Building Communities
Through the Arts
The
Arts and Healing Network Community Projects Building Community
This page lists innovative art and healing related projects that promote
community and interconnectedness. The work of a number of representative
individual visual artists and organizations is explored in this web resource.
Arthome
Arthome provides the resources to foster and encourage the arts in
communities by providing resources in arts policy issues, fundraising
assistance, building collaborations , etc.
The
Community Arts Network
The Community Arts Network (CAN) project promotes
information exchange, research and critical dialogue within the field of
community-based arts, that is, art made as a voice and a force within a
specific community of place, spirit or tradition. This website includes
research resources and directories, including The Community Arts
Training (CAT) Directory - a listing of trainers and training services in
community-based artmaking throughout the U.S. This is a
very informative website. 
Indivisible: Stories of
American Community
"Indivisible: Stories of American Community is an exploration
of community life in America by some of this country's most accomplished
photographers, radio producers, and folklorists. Here are the stories of
twelve communities where people are coming together to make their small piece
of the world a better place to live."
Institute
on the Arts and Civic Dialogue
"The position of the artist in society is frequently
marginal. In a time when there is so much performance in public life from
non-artists, and at a time when life sometimes seems bigger than art, how does
the artist meet the challenge of mirroring society? Does the artist have
something to offer society in terms of civic leadership? Does civic space have
something to offer the artist? What happens if an artist determines both to
absorb and be absorbed by his or her society? Could the artist, in fact,
become an unexpected voice of reason? Could engagement with the public enhance
the will to communicate? At a time when some art forms are losing audience are
there new ways to negotiate a relationship to the audience without loosing the
space the artist requires in order to be reflective? The Institute on the Arts
& Civic Dialogue will explore such questions by workshoping new works in
an atmosphere that is conducive to the discussions of civic issues." Anna
Deavere Smith Founder and Director Institute on the Arts &
Civic Dialogue. The Institute on the Arts & Civic Dialogue was created by
the playwright, actor, and educator Anna Deavere Smith to explore ways in
which artists from all disciplines, in association with scholars and community
leaders, can enhance public discussions of vital social issues.
Mock
trial in Indianapolis focuses on the role of the arts in building community
Imagine that the city wants to build it. Imagine irate citizens and a
lawsuit to stop the project in its tracks. Imagine a day when the arts are put
on trial. The City of Indianapolis,". This website profiles a mock
trial dealing with the role of the arts in the life of Indianapolis. In the
exercise, there are citizens in Indianapolis who sue the city in order
to stop the project. They object to the project for several reasons, claiming
that use of public money for an arts facility is inappropriate and based on
dubious economic assumptions and data; that the city's arts market is already
saturated; and that the building would constitute a public nuisance.
Religion
and the Arts, a Journal
Based at Boston College, Religion and the Arts is a
journal which promotes the development of discourses for exploring the
religious dimensions of the verbal, visual and performing arts.
There's
No Meetings Like Business Meetings
Article on how Playback Theatre techniques
can be used to enhance operations in the business community.
University of
Massachusetts, Arts Extension Service
AES is a national, nonprofit arts service organization, a
program. The agency strives to achieve access to and integration of the arts
in communities through continuing education for artists, arts organizations
and community leaders. The website offers a number of research oriented online
resources.
Community-Participation
Arts Projects
Brown Pride
Online
This website serves the Chicano and Latino communities in
California. The website is very rich in arts resources and galleries running
the range from Poetry and literature to hip-hop, murals, and graffiti art. The
site offers a rather extensive
collection of artwork.
Claremont
California - Unified's Public Art Series
The Public Art Series is one of the Claremont Unified School District's
newest efforts to beautify district schools while enriching the educational
experience of the students. The students of Claremont Unified's seven
elementary schools were invited, as a part of their curriculum for the 1997-98
school year, to work with community artist and teacher Merrilyn O'Neill to
create a mural at each school showcasing the talent and creativity of
Claremont's youngest citizens. This is a very nice site demonstrating a
wonderful community partnership in action. Richly illustrated website.
SPARC
A 25 year-old non-profit arts organization
based in Venice, California, with art projects City-Wide. It Is committed to
socially responsible art making and believes community participation processes
are pivotal to its projects. The organization believes in helping individual
communities to find their voice and public expression through the arts. The
organization seeks to produce public art that includes the multiple
perspectives of the people who inhabit public space by creating sites of
"public memory." This is a very well designed website that features
an extensive gallery of mural art from the Los Angeles area. The site includes
a very well written creed on the value of the arts to communities, well worth
the read. ***
Public
Dreams Society
The Public Dreams Society is a Vancouver BC Canada organization, committed
to community participation. They create celebration events in which everyone
in a community can get involved. This is a very attractive website with lots
of examples of their collaborative art.
The Arts as an Instrument
of Empowerment
Women in the Arts Inc
The purpose of Women in the Arts, Inc. (WIA) is to produce and sponsor
programs that promote and affirm the creative talents and technical skills of
women in the visual, performing, and fine arts. The primary vehicle to meet
this purpose is the production of the National Women's Music Festival. In
producing this and other arts programs, WIA strives to facilitate the growth,
knowledge, and empowerment of women in the other varied aspects of their
lives.
Women's Caucus
for Art
"The mission of the Women's Caucus for Art is to support women in the
visual arts professions."
