Professionalism in Community Arts Practice & Community Arts Residency II
Instructors: Krafchek, McDonagh, & Hypki
MA in Community Arts (MACA)
Maryland Institute College of Art
Winter/Spring 2006
Introduction
MACA students continue to conceive, implement, and manage projects and programs that engage community members in meaningful art experiences; document and assess the effectiveness of projects as compared to community needs and expectations; and gain hands-on experience in areas such as project and event planning, community organizing, and program management. These real-world experiences are supported by intensive classroom study of community arts-related theory and practice.
Expectations
Arts Management
During morning sessions throughout the semester, 8:30-11:30 AM, MACA students are introduced to fundamental principles, practices, and applications of nonprofit arts management. Students are expected to read given texts within the time frame allotted; attend classroom presentations; participate in all discussions; and apply related skills, knowledge, and competencies to their work onsite in the community. Guest experts participate in a series of interlocking workshops and seminars. At least one field trip is scheduled. The following texts are required of all students:
Fundamentals of Arts Management, Dreeszen, Craig, Editor, Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts, 2003, ISBN 0-945464-12-6.
As part of the above-mentioned investigation, students explore the relationship between community organizing, education, and activism. Specifically, MACA students read and discuss the ideas of Myles Horton, Paulo Freire and others. The following texts are required:
We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change,
Horton & Freire, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-877-22-771-3.
The Citizen Artist: 20 Years of Art in the Public Arena, An Anthology from High Performance Magazine 1978-1998, Burnham & Durland, Community Arts Network, http://www.communityarts.net/ca/index.php
Additionally, students investigate innovative ways of planning for and implementing arts-based programs that reflect the mission of a host organization and the interests of the community. The following text has been made available free of charge to the MACA program by Americans for the Arts:
YouthARTS Handbook: Arts Programs for Youth at Risk, Farnum & Schaffer, Washington, DC, Americans for the Arts, 1998.
The above-mentioned information, data, and insights have direct and essential relevance to the Summer Session II / Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability Report. In addition, expectations for training, documentation, assessment, and evaluation of the Community Art Corps service year are integrated into the class assignments.
Art Education: Teaching in Community
During afternoon sessions, 1:00-4:00 PM, MACA students participate in a series of in-depth, hands-on investigations based on given readings, presentations by guest experts, and the students’ own work as teaching artists in the community. Classroom discussions and the review of MACA student work (lesson plans, teaching strategies, outcomes, etc.) are informed by the following required texts:
Creating Meaning Through Art: Teacher as Choice Maker, Simpson, Delaney, Carroll, Hamilton, Kay, Kerlavage, & Olson , Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998, ISBN 0-13-351-421-8.
A Pedagogy for Liberation: Dialogues on Transforming Education, Shor & Freire, Westport, Connecticut: Bergin & Garvey, 1987, ISBN 0-89789-105-8.
Teaching to Transgress, hooks, bell, NYC: Routledge, 1994, ISBN 0-415-90808-6.
Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process, Lerman and Borstel, Takoma Park, Maryland: Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, 2003, ISBN 0-9727385-0-9.
Art / Vision / Voice: Cultural Conversations in Community, A Book of Cases from Community Arts Partnerships, Kim Carlin, Editor , Columbia College Chicago and Maryland Institute College of Art, 2006, http://www.mica.edu/CAP/casebook.pdf
The MACA students' work as community-based teaching artists is showcased as part of a group exhibit in late May. This group exhibit serves as a:
- Celebratory display of artwork created by youth and adult participants from each residency site.
- Organizing and community building event showcasing the accomplishments of the community service supported by AmeriCorps.
- Portfolio review or thesis of MACA student accomplishments as teaching artists. MACA students display one or more "elegant problems" and "thematic narratives" along with accompanying artwork by youth participants, lesson plans, and other forms of documentation. This body of work is reviewed in-class on an ongoing basis by faculty and peers throughout the semester. MACA students are expected to craft daily lesson plans following the format utilized during Summer Session I or some variation that reflects an increasingly comprehensive planning and implementation process.
