Arts and Community Development

Alan Kay; "Art and Community development: the role the arts have in regenerating communities;" Community Development Journal; Oxford University Press, 2000 (http://www.usc.edu/libraries date accessed March 26, 2013)

I want to come back to the subject of Art and community development.  In this case, the role the arts have in regenerating communities.  Often, the arts are considered part of the periphery of the community development process, a minor player in redevelopment areas.  Even in the face of increased globalization, communities are beginning to recognize their cultural identity through traditional art forms and the value of working collaborative.  In a paper authored by Alan Kay and  published by the Oxford University Press and Community Development Journal, based on a study that demonstrated the role the arts play in community regeneration and at the local level, they can be used as tool within a wider scope of community redevelopment.

In the twenty-first century the method of information exchange has greatly shrunk.  Pictures and stories of event occurring around the world are instantaneously beamed into computers, telephones, and televisions immediately.  In the digital information age, there is confusion over what the term "community" means and how we identify it and where we belong.  Hypothetically, a group of people in far flung places who share an interest in the heavy metal band Black Sabbath can call themselves a community, coming together via the social media sites.  Communities are now defined either on the global basis in terms of the information technology (i.e. sms) or on a local basis as areas where people live together in families or in other communal arrangements.  Alternatively, communities can be defined in terms of mutual interest like our hypothetical.

While globalization has led to the world's resources coming under the control of large multi-national corporations, fracturing local communities, there is a residual power in acting locally and giving voice to the powerless through community development.  Many local communities have their culture and history, adding to the quality of people's lives.  In economically and socially depressed areas, community development workers have examined the possible ways to enable the local population to engage, develop social and economic skills, and empower them to determine their own future.  One of these tools is participatory arts projects.  There is evidence to suggest that art, as a medium, can enable individuals and groups to gain job skills, be more involved, more confident and active in contributing to local community development.  People-centered development strategies are increasing in popularity and art at the local level can add to economic and social regeneration.  However, are the arts an effective way to achieve this aim and what is the real and perceived impact on a community?

As a case study, we can look at the study commissioned by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Arts Council by Blake Stevenson Limited to look into the role of the arts in regeneration.  The study included a literature review followed by an analysis of four very different case studies.  The findings from the case studies were used to comment on the role of the arts in redevelopment in terms of community consultation, involvement and ownership of the project, the measure and links between 'hard' and 'soft' impacts, the strategic use of the arts within wider regeneration politics, and how arts projects are evaluated.  The case studies reviewed the experience in Australia, Ireland, North America, and the United Kingdom.  While the examples do not provide knowledge based information on the role of the arts in community development.  They present evidence that indicates community arts projects are occurring simultaneously around the world helping people to develop skills while allowing them to express themselves through participation.  This type of community empowerment through the arts can mitigate some of the excesses of globalization.

The Australian Council commissioned a study in the long-term social, educational, artistic, and economic benefits coming from community-based arts projects funded by the Council.  The report revealed that arts projects have the potential to create a greater understanding of different cultures, more skill in community leadership and management, and a stronger sense of communal identification.  However, the report noted that there was evaluation mechanism for community cultural development that incorporated all the related outcomes which would inform real financial and economic impact of the projects.

In 1995, the Irish government's Department of Arts, Culture and Gaeltracht, decided to address poverty and area regeneration through the arts.  In evaluating the Arts Awareness Intervention, it was revealed that the participants in arts projects experienced 'a dramatic shift in attitude and appetite for arts education and training.'  See there is something you can do with that arts degree.  Arts projects had an impact on self-expression, communication, feeling good, working hard, pride in the making, having fun, and feeling part of the team as well income generation.  See I told you so, Art pays, just not in the United States.  Segueing into this, in America there is a move to counter the elitist image of the arts and emphasize the need to encourage decision-makers and people to recognize the role the arts in the greater society.  So, it sounds like the arts elite dismiss the art of immigrant and indigenous populations in favor of those with more name recognition.  I could into this whole thing about social capital but we'll set that aside for now.

