Arts & Culture

Lyz Crane draws on the work of practitioners and researchers to characterize the field of arts-based community development in which arts and culture can help achieve place based change related to the physical, social, and economic dimensions of place. This paper examines the premise that the existence of arts is considered a powerful end in itself, Crane then outlines the variety of ways that the actors and activities involved in arts and community development work can relate to and interact with each other to create sustainable communities.  Looking at the cultural ecology of place, creative economy development focuses on fostering local creative businesses and supporting creative workers both in the arts and in supporting industries while cultural development may focus on preserving cultural assets—traditions, language, stories—or on building on them to create stronger, more connected communities.  There is also a complex community development ecosystem of organizations, interests, and tools. Stakeholders may involve arts in their agendas, create arts programming, provide or develop arts spaces, employ artists, and/or partner with arts organizations. Indeed, both the arts and community development are part of the same ecosystem and all of these interactions fall into the category of arts and community development.

Crane places different types of intersections on a passive-active continuum of presence, participation, and application. Prominent nodes of intersection between the arts and community development are identified: animating public spaces; activating public spaces; serving as an anchor or focal point; and serving as a planning engagement tool.  Crane points out that, in terms of outcomes, there may not be much difference between an arts organization with a community-based program and a community organization with an arts-based program.  Oftentimes, the choice of language has to do with their founders or how they are being funded. The difference in effectiveness between these two methods and even a third that is an equal arts organization–community organization partnership is only recently beginning to be explored.

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By Diana Nash of the Pink Line Project on July 12, 2012

There is a buzzword circulating in the DC arts scene that I had not heard about until I returned to the city two months ago. While the concept of using the arts to spur economic and community development is not new, DC is getting attention for the success of its “Arts and Culture Temporiums” since the first one launched along the H Street NE corridor in 2010. Temporiums fall under the larger category of the Temporary Urbanism Initiative, a project undertaken by the DC Office of Planning. The goal behind the initiative, and more specifically, temporiums, is to activate vacant or underutilized spaces by using them to showcase the talent of local artists and other creative entrepreneurs, along with the retail potential that lies within emerging neighborhoods. Think of them as “Pop Ups” that stay around a little longer and have greater potential benefits for the communities where they take place. Jessica Scheuerman, of Partners for Livable Communities, explains that temporiums allow people to “take risks, explore partnerships, and to commit to something” without the burden of a long-term commitment.  Temporiums connect creative people seeking affordable space in their neighborhoods with landlords who have the available space that they haven’t been able to lease. It is a smart and increasingly popular concept that lays the groundwork for longer-term collaboration between property owners and neighborhood entrepreneurs.

Building on the success of earlier temporiums, the Office of Planning is targeting four emerging creative neighborhoods to benefit from a $250,000 grant to the city from ArtPlace, an unprecedented new private-public organization. ArtPlace is part of a national “creative place-making” movement that aims to drive revitalization across the country with arts at the center of economic development. The launch of DeanwoodxDesign marks the next step in the OP/ArtPlace grant initiative.

photo credit Wartburg Council for Creative Aging

The Wartburg Adult Care Community (The Wartburg) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing the mind, body, and spirit of older adults. Since its founding in 1899, The Wartburg has offered a continuum of care at its Mt. Vernon campus, and provides outreach to local parishes, senior centers, and civic organizations. In 2010, The Wartburg received a grant to enlist the aid of Lifetime Arts, which consults with many organizations on the design and implementation of creative aging programs and is led by a teaching artist. Lifetime Arts completed a survey of the Wartburg’s senior residents and staff, designed to gauge their interest in the arts. The findings were clear—residents and staff desired more arts and cultural programming.