Members of the community, youth participants, friends, local officials, and funders are invited to this exhibit on the MICA campus. MACA students begin preparing for this event in early spring, with increased involvement after classes end the second week of May. This time commitment is counted as part of the MACA students' AmeriCorps hours and marks the end of the students' active participation in teaching-related activities at their residency sites.
Preparation for Programming, Advocacy & Sustainability (PAS) Reports / Study Reports
The MACA program and its students are committed to "growing the field" of the community arts. To this end, MACA students are expected to acquire certain skills, knowledge, and competencies that support the viability and sustainability of the arts -- and the nonprofit organizations that support arts-based youth and community development programs.
During most late afternoon sessions, 4:00-5:30 PM, MACA students work with the faculty as a whole class and/or in three- or four- person teams and begin the long-term process of conceiving, researching and writing this Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability Report -- due July '06. These weekly convenings support the analysis of each student’s onsite efforts as they relate to a strategic plan for new, revised, and/or augmented arts-based programming, sustainable and meaningful to the host organization and community -- and MACA students' career aspirations. As part of this report, MACA students are asked to:
- Document and assess their own MACA/AmeriCorps residency experiences, responsibilities, and duties serving the interests and needs of a host organization and community.
- Collect and analyze information about the host organization and its relationship to the community, including: community organizing, planning, and building; strategic planning; board development; volunteer recruitment and management; program development; arts education; cultural access; program evaluation; marketing; fundraising; and financial management.
- Conduct informational interviews of the host organization's director, employees, board members, volunteers, community leaders, youth and adult participants, local service providers, funders, city officials, and others.
- Construct an asset/deficit model of the host organization and community.
- Convene meetings of individuals -- at the discretion of the site director -- who are invested in the implementation of arts-related programming at the host organization and/or in the community.
- Draft an envisioning report that articulates new, revised, and/or augmented programming initiatives; promotes innovative new partnerships, and/or arts advocacy efforts; and supports funding and sustainability strategies including the writing of one or more grant proposals.
The final form and function of this report will vary from site to site. Please note that all or most of the MACA students' summer residency hours are reserved for the writing of this envisioning report.
Students are expected to access the Community Arts Network and Arts Education Partnership and Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance websites -- each an invaluable reference and source of information, research, and critical exchange. All materials found on the CAN website may be photocopied for educational purposes only.
http://www.communityarts.net
http://www.aep-arts.org
http://www.aems-edu.org
Reflection & Critical Analysis
MACA students address topics of importance by completing five major writing assignments during the semester. Additionally, students respond in depth to their own classmates' writings on a regular basis. These writings and peer responses are posted on MICA’s Blackboard System. MACA instructors review and respond to student writings and responses on a rotating basis. Students may choose to forward certain sensitive and/or personal writings or passages to a limited number of faculty or peers -- as negotiated with the instructor(s).
Students are expected to reflect on their role as leaders, agents of change, and meaning-makers. For each of these five writing assignments, MACA students are asked to:
- Describe what is happening onsite during the two previous weeks. Students may limit their focus to one or more events that are related to the onsite work led by the students. Additionally, students describe the goals and initial impetus for the work and the impact, outcomes, successes, obstacles, and challenges encountered in the course of the work. Students are expected to describe their role in these events in great detail. No bit of information is unimportant -- all parts instrumental to the whole story are to be included.
- Think critically about the above-mentioned events by utilizing theory, concepts, and knowledge garnered from in-class discussions, assigned readings, and writing prompts provided by the MACA faculty. Students are invited to "see" the world in new ways by applying a new set of critical perspectives to their work in community. This process of critical reflection is crucial to the students' understanding of the "who, what, when, why, and how" of community arts. This effort is also crucial to students’ evolving ability to self-assess and construct meaningful creative strategies and interventions in their onsite work. Please consider the following question when choosing the theory, concepts or knowledge to highlight.
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What new learning should be utilized in order to develop a deeper understanding of the implications and consequences of your work?