In the United Kingdom, important work in Glasgow, Scotland focused on the economic importance of the arts.  This study was part of a national program which concluded that investment in the arts can influence the redevelopment of an areas by creating opportunities for training, establishing jobs, attracting arts-related spending power, increasing the attractiveness of an area for business and consumers, and encouraging facilities for commercial and non-arts uses.  Sounds to me that these studies are on to a unique form of community redevelopment.  Move the arts out of museums, galleries, studios, and auditoria and into the communities, invest in training and facilities, and watch positive results happen.  This is something that American community development organizations could implement.  Of course, in the United States we tend to see the arts not only as elitist but also peripheral.  Back to my point

Since the publication of The Economic Importance of the Arts in Glasgow (1988), there have been a number of studies highlighting the social impact of cultural and art-based projects,  mainly through Comedia in the UK, a now loosely structured organization begun by Charles Landry.  There is a recognition that those involved in urban renewal and regeneration programs are becoming increasingly aware of the human potential of a community, and how the arts can be used as an instrument to trigger individual and community development.  Use or Ornament? (1997) highlighted the social benefits of arts-centric development.  The author discovered that group and individual participation in the arts can improve self-confidence and self-identity and the social interaction that grows from active involvement in arts programs can greatly add to the social development within a community.  This was found to be particularly true when the marginalized and disadvantaged are encouraged to participate.  Interesting, there is a question mark in the title, I wonder why.  Is it implying the value of arts-based community development within communities.  From the findings it sounds like there is some merit but the conclusion doesn't seem to discuss the long term benefit.

In a subsequent study discussing the social impact of Belfast, Northern Ireland's cultural activity, the report indicated that community arts projects can impact positively on the personal development and community regeneration.  In Portsmouth, England local arts development was evaluated in terms of social impact recommending that the arts should be integrated into other services and more attention should be given to the benefits of arts project in the regeneration process.  So far, all these studies are saying the same thing.  Arts-based community redevelopment projects are good for the people and their communities.  I wonder what specific type of art are we talking about?  In Comedia in the UK, it's about using stand-up comedy to regenerate a community.  What about places like Belfast and Portsmouth?  What type of programs are we talking about here?  Performing or studio arts programs?  In 1999 an arts project in the field of economic deprivation in Plymouth, England was assessed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, allowing for anecdotal evidence, then comprehensively evaluating the project.  The conclusions revealed some difficulties the process and techniques used in the evaluation of arts projects.

A booklet published by the Scotland Arts Council in 1999 found that art does play an important part in empowering communities, providing jobs, skill and training, regenerating urban and rural areas, and the promotion of health and well-being. (Scottish Arts Council, 1999).  The main conclusion that emerged from these reports were:

1) the arts 'have a serious contribution in addressing contemporary challenges since they create social benefits integral to participation." (Matarasso, 1997)
2) arts projects would benefit from having clear, agreed upon, explicit, and understandable objectives that they can be evaluated against (Popple and Scott, 1999) and that  evaluation methods should be simple, integrated into the projects with clear objectives, requiring partnerships between agencies and on-going commitment. (Matarasso, 1998a)
3) community arts enhance and improves the effectiveness of community development projects and not mutually exclusive (Cullen, date unknown)
4) there is much evidence to suggest that productivity and revenue are increased as a result of greater attention given to the way people work together, build their relationships, and create a stake in their futures. (Williams, 1997)
5) arts activities were viewed as a tool in which people could exert greater control over their lives by exploring and expressing social issues of relevance to individuals and communities. (Bowles, 1989)

Fieldwork was conducted in Scotland in order to test and expand on the findings listed above.  Four very different arts projects were identified and subjected to detailed examination.  Initially, over thirty projects in Scotland were contacted and information was gathered on their relevancy to the aims of the study.  Four were chosen using a criteria which included availability of sufficient data and information on funding, the duration of the project, the geographical and sectoral spread of the project.  They were choses to reflect the range of projects and given insight into the community arts sector in Scotland.  The four projects that took part were:

1) a long established arts project in a peripheral housing estate in Central Scotland.  The project enjoyed widespread support, social and economic goals, initiates, funds, guides, developed a range of projects in drama. video production. music, visual arts and literature;
2) an arts program focusing on providing training for young people on a peripheral housing development, carried out in conjunction with community groups.  This concentrated on training and employment while at the same time generating community arts for local people;
3) traditional music and dance summer school in the Gaelic speaking areas in the Western Isles of Scotland.  The goal of this program was to culturally regenerated a socially and economically depressed rural areas through significant arts activity for one week in the summer;
4) a city wide arts partnership implementing an arts strategy integral to local authority's  overall aim of urban redevelopment.  The strategy was not only about community development in disadvantaged areas but also about capital intensive projects in the city center.

