Here’s a link to an article I wrote in 2010 for Animating Democracy, a project of Americans for the Arts. It offers snapshots of selected projects that help capture the range of community arts projects and programs happening today. They are led by veteran and up-and-coming artists and cultural organizations; new forms of interdisciplinary collectives; and arts and community agencies working in collaboration. Examples demonstrate how single projects, repeated community events, and ongoing programmatic and organizational efforts can effect community, civic, or social change.
Profiles include:
The Iron Triangle Legacy Project, East Bay Center for Performing Arts, Oakland
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Seattle
The International Sonoran Desert Alliance
UTOPIA/Dystopia, LAPD (Los Angeles Poverty Department)
Thousand Kites, Appalshop, Kentucky
The Medea Project, San Francisco
Portland Police Poetry Project, Art At Work, Maine
The Rural Studio, Auburn University, Alabama
Voices for Tolerance Program, Los Angeles Opera
Ferocious Beauty: Genome, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Maryland
Great Halloween Lantern Parade, Nana Projects, Baltimore
Village Building Convergence, City Repair, Oregon
Market Makeovers, Public Matters, Los Angeles
Victory Gardens 2008+, Future Farmers, San Francisco
Day Laborer Theater Without Borders,Cornerstone Theater Co., Los Angeles
Common Ground: TOC Project, Littleglobe, Santa Fe