- Using theory, concepts, and knowledge from above, construct and articulate a personally held sense of meaning, function, and purpose explaining the significance of these events as they relate to each student's own ever-evolving world view. The following are questions to consider regarding the meaning you derive from your experience and the application of theory, concepts and knowledge to that experience:
- What role or function does the student play in the world?
- To what end does the student label, define, or otherwise apply value to these events, and his/her own responsibilities?
- How does the student's moral compass impact his/her work?
- How might this meaning-making process affect the student's work-related decision making process?
- How does this meaning-making manifest itself in terms of your evolving leadership style?
In other words, MACA students are asked to link action, theory, and meaning-making to their work in community, career aspirations, and relationships to the world.
Note: These writings serve as the most important means for MACA students to inform their MACA faculty supervisors about their work on-site. It is essential that MACA students take these writings seriously -- otherwise timely, pointed assistance is limited.
Evaluation
MACA students will be graded on the kind and quality of effort invested in the following major assignments:
- Notebook of host organization-related information collected for Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability (PAS) Report
- Portfolio of lesson plans, including participant artwork, and other forms of documentation representing onsite teaching efforts. This work serves as the foundation for the MACA/AmeriCorps Exhibit and Teaching Portfolio.
- Writing assignments (five total) evidencing reflection and analysis linking community-based action, theory, and meaning-making.
- Writing responses (five sets total) reflecting an in-depth response to their fellow classmates' writings.
- End-of-semester concept papers for PAS Report -- a culmination of study group discussions and research.
- Assignments pertaining to evaluation/assessment and grantwriting.
- In-class participation and attendance.
Grading Standards
Grades for "Professionalism in Community Arts Practice" and "Community Arts Residency II" are averaged as one combined grade. Overall, MACA students are expected to earn grades of "B" or higher. The status of each student is reviewed on an ongoing basis. If program standards are not met in a timely fashion, the Graduate Director retains the option of reevaluating a student's place in the MACA program.
Oversight
The work performed by MACA students in the community is reviewed on a continuing basis by Kara McDonagh and Ken Krafchek. These instructors visit each site on an ongoing basis; review lesson plans; observe and evaluate teaching effectiveness; check the "tenor" and productivity of classroom management strategies; and compare outcomes to prescribed goals and objectives.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory for all seminars, workshops, and community-based programming sessions. In case of an emergency, the MACA student is responsible for contacting the faculty member(s) in question and Graduate Director. Continued unexcused absences and late arrivals are cause for dismissal.
All homework is due at the beginning of each session, (8:30 AM, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM). Students who do not have their homework completed and ready to turn in at the start of a session are not permitted to participate in that session's discussion, they will only be permitted to observe. Students who are late to class are similarly prohibited from active participation.
Homework Binders
As mentioned above, all homework is due the beginning of class. The MACA program provides each student with a large, three-ring notebook. Students are required to bring copies of all homework, research, and other information to class and insert these items into their own notebook before the start of each class session. These notebooks serve as a point of reference for in-class discussions, an efficient
way for instructors to check on student progress, and a guide for faculty supervisors making site residency visits. Please note that these notebooks are considered property of the MACA program. None of the materials listed are returned to students.
Contact Information
MACA students are encouraged to interact with faculty in and outside the classroom. Students should remember that some faculty members have full-time commitments separate from the MACA program. Please negotiate the kind and type of contact
you may have with each faculty member on an individual basis. Students are free to communicate with the Graduate Director and AmeriCorps Coordinator as needed and appropriate.
Semester Schedule & Assignments / Weeks 1-6
Monday, January 23
8:30-10:00 AM
Overview of the Spring Semester '06
MACA Instructors: Ken Krafchek & Kara McDonagh
10:00-11:30 AM
Community Organizing and the Arts
MACA Faculty: Cinder Hypki
Previous Assignment(s): Read pages 1-14 of Fundamentals of Arts Management.
Students explore their current understanding of community organizing. A model for understanding the aspects of organizing work is developed in class. Students also are introduced to the concept of a “code of ethics” in relation to their work in community.
