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Cultural Ecosystem: The Arts in Community
Instructors: Maryo Gard Ewell and Randall Vega
AAD 619
Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
Spring 2009

Goal: Students will understand the concept of cultural democracy, and how embracing a policy of cultural democracy transforms a community and affects their choices as an arts administrator.

Objectives:

• Students will identify the demographics, cultural groups, political and social institutions that comprise their community
• Students will create a cultural planning proposal for their community using the data that they have identified about their community
• Students will recognize and experience how a philosophical framework (in this case, cultural democracy) influences strategic management choices
• Students will become conversant with the basic vocabulary of Cultural Democracy, cultural planning, economic development, and cultural tourism

Students will have one major project in three parts (specific instructions are at the end of this syllabus):

• Due at week 7, their community profile – emailed to instructors and posted
• In a live class in week 14, a power point presentation of the key points in their final paper
• Due in week 16, a final paper, posted and e mailed to instructors, which will be an assessment of their community's cultural health, and a design of an appropriate cultural pre-planning process based on their community profile

Students will participate in two team activities:

• Learning unit 7: Teams of students (teams created by the instructor) will present the conclusions they reached in addressing this question: Consider two organizational missions. The slogan of one, that the board believes captures their mission very well, is, “More arts for more people!” and the slogan of the other, which the board believes captures their mission very well, is, “Arts of, by and for the people!” Compare and contrast the community information you would need to collect in order to best fulfill the mission of your organization.
• Resulting from learning unit 9, but due by the class date for learning unit 11: Teams of students (teams created by instructor), considering the “Africans in Maine” story, will outline what might be next steps of the various factions described in the story.

Students will buy the following books:

• Borrup, The Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts & Culture
• Dreeszen, Community Cultural Planning: A Guidebook for Community Leaders (AftA publication)
• Ewell Americans for the Arts monograph, Local Arts Agencies: Cultural Torchbearers
• and, depending on their interests, either:
  1. McKnight Foundation, A New Angle (if they are interested in suburban development)
  2. or McCarthy, Ondaatje, Novak, Arts and Culture in the Metropolis; Strategies for Sustainability (if they are interested in urban development)
  3. or Ewell & Warlum, Arts in the Small Community 2006 (if they are interested in rural/small town development)

LEARNING UNITS

Unit 1: Class overview, definitions, history and functions of local arts agencies, introduction to Cultural Democracy.

To be completed prior to Live Class:

• Create a personal home page; read the home page of other students
• Posted definitions
• Posted “Voices of History”
• The Declaration of Independence (link provided)
• The Declaration of Human Cultural Rights (link provided)
• Watch the Robert Preston-Shirley Jones version of “The Music Man.”

Consider these questions prior to Live Class:

• Why did we ask you to read the historical documents?
• How many instances of the impact of community arts can you find in “The Music Man?”

LIVE CLASS

Discussion questions to be considered after Live Class:

• Choose one of the historical figures whose words appeal to you. Why is this comment significant/intriguing to you?
• Re-read the quote from Rachel Davis Dubois. Reread the definitions of Cultural Democracy. Think about the place you live. If Cultural Democracy were the accepted policy in your community, what are a few things that would be different in your community from how things are now?

Learning Unit 2 Cultural policies in a democratic framework.

Readings to be completed prior to date for Learning Unit/Session 2:

• Posted: Goldbard, The New Creative Community – Chapter 2
• Posted: Graves, Cultural Democracy – Introduction
• Posted (some students will own): McCarthy, Ondaatje, Novak, Arts and Culture in the Metropolis, p. 7 – 14
• Students own: Ewell – “Local Arts Agencies: Cultural Torchbearers”
  Lecture

Discussion questions:

• What would you ask and and what would you look for to assess the importance of Cultural Democracy to your local arts agency?
• What are some reasons both pro and con for a local arts agency to embrace a policy of furthering Cultural Democracy?
• In the community where you live, is there a group which could spearhead the furthering of this policy? If so, what, if anything, would need to be changed for this to happen? Note: the group need not be an arts agency – even local governments that give grants are de facto making policy when they do that.

Learning Unit 3: What does America look like?

Readings:

• Borrup, Introduction and Chapter 1 (p.xv-14)
• Posted: McCarthy et al, p. 15-31

Lecture: PowerPoint from Americans for the Arts with voiceover

Discussion questions:

• Demographically, how different is your community now from what it was in 1957?
• What implications do these national demographic changes have for local arts groups?