In 2011, The Wartburg Council for Creative Aging was established to allow its nearly 500 senior residents in the assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing residence, and adult day programs to express themselves through art, song, theater, poetry, and oral histories. In difficult financial times, launching the Council required some creativity. Fortunately, the Council discovered a unique method for both cutting costs and serving the community; The Wartburg’s common rooms were vacant at night, while artists in the community were paying high rents for studio space. Ann Frey, the director of the Council, began recruiting teaching artists to use The Wartburg’s space in the evening as art studios, free of rent. In exchange, the artists were asked to teach classes to the older adult residents.

photo credit Dances for A Variable Population

Dancers dressed in vibrant red move across The High Line, an elevated historic rail line turned public park in Manhattan’s West Side, enticing passersby to stop and look at the beautiful performance. Half of the dancers seem to be young, fit, and professionally trained. The other half move more slowly, some dancing in place, and some sitting. In fact, they are all older adults.

Dance artist Naomi Goldberg Haas founded and directs Dances For A Variable Population (DVP), a dance company whose goal is to erase the borders between dancers and audience through its unique choreography and dance company, comprising adults 24 to 82 years of age.  Haas enjoys site-specific dance performances, which place the audience and dancers of all ages in the same space. She says, “[In these] new conceptions of shared space, we celebrate how dance can be a vehicle for wellness and expression for seniors, persons with disabilities, youth, and regular folk; how dance can change from an ‘under-exposed’ art form in a community to become an active tool for community participation, enthusiasm, and social interaction.”

photo credit Deeply Rooted Productions

Founded in 1995 by dancers Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater teaches and performs dance as creative expression and community and spiritual healing. Jeff calls it “world class art from a grassroots perspective.”

Working within an African American dance aesthetic, Deeply Rooted explores topics as varied as the Somali civil war and famine, the quest to live in the face of AIDS, and early-twentieth-century African American cultures. Jeff and Abbott’s choreography stresses both technical virtuosity and the deep exploration of character and community. As one dancer explains regarding Deeply Rooted’s Life, which deals with personal struggles to live with AIDS, “I know I’m telling experiences of things I see every day. Right outside these doors, there’s some things about this piece that are going on.”

photo credit Lifetime Arts

Founded in 2008, Lifetime Arts promotes arts programming designed to engage older adults. A nonprofit organization, Lifetime Arts is committed to developing innovative programs which support creative aging and lifelong learning. To that end, Lifetime Arts offers a variety of services and programs. The organization is a clearinghouse for best practices; provides technical assistance, information services, and professional development to the individuals and organizations serving older adults through the arts; and helps to develop policy to enhance the quality of arts programs for older adults throughout the country.

As a service organization, Lifetime Arts developed Creative Aging in Our Communities: The Public Libraries Project, a program which demonstrates the viability and value of instructional arts programs offered in public libraries as a way to build a broad base of support for creative aging programming. The Public Libraries Project showcases the library as a center for access and learning for older adults; an “age-neutral” public space, the library is an accessible hub for older adults who are reluctant to go to senior centers, and is swiftly becoming an ideal center for programs that interest seniors.

photo credit Massachusetts Cultural Council

The Elder Arts Initiative joined artists, government, and service providers to engage older adults in the artistic process. Participants in the Elder Arts Initiative learned interviewing skills and  techniques employed in the creative process, and had the opportunity to take part in a mentorship or pilot project of their own. Though considerable funding was curtailed in 2002, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) continues to support local arts programs in the state through grants.   

The Initiative began in 1996, when the Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation (an association of nursing homes), the Executive Office for Elder Affairs, and the State's Council on Aging held a series of meetings about older adults and the arts. The Cultural Council then launched the Initiative in 1997.