11:30-1:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:00-4:00 PM
Art Ed / Teaching in Community
"Shaping Elegant Problems"
Guest Instructor: Karen Carroll
MACA Faculty: Ken Krafchek
Previous Assignment(s): Read pp. 259-288, Creating Meaning Through Art, Ch. 7.
MACA students are introduced to the theory, characteristics, and strategies associated with elegant problems, including a high degree of flexibility, fluency of responses, original solutions, and creative thought. Students and instructors review "Two Way Street" and relationship of student work to elegant problem solving.
4:00-5:30 PM
Overview of Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability (PAS) Reports and Study Groups
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh / Krafchek
Instructors introduce MACA students to PAS Reports and their relationship to study groups.
Monday, January 30
8:30-9:00 AM
Arts-Based Community Organizing
Key Concepts for Reflection/ Horton & Freire
MACA Faculty: Ken Krafchek
Previous Assignment(s): Read pages 15-26 of Fundamentals of Arts Management
MACA students are introduced to quotes from We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change by Myles Horton and Paulo Freire. These "pull-out" quotes serve as a platform for reflection, a means by which each student comes to terms with his/her role as a community organizer and educator. Students take turns reading the selected quotes out loud in class and respond to ideas that resonate with their own worldview.
9:00-10:00 AM
Mt. Vernon Cultural District: "Art in Every Direction"
MACA Faculty: Cinder Hypki
Previous Assignment(s): Read "Art in Every Direction: Expanding the Scope of Cultural Programming for Children in the Mount Vernon Cultural District."
This case study explores the design of an organizing strategy for arts programming in the Mount Vernon community and the use of community organizing in relationship to coalition building, advocacy, program design and planning, and efforts to expand cultural programming to an under-served group
10:00-11:30 AM
Community Organizing and the Arts
"Community Organizer as Cultural Mediator"
Guest Expert: Frank Patinella , Community Organizer, Reservoir Hill Improvement Council
MACA Faculty: Cinder Hypki
Previous Assignment: Read "Reaping What We Sow: Community Art and Greening in
Inner City Baltimore." Other reading to be announced.
This case study focuses on the efforts to turn vacant lots – the site of former drug houses – into a community garden and gathering spot in the Reservoir Hill neighborhood, including collaboration with Kids on the Hill for youth artwork for the garden. Organizer Frank Patinella who spearheaded the effort will aid students in examining issues of community control and ownership of projects, the organizer’s role and the development of a personal philosophy and code of ethics in organizing.
11:30-1:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:00-4:00 PM
Art Ed / Teaching in Community
"Shaping Elegant Problems" (cont.)
Guest Instructor: Karen Carroll
MACA Faculty: Ken Krafchek
Previous Assignment(s): Students prepare draft problem statements related to elegant problems and bring to class for review by faculty and peers.
MACA students view screening of "Euphoria," Brown Center, Falvey Hall. Students continue to investigate the theory, characteristics, and strategies associated with elegant problems and compare findings to their own teaching in community and lesson plan design.
4:00-5:30 PM
Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability (PAS) Reports and Study Groups
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh / Ken Krafchek
Previous assignment: Students should be prepared with one or more area of focus, applicable to their host site and community’s needs, that they believe will be prominent in their investigation and research for the PAS Report. They will also come prepared with a “vision” for how they would optimally like to work in their study groups
Students discuss the previous assignment in dyads that rotate throughout the afternoon in order to explore who may be optimal study group partners for the semester.
Monday, February 6
8:30-11:30 AM
Evaluation & Assessment
Guest Instructor: Mary Washington
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh
Previous Assignment(s): Students compile examples of program evaluations from host organization and bring to class; read pp. 251- 263, Fundamentals of Arts Management, and read article on evaluation “Measuring Joy” by Deborah Bedwell, http://arts.endow.gov/grants/apply/out/joy.html
Students are introduced to an overview of program evaluation, including purposes and practices. Students review current evaluation instruments, results, and plans collected from their residency sites.