In assessing each of the case studies, several social audit methods were used in order be multi-perspective, reflecting the wide variety of stakeholders; comprehensive, covering all the main activities of the programs; and comparative, which would allow for comparison over time between similar projects.

Each of the programs was profiled and quantitative data was complied on each which contributed to the general evaluation.  Additionally, each program identified their stakeholders and they were consulted through a questionnaire or interviewed.  The consultation covered areas of community involvement in decision-making, ownership, level of participation, social and economic impact, policy and integration with other projects, and issues.  The main stakeholder groups consulted differed slightly between the case studies but typically included funders, management committee, beneficiaries, partner organizations, staff, trainees, and the wider community.  Key issues were identified and synthesized into a report which included the primary findings of the study, highlighting good practices and made a number of policy recommendations with regard to the future support of community arts projects.

The main findings that emerged from the fieldwork were considered in terms of the importance of community consultation, involvement and ownership; the measurement of the links between 'hard' and 'soft' impacts; the use of the arts within regeneration policies; and methods used for evaluation.

Importance of community consultation, involvement and ownership-in arts programs, community consultation is importance because it solicits the opinions of members of the community in terms of needs and interest.  If there isn't a need or interest within the community then it is unlikely that there will be a sufficient number of people involved to make an arts programs an effective vehicle for change.  It also encourages partnership between the arts project and local community who can influence the development of the program.  Also, community involvement is essential in arts-based programs because they tend to focus on personal development and attitudinal change within communities.  Since they are people-centered in their approach, thus change will happen only if there is active involvement by members of the community.  Community ownership is ultimately important within arts programs working in regeneration because it facilitates local control.  If we can accept that the arts can be part of the redevelopment process they they can be a powerful tool for empowerment.  Local communities feel sufficiently empowered to take control of arts programs and guide their development for the benefit of the wider population which can strengthen the capacity for the community.  Skills are developed, responsibility is taken and through the arts local culture can be changed.

Measurement and links between 'hard' and 'soft' impacts-the 'hard' information was used to justify arts activities and included in reports to funders.  The 'soft' data is valued by arts practitioners but not used in a systemic way.  If policymakers and funders gave more value to the 'softer' data then arts programs would more confident to publicize it.  There was evidence in all four examples to demonstrate links in both directions between 'hard' and 'soft' measurements.  Increased confidence and well being enables individuals to apply for work; and people in employment will feel that can contribute to their community through active citizenship.  Arts projects should collect, analyze, and present their data on a regular basis.  It could categorized to the original social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives of the program in order to a holistic evaluation of the project.  The presentation of the whole story of the organization could be independently verified who will attest to the accuracy of the self-evaluation and its reflection of the programs achievements.  This holistic evaluation can be used by the program in publicity and changing policy.

Strategic use of the arts within wider regeneration policies-it is important that arts projects be an integral part of an overall redevelopment policy otherwise they remain on the periphery of the development process.  During the study, it was frequently suggested by stakeholders that some community developers were leery of arts projects, thinking that they're a less serious addition to an overall program.  Thus it's vital that arts projects demonstrate why, how, and to what degree they are an effective tool for redevelopment.  Honest, accurate, integrated self-evaluation is the key to this.  Once the belief that arts have a crucial role to play in community development, then there are a number of elements that have to be looked in order to embed them into a policy-led framework.  This can be accomplished by integrating arts programs with existing local heritage or culture to concentrate on creating product-final product and process-at the same time making it accessible to as many people as possible while at the same time targeting excluded groups such as the young, elderly, unemployed, and disable.  Arts projects have to operate at different levels.  There should be a national arts strategy, which establishes a nation-wide framework.  At the regional and local level, it should be adapted to the specific situation and build on an already existing structure.  It is also important that an arts-based strategy fit into long-term plans for the area and not exist as a separate document to the wider regional strategy.  Further, a local arts-based program should fit into local development plans so that duplication can be avoided and the creative community can be used in many elements and local economic development.

Arts Projects and Evaluations

The evaluation of arts programs is critical and there are a number crucial considerations:

1) questionnaires-not popular are often not completed by the participants.  Other methods of consultation need to be developed.
2) evaluations should not be entirely dependent on outside evaluators.  Instead they could be done through self-assessment subject to verification by outside 'social auditors.'
3) every project is different.  Each project has its own set of objective and values.  A possible method of evaluation would assess the performance of each based on its merits.
4) evaluations should consider the main views of the stakeholder groups.  The benefits are that a range of views are gathered and enables the project to be receptive, and change in response to those views.
5) an effective evaluation methodology has to account for quantitative outputs and tangible outcomes.  Recordation has to be simple, relevant and be seen as relevant by staff and volunteers; one that relates directly back to the overall objectives of the project.