Learning Unit 4: The current economic development “buzz:” creative economy

Readings:

• Posted: Florida, “The Great Creative Class Debate”
• Posted: Eger, “The Creative Economy,” p. 9-19

Lecture

Activity: Investigate this website: www.paducaharts.com

Discussion questions:

• What is your response to the City of Paducah's program to attract artists?
• Does Richard Florida's work fit into a framework of Cultural Democracy? Why or why not? Are there people who are not well-served, possibly even harmed, if Florida’s work were wholeheartedly adopted?

Learning Unit 5: Economic development strategies that acknowledge Cultural Democracy

Readings to be completed prior to Live Class

• Borrup, Chapter 2 (p. 21-73)

Students email questions for speaker to instructor at least two days before date of live class

LIVE CLASS, speaker, Tom Borrup. Format: Speaker presents a 15-minute lecture based on student questions. The rest of the hour is Q & A

Discussion questions to be addressed after Live Class:

• Compare and contrast key features of Borrup's and Florida's approaches to economic development
• What is your personal response to the value of each approach?

Learning Unit 6: Cultural tourism

Readings:

• Posted: Hester, “The Sacred Structure in Small Towns”
• Posted: Graves, Cultural Democracy, Chapter 3
• Posted: Going Public: A Field Guide to Developments in Art in Public Places, p. 14 – 22

Lecture

Discussion questions:

• What elements would need to be present (or absent) in a cultural tourism program within a framework of Cultural Democracy?
• How does a public art program relate to a cultural tourism program?
• Given the topic of cultural tourism, and this class' concern with a policy of Cultural Democracy, what elements of the Hester article are significant?

Learning Unit 7: Community profiles

Profile to be posted by “calendar date” of the Unit.

Discussion board question:

• Consider the profile you have completed for your own community. Did you have surprises along the way? What were they, and why do you think you were surprised? If you were not surprised, why not?

No readings.

Activity to be completed by 4 days after profile is due: Teams created by the instructor will post the conclusions they reached in addressing this question: Consider two organizations. The slogan of one, that the board believes captures their mission very well, is, “More arts for more people!” and the slogan of the other is, “Arts of, by and for the people!” Write the mission statement for each organization. Compare and contrast the community information you would need to collect in order to best fulfill the mission of your organization.

Discussion questions to be considered after team activities have been posted.

• Compare the responses of the different teams to the activity.

Learning Unit 7: Social development strategies within the framework of cultural democracy

Readings:

• Posted: Ewell “Using the Arts as Change Agents”
• Posted: Morgan “The Arts Bridges of Newport OR”
• Borrup, Chapter 3 (p. 73-122)

Individual activity: Using the internet, locate an example in which the arts was used to further a social agenda . Post a link in the discussion board, short description of the project including what it was trying to accomplish and did accomplish. Conclude with a 1-2 sentence evaluation of whether it was or was not grounded in a philosophy of Cultural Democracy.

Discussion board:

• Consider the posts of 2 other class members, and respond to them. Do you agree with your colleagues' assessments?

Learning Unit/Session 9 (A): Social development, continued

Readings to be completed prior to date of Learning Unit/Session 9:

• Posted: Bau Graves & Lado, “African in Maine” in Cultural Perspectives in Civic Dialogue, p. 27-61
• Link to: Shifferd & Lagerroos, “Conversing Streams: Community Arts & Sustainable Community Movements”

Discussion questions to be addressed after date of Learning Unit/Session 9:

• Are there things that only the arts can bring to the effective addressing of social issues? What are the pros and cons of using the arts to further a social agenda?
• Think about a social issue in your community. Suggest a way that the arts could fit in, and what elements might need to be present for it to be effective.

Learning Unit 10: Questions, issues, discussion

There will be an individual conversation in blackboard with each of the students during this week. Dates will be set via e mail. This is a check-in to ensure that students feel on track with the work they are doing for their final paper as well as an opportunity for students to raise issues that have not been addressed in class.

This week is intended for students to use to get caught up and to clarify questions they may have.

Readings: None

Learning Unit 11: Cultural Planning: Pre-Planning

Readings:

• Posted: Goldbard, The New Creative Community, chapter 9
• Posted: Gallagher, “Pre-planning for a Cultural Plan”
• Posted: “Crossroads Charlotte 2015,” p. 6-21

Lecture

Discussion questions:

• Comment on “Crossroads Charlotte” in light of the discussion on cultural planning.
• Consider that your LAA is committed to furthering policies of Cultural Democracy. Based on what you have learned about your community, what groups in your community should be “at the table” in the pre-planning process?
• Now consider that your LAA is interested in a “more arts for more people” approach to their work. Based on what you have learned about your community, what groups in your community should be “at the table” in the pre-planning process?

