PolicyLink has released a new brief, How Organizations Evolve When They Embrace Arts and Culture, which delves into the ways the six organizations in ArtPlace’s Community Development Investments (CDI) program had to grow and change to integrate arts and culture into their work, help them achieve their missions more effectively, and bring about positive outcomes for their communities. This brief is a part of the series describing lessons and outcomes from the program.
Arts and culture are essential for building community, supporting development, nurturing health and well-being, and contributing to economic opportunity. This time of enforced social isolation reminds us of the critical importance of creating connections and a shared sense of identity and purpose, dimensions of life which the arts can uniquely enhance and maintain. The integration of arts into community development has taken root and changed the ways community development organizations strategize across culture and leadership. This brief explores how internal strategies can support the deep incorporation of arts and culture into the daily fabric of the organization.
This insightful brief and other resources, conversations, and lessons from the program can be found on PolicyLink’s site: Arts, Culture & Community Development.
Upcoming Webinars
PolicyLink will also be hosting three webinars in the next month exploring some of the briefs and and learnings from the CDI program:
Webinar: Working with Artists to Deepen Impact
Download the Brief on Working with Artists to Deepen Impact and attend the webinar to hear from artists and organizational leaders from the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project in Zuni, NM and the Fairmount Park Conservancy in Philadelphia, PA as they discuss lessons around topics such as:
- matching community development priorities and artistic expertise
- identifying and building relationships with arts partners
- establishing roles and responsibilities and overcoming challenges
- continuing the work long-term
Thursday, April 30 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm PT/ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET
Watch the Archive
Webinar: How Community Development Organizations Change When They Embrace Arts & Culture
Download the Brief on How Organizations Evolve when the Embrace Arts and Culture and attend the webinar to hear from artists and organizational leaders from the Cook Inlet Housing Authority in Anchorage, AK and the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation in Jackson, MS as they discuss lessons around topics such as:
- how incorporating arts and cultural strategies resulted in changes in the culture, leadership and future course of the organization
- the steps they took to integrate arts and cultural strategies throughout internal structures and processes
Wednesday, May 13 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm PT/ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET
Watch the Archive
Webinar: Arts-based Strategies for Organizing Communities & Strengthening Social Fabric
Hear from artists and organizational leaders from the Little Tokyo Service Center in Los Angeles, CA and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership in Slayton, MN as they discuss lessons from the forthcoming brief around topics such as:
- how community development organizations have used arts and cultural strategies to build community voice, agency, and influence while advancing transactional and actionable housing, real estate, project development, and property management goals.
- how arts and cultural strategies have influenced the trajectory of these organizations and their projects and disrupted unequal power dynamics in significant ways.
Mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 20 from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm PT/ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET.
Watch Archive
If you’d like to get updates on new briefs, webinars, and other resources developed by PolicyLink’s Arts, Culture & Equitable Development team, visit communitydevelopment.art and sign up for the newsletter.
Stay tuned for additional releases in April and May.
Read more about the CDI program in the recent new release of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Community Development Innovation Review "Transforming Community Development through Arts & Culture"