Based on the evidence from the case studies, the evaluations systems used are only effective and appropriate to a degree.  Generally, they are not entirely useful because they relate to funders' criteria not to the original objectives of the projects.  Also, the collected information was not always analyzed and presented as a complete picture of the project and how it performed.  Additionally, the evaluation methods were not fully comprehensive, since they did not take into account the opinions of the main stakeholders.  Evaluation methods are crucial for demonstrating the efficacy of a projects.  Thus it is vital for all the stakeholders to know if a project is worth the effort.  If it does not perform well against its objective then it should be changed.  If it does function well, then its success should be advertised.

Understanding the role of arts in regeneration

In order to fully understand the role the arts have in community development, it is necessary to the meanings of these terms.  "Arts" is a confusing and very broad term that means different things to different people.  It can refer to 'fine arts' or 'high arts,' exposure to which can refine the sensibilities of the local population.  I would even posit that the terms 'fine or high arts' have a broad and diffuse meaning.  Even though Alan Kay of this article from which I'm basing this blog attempts to give a quick summary, he still cannot really pinpoint a definition.  Suffice it to say that art can be expression of creativity and skill.  Question, why was this not presented at the beginning of the article?  Similarly, the word 'regeneration' has a range of meanings which have been broken down into four aspects:

1) Economic: regeneration through the creation of employment, reducing unemployment, bring revenue to the area through investment and employment, and providing outlets to spend money in the area and invigorate the local economy
2) Social: encouraging social connections through facilities, organizations, and clubs that can enhance the quality of life through human contact between individuals, families, and sections of society.
3) Environmental: improvements in the surrounding areas and buildings to improve the quality of life
4) Cultural: this word is used often in regeneration policy but not discussed in depth.  It has to do with how people collectively see themselves.  It is about the image and the self-image of an area, its heritage, history, traditions, and skills within a society.

The arts hinge on all of the above.  Active involvement in the development of arts projects can have an effect on all for and can assist in the redevelopment of an area.  However, the real question is the degree of influence the art can have on the overall process.  The arts can have a pivotal role in the regeneration of areas of social exclusion.  The research established that arts programs can:

1) be versatile, flexible, and wide ranging in the activities they offer
2) used for training and employment
3) be attractive to young people
4) be good in encouraging investment
5) be used for the development of communities through active citizen participation and increased involve ment in other community-based projects

In terms of individual regeneration, the arts can:

1) increase personal development by helping their confidence, skills, and motivation
2) assist in social development-participants can make new friends and become interested in new topics
3) improve the local image with people feeling more positive about where they live
4) help participants feel better and healthier from their involvement in the arts

The arts can have a significant role in changing the culture of an area.  The culture in areas of the disadvantaged are often complex but in the same way that schools and companies operate.  Peripheral housing developments often have a prevailing culture typified by unemployment, negative peer pressure, despair, disillusion, and overall negativity.  There is often a "ghettoization" of poverty and economic disenfranchisement that has left people and their with fewer choices.  Therefore it is possible that the arts and cultural activity can change the culture of an area and make it a more creative and vibrant place for all.

The arts cannot operate independently in the regeneration for a declining area.  They have to work together with a wider program of community development in a holistic approach to a people-centered development, one of the challenges facing the arts and community development specialists.  Finally, the realization of the how the arts function within regeneration may require an attitudinal changes among local people, development specialists and those working within the arts.

Conclusion

The arts have an important function in the regeneration of socially and economically depressed.  They can encourage job skills training and employment, support volunteers and participants in personal development, improve the image of an area, social cohesion and active citizenship, local recognition of cultural identity, enhancement of the quality of life and collective creativity.  This significance should be recognized and valued by policy makers and practitioners of community development.  This recognition is achieved through appropriate and relevant evaluation.  Arts programs are only effective when the community takes ownership of it.  If they are viewed as a tool of empowerment, they can have a dramatice effect on regeneration.  As globalization continues to increase, affecting personal and professional lives, the quality of life where we live will become increasingly important as members of the community.  Collective artistic expression by communities can assist local people in asserting and empowering themselves thereby countering the negative aspects of globalization.  Through the arts we can promote a vision of community development based on tolerance and dignity; one based on need and creative inter-dependence.

More to follow

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