Learning Unit 12: Cultural planning

Reading:

• Dreeszen, Cultural Planning
  Website: http://www.pinellasarts.org/pdf/cultural_plan.pdf

At least 2 days before class, students send instructor the questions they want answered.

Live Class: Speaker, Craig Dreeszen. The format will be a 15-minute lecture based on student questions, followed by q & a

Discussion questions:

The African in Maine Team Exercise is due on the date of the live class.

• What issues is the “African in Maine” activity raising for you?

Learning Unit 13: Collaboration: What it is, how to do it, and what issues are important.

Readings: None

Lecture

Discussion questions:

• An arts organization wants to work with the city's Department of Transportation on a program of placing art along the new trails system that the voters have just approved. Describe briefly what a cooperative relationship might look like; then describe what a collaborative relationship might look like.

Learning Unit 14 : Student presentations

Live Class: Students will prepare a power point that incorporates material from their community profile, and provides the key points from their final paper about how a cultural pre-planning process might result, using the lens of Cultural Democracy.

Learning Unit 15: Final paper

Students’ final paper is due two weeks after the live class. It will assess the cultural health of the community through the lens of Cultural Democracy, outline the preplanning process, and suggest some possible outcomes for the cultural plan itself.

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GOUCHER COLLEGE: AAD 619
COMMUNITY PROFILE, PRESENTATION, AND FINAL PAPER

Profiling your community can provide an arts administrator with a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities for cultural development and cultural policy in the community.

COMMUNITY PROFILE
due on the calendar date for learning unit 7

It is important that this profile be as objective as possible. Your role is to collect information from a variety of sources and individuals and to present this information and present it concisely and clearly. You may include maps and tables if you wish. Your Community Profile should be about 7-10 pages.

Your profile should reflect the service area of the Local Arts Agency (LAA) of the place where you live - typically this will be a town, city, or county. If your community does not have an LAA, or if you feel that it’s more appropriate to focus on a single neighborhood (if the LAA serves an enormous city such as NYC or Los Angeles) or a single county (if the LAA serves a multi-county region) talk to the instructor to determine the best course of action.

You will need to do data research and to speak with individuals knowledgeable about aspects of the community. Information could come from such sources as the Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor’s Office, local and regional planning agencies, media sources, public library, documents prepared by the LAA, etc. However, some data will not be easily available and will require you to do some creative sleuthing.

Your paper should be factual. If you are reporting someone's impression, or if you are using someone’s “guesstimates,” make sure that you clearly distinguish these from documented fact. Citing your data and personal sources is essential, and you should also append a list of all of the sources you used.

Present the information any way you wish so long as it includes all of the following (you are welcome, of course, to provide additional information that you think is important):

• What is the community that you are profiling?
• Sub-regions: If you are studying a city or even a town, are there distinct neighborhoods? Are there neighborhood associations? (Provide a list of these associations with contact information.) If you are studying a neighborhood, does it have a neighborhood association (What’s its name and address?) If you are studying a suburb, what other nearby municipalities impact your suburb? If you are studying a county or region, what are its municipalities?
• Geographic information - size of area, location in state, unusual geographic characteristics, any key historical facts
• Population of the community. If it’s part of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (for instance, if you are studying a suburban area), what is the MSA population?
• Population Demographics – 50 years ago, 10 years ago, now, and projected for 10 years ahead. Consider all of the following: total population; proportion of key age groups; proportion of key ethnic groups; education and income levels (and if there’s anything else that has changed dramatically, or will change dramatically, include that too).
• Do different groups live in different places? Describe.
• Describe how your local government works. How many elected officials are there, and do they represent geographic constituency, or are they at-large? Is the Mayor elected by the people or by the council? What is the process by which citizens can bring issues to their attention, and by which citizens can be engaged in decision-making (work-sessions, public hearings, etc)? Is there an informal process that you need to know about (for example, while it may be the alderman who casts the vote, “everyone knows” that it’s essential that convincing a certain aide of your point of view is key to the alderman’s vote). (If you are using a neighborhood, describe city government, but focus on how people in your neighborhood can get heard.)

• Major industries
• Major political characteristics
• Major social/economic realities, trends and issues
• Who are the newest immigrants? How rapidly is this group growing?
• How many languages are spoken at home by students in the public school system? If you have more than one school system, you need only locate information about one of them.
• Consider the third-largest ethnic/cultural group in the community. Who are one or two key leaders? Where do people from that group gather? What are their major issues?
• Major issues facing teens
• What newspapers serve your region (don't neglect the so-called “alternative press,” neighborhood papers, student papers, etc). Do the different newspapers address issues in the same way?
• List the arts/cultural institutions in community. If what they do isn’t apparent in their name, provide a phrase or sentence about them
• Besides nonprofit arts/cultural organizations, are there other groups providing cultural activity (for-profit dance studios, recreation departments, public library, neighborhood centers, etc)?
• Brief information about the LAA that serves your region - date founded, mission, governance structure, size staff, budget size, and key programs/services. Since its founding, what difference does it believe it has made in the area?
• Whom does the LAA serve? Whom does the LAA not serve that they have plans in progress to serve? Whom does the LAA recognize that it does not serve?
• Does the community have a Master Plan? Are arts/culture mentioned in it?

