Building Communities, Not Audiences
Engagement is in the air; engagement is everywhere. Some hold that the survival of arts organizations hinges on their ability to engage effectively with their communities. But what does engagement mean? And how do arts organizations “engage”?
This session will clarify the various types of engagement, present the arguments for systemically engaging, acknowledge the difficulties in doing so, introduce principles for effective engagement, and provide opportunity for discussing how substantive engagement can transform our work.
Session Outline
The Foundation
Background: The roots of the arts/community divide
The Imperative for Engagement
Obstacles: Structural Impediments to Engagement
Understanding Engagement
Examples of Engagement Success
Introduction to Engagement Principles and Practice
The Engagement Game: Identifying Effective Engagement
The Case for Mainstreaming Engagement
What Would Mainstreaming Look Like?
Engaging Communities: Introduction to What You Don’t Know that You Don’t Know or Do Not Try This at Home (without training and preparation)
The Future
Resources
Art Works
ArtsEngaged
Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the U.S.
Center for the Future of Museums
Center for the Study of Art and Community
Community Arts Network Archive
Community Arts Training Institute
Engaging Matters
Museum 2.0
Doug Borwick is author of Engaging Matters, a blog for ArtsJournal and author/editor of Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the U.S. He served as President of the Board of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, an international organization of higher education programs in the field, from 2010-2012. For over 27 years he was Director of the Arts Management and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Borwick is CEO of Outfitters4, Inc., providing management services for nonprofits and of ArtsEngaged, offering training and consultation services to artists and arts organizations seeking to more effectively engage with their communities. Dr. Borwick holds the Ph.D. in Music Composition from the Eastman School of Music and is an award-winning member of ASCAP.