The National Endowment for the Arts provided funding for the Initiative through its Challenge America Program Initiative and "Artists and Communities: America Creates for the Millennium Program." For older adults, the benefits of the Initiative included social interaction,  an enhanced sense of purpose, a window for introspection, and improvement in physical health. In addition, the Initiative enabled older adults to communicate their wisdom and experience to younger generations.

photo credit Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha

Symbolized by a rose in full bloom and a rose bud, the Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha (IGO Omaha) joins older, experienced musicians with young musicians, using a love of music to bridge generation gaps. The Orchestra explains that, “The rose in full bloom signifies the lifetime of experience the older musicians bring to the group, while the rosebud represents the emerging talents of our younger artists.” This intergenerational program is a win-win for all involved; the young gain the opportunity to develop their skills, while older participants are able to play the music they love well past the age of retirement. Perhaps more significantly, both young and old find support and friendship as they pursue musical excellence.

With the goal of joining two distinct generations “through the universal language of music,” the IGO of Omaha was started by Chris Gillette, current project director of the Orchestra and the director of the Community Services Division of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA), and former co-worker Cora Lee Bell. The Orchestra was initially funded by a grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation, but has since been supported by numerous other grants, donations, memberships, fundraisers, and performance fees, and a sponsorship from ENOA. The Orchestra is run by an elected board of directors, which includes two younger and two older musicians.

photo credit Culture Bus

Culture Bus is at once a transportation service to arts and cultural events for older adults, and a unique treatment program for early-stage dementia patients. One of many adult day programs offered by CJE SeniorLife, in Chicago, Illinois, Culture Bus provides opportunities for socialization, creative expression, and intellectual stimulation designed to improve the quality of life and slow the effects of degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease for many older adults.

The Culture Bus emerged, in 2002, from an Alzheimer’s support group sponsored by Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center. Its participants were seeking more time together and opportunities for intellectual and social engagement. One member of the group suggested using a bus to enable everyone to go downtown together. The Northwestern staff immediately saw the value in this idea, and reached out to CJE, a local leader in adult-day programming, to discuss a partnership.

Housed in a stunning building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, ASU Gammage at Arizona State University, one of the largest university-based theaters in the world, has been broadening its audience for many years. Its outreach extends to both immigrant and older adult audiences. Widely recognized for its work in Phoenix, ASU Gammage’s commitment becomes evident in the role played by one of its staff members: Michael Reed, the senior director of Cultural Participation and Programming, is responsible for developing and overseeing an astonishing array of performances, including explorations of theater arts for all ages, and programs highlighting the arts of various cultures.

The commitment to accommodating older adults, for example, was demonstrated while The Phantom of the Opera was at the theater for a four-week run. To better suit the preferences of older adult audiences, some performances were scheduled as matinees. Reed also explains that the house staff is very experienced in working with older adults and those who are frail or have disabilities. The staff works with ARTability, an Arizona organization that promotes accessibility to the arts for those with disabilities. Before each season begins, the staff reviews issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), though Frank Lloyd Wright’s design, while handsome, has made retrofitting ASU Gammage to meet the requirements of the ADA, and other evolving audience needs, quite difficult.

photo credit Oak HammockAs the baby boomers reach retirement age, institutions across the United States will have to find creative solutions to accommodate their burgeoning numbers. Despite this growing need, a retirement community on a college campus might not seem to be a great idea. It’s not difficult to imagine late-night police calls from seniors who think midnight is entirely too late to be playing loud music, or are appalled by the undergraduates who trample the beloved garden of a 90-year old during their late night escapades. But Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, Inc. has created just such an unlikely pairing, a relationship in which university administration, students, senior residents, and other stakeholders have found a lot to like.  

photo credit Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes

Now a network of 117 higher education institutions spread across the country, Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) offer college-level courses designed to appeal to the interests and experience of older adults. OLLI programs are adapted to the needs and desires of the communities they serve, but they benefit from OLLI’s National Resource Center, which provides a network for sharing innovations in lifelong learning and also sponsors an annual conference. The institutions comprising OLLI range from top research universities to community colleges, and all provide unique programs.

Duke University’s is one of the most successful Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes in the country. The program began as the Duke Institute for Learning in Retirement, which was founded in 1977 as a joint venture between Duke Continuing Education and the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Duke became one of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes in 2004.