Background on Animating Democracy
In 1996, the Ford Foundation awarded a grant to Americans for the Arts to profile a representative selection of artists
and arts and cultural organizations whose work, through its aesthetics and processes, engaged the public in dialogue on
key issues. This study's resulting report published in 1999, Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in
Civic Dialogue, mapped activity of the last couple decades of the twentieth century, identified issues and trends, and
suggested opportunities for leaders in the field, policy makers, and funders to work together to strengthen activity in
this arena. The study revealed pivotal and innovating roles that the arts can play in the renewal of civic dialogue as
well as challenges faced by artists and arts and cultural organizations. From 1996 to 2022, under the direction of Pam
Korza and Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Animating Democracy conducted national research, documented and supported a wide range
of artists and cultural organizations doing compelling civic engagement work, developed seminal field resources and
publications, delivered training for capacity building and influenced policy and funding support for arts for change work.
Working at the nexus of practice and theory, core Animating Democracy activity has included:
- -Action-based research and knowledge building through the Animating Democracy Lab grantmaking and field exchange and
other projects;
- -Professional development for artists, cultural and community organizations via
workshops and publications such as the Arts & Civic Engagement Tool Kit;
- -Web-based information resources;
- -Strategic partnerships with other agencies and sectors concerned with civic engagement, community development and
social change;
- -Consultation with practitioners, funders, and policy makers in areas related to design, implementation, funding, and
evaluation of arts and civic engagement and social change work.
Pam Korza co-directed Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that
inspires, informs, promotes, and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to
community, civic, and social change. She is a co-author and editor of Aesthetic
Perspectives: Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change. She co-wrote Civic Dialogue,
Arts & Culture, and the Arts & Civic Engagement Tool Kit
and co-edited Critical
Perspectives: Writings on Art & Civic Dialogue, as well as the five-book
Case Studies from Animating Democracy. Pam
is co-chair of the Assessing Practices in Public Scholarship research group for Imagining America (IA), a consortium of
colleges and universities that advances public scholarship in the humanities, arts, and design and was a two-term member of
IA’s National Advisory Board. She began her career with the Arts Extension Service (AES)/UMass where she coordinated the
National Public Art Policy Project and co-wrote and edited Going Public: A field guide to developments in art in public places.
She also directed the New England Film & Video Festival.
Barbara Schaffer Bacon’s career launched in 1977 at the UMASS Arts Extension Service, a national leader in professional
education for local arts managers, artists and civic leaders. Barbara served as director from 1984-90. She led
Fundamentals
and Advanced Local Arts Management seminars and contributed to
the Fundamentals of Local Arts Management text book and
The Cultural Planning Work Kit. In 1996 with Pam Korza, Barbara took a lead role to conduct research for and shape
Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts. Animating Democracy shone an early and bright national light
on arts and civic dialogue, built knowledge about quality practice, and created useful resources including
Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force for Civic
Dialogue;Civic
Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy; Continuum Of Arts
Impact: A Guide for Defining Social & Civic Outcomes &
Indicators; Aesthetic
Perspectives: Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change; and Trend or Tipping Point:
Arts & Social Change Grantmaking. In 2022 Barbara stepped back from Animating Democracy leadership.
She currently serves as a program consultant for the Barr Foundation Creative Commonwealth Initiative. Barbara recently
completed more than 10 years of service as a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. A Belchertown, MA resident,
she served on the Belchertown School Committee for 14 years. In 2018, Barbara received the Robert E. Gard Foundation Leadership
Award.
Scope of collection
The records of Animating Democracy include subject files, print publications, photographs and videos,
which provide insight into the development of the initiative, its programs and impacts, its underpinning values,
and collaborative and inclusive ways of working to achieve its goals of arts for community, civic, and social change.
Several programs of Animating Democracy are documented in the collection, including the
Animating Democracy Lab. In 1999, Americans for the Arts launched the four-year
Animating Democracy Initiative to foster artistic activity that encourages civic dialogue on important contemporary issues.