11:30-1:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:00-4:00 PM
Community Arts Organizing & Art Ed / Teaching in Community
“Mt. Washington Elementary”
MACA Faculty: Cinder Hypki
Previous Assignment(s): Read "Big Dreams and Wide-Open Visions: A Synthesis of Ideas for Rejuvenating Mt. Washington Elementary School’s Old Playground" by Cinder Hypki, Community Arts Consultant to the Mt. Washington Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization.
What began as a request for a piece of artwork has become a year-long effort to plan and facilitate a community organizing process for creating a new school-community space in the small community of Mount Washington. The class will examine the need to identify and involve all potential stakeholders of a project, to clearly define steps toward a vision and to raise the funds and find the technical assistance to see a project through. Students will also analyze the artmaking strategies used to garner feedback and input for the design process.
4:00-5:30 PM
Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability (PAS) Reports and Study Groups
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh / Ken Krafchek
Students complete the process from last week of interviewing fellow classmates to determine study group preferences. All students are asked to rank their top five choices for study group partners. Faculty reviews two research and planning templates with students: PAS Report 1: Envision and PAS Report 2: Organize.
Note: Monthly report and AmeriCorps timesheet due February 7.
Monday, February 13
8:30-10:00 AM
Highlander Review and Evaluation Process, Stage 1. Envision/PAS Report
MACA Faculty: Ken Krafchek
Previous Assignment(s): Students were asked to research the mission of the Highlander Research and Education Center. Students also were expected to bring last weeks out of class assignment, “ Research and Planning Template, Stage 1, Envision”.
Students are asked to complete an short writing assignment about the Highlander Center and present their reflections to the class. Students then form dyads and evaluate their partners PAS 1 report using a template provided for them in class. Students will receive their partners feedback on their PAS 1 report, along with feedback from the faculty, in next weeks afternoon session
10:00 AM – 5:30 PM / Seminar #14
Community Arts Organizing & Art Ed / Teaching in Community
"The Rebuilding through Art Project (RAP) in Midtown Edmondson"
Guest Instructor: Jay Wolfe-Schlossberg Cohen, Community Artist, Open Society Institute Fellow
MACA Faculty: Cinder Hypki
Previous Assignment(s): Read info on Jay Schlossberg Cohen’s work in community and other related materials.
Artist Jay Wolfe-Schlossberg Cohen is working with residents and the Neighborhood Design Center to create a redevelopment initiative that uses community art to reclaim community spaces and structures. MACA students spend the day in Midtown Edmondson, touring the art projects, learning from the community and its collaborators about this initiative and extracting lessons for practice. Jay leads students through an art making technique for helping groups express themselves and create a collaborative mural design.
Note: First writing assignment due – must be posted on Blackboard before class.
Monday, February 20
8:30-11:30 AM
Evaluation & Assessment (cont.)
Guest Instructor: Mary Washington
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh
Previous Assignment(s): Read pp. 264-291, Fundamentals of Arts Management
Students continue to investigate program evaluation principles and practices and begin an examination of how best to design an effective evaluation.
11:30-1:00 PM
Lunch Break
1:00-4:00 PM
Art Ed / Teaching in Community
"Understanding the Learner"
Guest Presenter: TBA
MACA Faculty: Ken Krafchek
Previous Assignment(s): Read pp. 23-72, Creating Meaning Through Art, Ch. 2
Students bring in final problem statement that they plan to work with this semester, and any lesson plans or student artwork resulting from it, if it has been implemented already.
MACA students finalize an elegant problem that represents a body of work to be displayed in the CAC show and teaching portfolio this May. Students then examine the following questions in relation to that problem statement: How do contextual influences affect
development? What ways do we have for thinking developmentally about learners? How does graphic , symbolic, artistic language develop?
4:00-5:30 PM
Programming, Advocacy, and Sustainability (PAS) Reports and Study Groups
MACA Faculty: Kara McDonagh / Ken Krafchek
Study groups are finalized and students determine a plan for continued interaction with their group members outside of class. Students familiarize themselves with their study group members responses to PAS Report I and faculty provides individual and group feedback on students responses to PAS I assignment.
Note: Responses to first writing assignment due -- must be posted on Blackboard before class.
