Supporting Artists in Community Settings: New Thinking Needed

Monday, October 13, 3:15pm – 4:45pm

Organized by Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Co-Director, Animating Democracy, Americans for the Arts; and Janet Brown, President & CEO, Grantmakers in the Arts.

Presented by Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Co-Director, Animating Democracy, Americans for the Arts; and Laura Zabel, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts.

Doors are opening. Towns and cities looking for revitalization breakthroughs are taking artists seriously as community builders. Artists are forging new paths to bring creative practice across sectors to advance community well-being. Interest and opportunity for artists to work in community settings is increasing and diversifying. But, are our current funding programs and support models the right fit for these times? Are local communities constructing the kinds of scaffolding and infrastructure to connect and support artists and community interests? How can the actions and investments of arts grantmakers help to change the value proposition concerning artists in our communities? Building on the 2013 GIA conversation reported in the Summer 2014 GIA Reader, we will do active imagining to create new contexts.