Thought in Norther Texas which is a non-profit that links art providers to teachers, students, parents, and communities. Big Thought works with
Creative Learning Communities, which are partners that work together to organize and implement resources and programs though libraries, city agencies, universities, museums, and non-profits. They conduct Out-of-School Learning—Integrated Creative Learning which serve 300,000 children in Dallas – 97% of them are of color, 66% English as a second language. These programs are supported through dedicated Parent Groups which are developed through conversations about cultural opportunities that already exist in their communities and homes. Finally, Big Though advocates for itself and its mission through mobilized parent leaders (who create PSAs for the media and local politicians to spread the word.

We concluded with a final brainstorm about "What more can we do to engage our community?" some ideas included:

Community Advisory Board, Spiral Gallery reflecting communities, going after the entire economic spectrum, culturally specific performances and workshops, encourage more specific feedback from visitors "what did you create?" videos, local business sponsorship (i.e. Pixar), online present - advocacy - teachers (curriculum ideas, parents post-visit ideas), Best of Field Trip Showcase, Zeum tutorials (how to take the experience further), partnerships with Jump Start and similar child-centered organizations

Looking forward to more of your ideas!!!