About the Project
The second annual Convening and Research Project sponsored by the Maryland Institute College of Art was held to advance the field of community arts at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), April 19, 20, & 21, 2009. Funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, this gathering provided a platform for college and university faculty and students, community-based practitioners, and community leaders and members to meet and generate new ideas, share resources and models for best practices in the field, reflect new curricula and pedagogy, define and solve problems, identify and conduct new research, develop leadership in the field, and cultivate new partnerships.
Research and other writing deriving from the editorial process generated through the convening project is published Fall 2009 on the Community Arts Network (CAN) Website.
Who Participated
College and university faculty and administrators, community arts students, community-based practitioners (artists, activists, organizers), community leaders and members, and others dedicated to social change (community empowerment/building and the arts) were invited to submit proposals for presentations at the spring 2009 convening through www.mica.edu/communityartsconvening. Writers selected to present received feedback from the project’s editorial board in the months leading up to the event. A deliberate effort was made to cultivate presentations by a diverse group of community arts theorists, practitioners, and community members, with the goal of initiating publication of the best thinking from all groups of individuals who are shaping community and this field.
Topics for Presentation at the Convening
The convening and related publishing addresses compelling issues and questions pertinent to the field of community arts, and the health and well-being of communities, including:
• Helping to empower the voice of communities by tapping community resources and history
• Developing models for training, reciprocal learning and participatory research
• Supporting arts-based community building and advocacy
• Documenting the evolution of the field and best practices in community arts
• Building new partnerships and leveraging resources
• Documenting community-based cultural and aesthetic traditions and forms
Form of Presentations & Published Texts
The project actively seeks a wide array of approaches to presenting these topics, including:
• Case studies illuminating community projects, programs, events, and initiatives
• Community-based profiles, narratives, dialogues, and cross-cultural exchanges
• New research, studies, current issues, and findings from local and national experts across a range of disciplines
• Pedagogical models, curricula, and lesson plans
• Critical reviews of preexisting or proposed programs and initiatives
• Essays and other writings by students of community arts
• Hybrid combinations of theory, art, poetry, and personal narrative illuminating the experiences of community members participating in community arts
• Artist dialogues
Maps & Directions