With The Ford Foundation’s initial investment, Animating Democracy’s core activities included an informational web site,
publications, field convenings, and the Lab. At the center of the Initiative, the Animating Democracy Lab provided grants
and advisory support to 36 cultural organizations across the country to implement projects that experimented with or deepened
existing approaches to arts- and humanities-based civic dialogue. Investigation through these diverse projects, individually
and collectively, aimed to advance field learning about the philosophical, practical, and social dimensions of this work.
As part of the Lab design, project leaders came together in Learning Exchanges to share and build knowledge and extend
their learning to the broader field.
Another program represented within the records is the National Exchange on Art &
Civic Dialogue, which was brought to fruition October 9-12, 2003 in Flint, Michigan.
Animating Democracy, has always seen its place as part of a continuum of work, a rich history, and simultaneously
learning from as well as contributing to both arts and civic discourse. So this conference intended to look forward
as well as back at the work of its first four years. Many pioneering artists, cultural leaders, activists, and, dialogue
professionals joined us to share the roots of this work as well as their current work.
Over 20 years, Animating Democracy published numerous reports, papers, case studies, and
blogs exploring aspects of arts for change work. In 1996, the Ford Foundation awarded a
grant to Americans for the Arts to study current activity and best practices among
artists and cultural organizations whose work engages the public in dialogue on key civic issues. This resulting report,
Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force in Civic Dialogue, maps the current field, identifies issues and trends,
and suggests opportunities for arts entities, policymakers, and funders to work together to strengthen the evolving activity in
this sometimes-volatile arena. The study reinforces the key and creative roles that the arts can play in the renewal of civic
dialogue as well as challenges arts and cultural organizations face as they engage in this work. Papers, research reports,
essays and articles written and commissioned by Animating Democracy explore philosophical, practical, and aesthetic dimensions
of civically engaged arts and humanities work and arts for social change. Case studies provide in-depth portraits and analyses
of arts and civic engagement and dialogue projects, supported by Animating Democracy’s first phase of research through the
Animating Democracy LAB, as well as its Arts & Civic Engagement Impact Initiative. They offer detailed description of the civic
issue addressed by the project, civic and cultural context, project goals, design, arts/humanities components, and artistic and
engagement methodologies. Case studies also offer analysis of impact and extrapolate lessons learned and issues raised about the
principles, practices, and philosophical underpinnings of arts- and humanities-based engagement work.
Animating Democracy created several Tool Kits, including The Arts and Civic Engagement
Tool Kit, Continuum of IMPACT Guide, and Aesthetic Perspectives. The Arts and Civic Engagement Tool Kit features customizable
worksheets containing thoughtful questions, clarifying sidebars, and examples to help users plan, design, and partner to create
meaningful engagement activities. Continuum of IMPACT Guide defines six families of social and civic outcomes that arts practitioners
and their partners commonly aspire to and achieve through creative work. These outcome families, along with related indicators,
articulate ways the arts contribute to making change happen. Aesthetic Perspectives framework enhances understanding and evaluation
of creative work at the intersection of arts and civic engagement, community development, and justice.
11 artistic attributes address the potency of creative expression to embody and motivate change. Aesthetic Perspectives aims to inform
and inspire reflection, dialogue, and rich description in use by artists, funders, evaluators, educators, critics, presenters,
programmers, curators, and audiences.
Animating Democracy’s seven books, published in 2005, examined the role of artists and cultural institutions as catalysts,
conveners, and initiators of civic dialogue and engagement efforts around important civic issues. They highlight principles,
quality practices, and outcomes from projects implemented by 36 cultural organizations that participated in Animating Democracy
from 2000 to 2004, as well as challenges and complexities in this work. The books offer valuable insights gleaned from the work
and voices of pioneering artists, innovative cultural leaders, and committed civic partners.