POWER POINT PRESENTATION
live class, date of learning unit 14

Your Power Point will summarize the key points of your community profile. Also, tell us a few of the implications of this profile for the cultural planning process. Make the assumption that the LAA doing the cultural planning process has committed itself to a philosophy of cultural democracy (regardless of what the “real” situation is with your LAA). The Power Point should be about 7-10 slides which you will narrate while we watch and listen. Your presentation should take no more than 10 minutes, with 5 minutes after that for questions and comments from your colleagues. Chadia is available to help you with technical questions about this.

FINAL PAPER
due 2 weeks after the live class presentation

For your final paper, refer to:

• your community profile. We are not expecting you to rewrite your community profile based on the feedback we gave you in week 7, but we will expect that you internalized our feedback. (For instance, if you didn't learn where the third-largest group gathers, include something about how you will find that out.)
• information you have gleaned from your readings and class discussions
• the urban, suburban, or rural book that you have chosen.

Imagine that the LAA has decided to undertake a cultural plan. Assume that the board is committed to Cultural Democracy (and if in your assessment, the current board is not committed to Cultural Democracy, assume that there has just been an election and there is a majority of board members who are.)

You have a contract with this LAA to design a cultural plan, using the lens of Cultural Democracy. Your paper should have three parts:

• Community orientation: Provide context about the community, highlighting things you’ve found out about your community that you think have a bearing on the planning process. Make an assessment of the current cultural health of this area. This will require you to describe what you would expect to notice if, through the lens of cultural democracy, your community were “healthy.” Then describe the current situation in light of this ideal, and then draw your conclusions.
• Pre-planning: This is the guts of your paper. You know that sound pre-planning is crucial, and that this involves reviewing community profile data to think about how to proceed.
• First tell us what the LAA sees as the reason for doing a cultural plan.
• Next set forth some principles you will use to guide you from now to the end of the entire planning process. For example, “1. We recognize the value of the voice of every cultural group that lives here, however large or small. 2. We will find ways for each group to participate as appropriate. This may involve ensuring that the invitation to participate comes from the “right” person or group, is held at the right time of day and location, is held in an appropriate language. 3. We will find a way for each group to find relevance of this process to the things they consider important. 4. ETC.”
• Next, based on your knowledge of the area's politics and population, decide what entity should “adopt” the final plan so that it has the most likelihood of being acted upon. For example, should it be the city's planning commission? The neighborhood organization? The city arts commission? Why is this the right organization to adopt the plan?
• Next, list 5-8 one-on-one meetings you will have with key people to get their “buy in” to the plan. Who are these key people? What do you want from them? (For example, use of their name, a letter to their constituents, funds, “greasing some wheels,” opening of doors, what?)
• Next, decide who will be on the steering committee to design the process and to act as your sounding-board group. This will be a fairly small group – no more than 10 people – who might include a mix of formal leaders like elected officials and people who have the “clout” to ensure that the final plan gets acted upon; it may include leaders of the most important groups in the community (and note that “important” could mean the group that is projected to grow most dramatically in the next five years even if it’s small now); it will certainly include the director of the LAA, etc. Who will chair this group?
• Next, decide whether you need a larger advisory committee and if so, what is their role? Who are some of the people/groups that should be represented on that?
• And next, decide what you think is a realistic timeline for the planning process, taking into account all of what you think needs to be done.
• Finally, get a little speculative about the cultural planning process. Of course the pre-planning process will shape this. But, again with the lens of cultural democracy, what might be the goal/vision of the plan if the “right” pre-process were done? What might be some of the task forces that could emerge, given your knowledge of the area (for example, a task force on arts and teen social issues? A task force on arts and new immigrants?) Who might be key interviewees? What might be desired outcomes (for example, “new immigrants become engaged in the community more easily than before;” or “funding will become available for arts groups wanting to partner with economic and social development groups.”)

Quality is more important than quantity, but we imagine that it would be hard to do a good job in less than 10 pages. Feel free to use maps, tables, graphics if you wish. The MAAA program has writing standards and uses MLA format for citations and bibliography and good writing will be a part of your grade.