Effective Community-Engagement Programming: A Guide for Community-Based Arts Organizations

Abstract

The arts are globally acknowledged for their healing properties and their ability to inspire societies in times of despair, fostering empathy and comfort among diverse populations. While the benefits of engaging with the creative arts for mental and physical health have been largely discussed, there is little codification of arts engagement programs to demonstrate their benefits to society. In order to reinforce the arts' vital function in public policy, arts administrators need to define how to best organize and present community engagement programs so that they are advantageous for their intended communities. As articulated by ARTS Action Research's Anne Dunning, "Rather than a hub and spoke model with the arts organization at the center reaching out to a series of discrete 'communities,' we [need to] imagine a complex of inter-related networks within which the arts organizations potentially act as a connector or meeting point." (Dunning) By shifting their focus to their community, arts organizations can engage audiences in a deeper conversation and incite positive change in their cultural ecosystem. This type of programming can elevate artwork beyond a mere aesthetic or performative experience. Instead, it can infuse art with civic engagement and social justice. These observations have inspired the following research questions: what are the most effective ways that a company can create a community engagement program so that it reflects the community that it aims to benefit? How can a company present an outreach experience in a way that is accessible to its community members? And how does such programming foster a mutually beneficial relationship between an arts organization and its community? This research hopes to acknowledge the responsibility that local performing arts organizations have in creating a space that cultivates engagement and support. This project aims to understand the roles of programming and community engagement and to identify strategies that are being used by arts organizations to most effectively serve their communities. The findings intend to support the administrative staff of performing arts organizations who are looking to restructure their engagement and education programs in order to serve their communities better. By analyzing current research, arts programmers will have a structure through which to connect their artistic practice with their surrounding community.