COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP |
| |
Collaboration is the core of art-based places. Before there is funding, there are volunteers. Participation and partnership with communities is the genesis of successful art-based places. Project Row Houses fixed their first house with neighborhood volunteers, NJPAC engaged school children to paint murals around their construction site; the first Village park was an informal summer project engaging local kids. |
| |
As organizations develop, these collaborations endure, and the importance of strategic partnerships grows. Gallery 37 was created initially by the city of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, but in order to assure its survival, support had to be broadened to include both the corporate and philanthropic sectors. Although city support continues, city budgets and administrations will vary, and long-term sustainability requires the ongoing participation of all three sectors. |
| |
Nearly every city department from aviation to buildings, general services to sewers, transportation to water had a role in the creation of gallery 37, and our partnerships continue to this day.
Lois Weisberg, Chicago Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Forum, November ‘03 |
| |
Even the most successful large-scale arts projects are strategic in forming partnerships to continue their mission. NJPAC began as a state-funded project, but as its mission and vision grew, private philanthropy became central to its existence. Even with generous continued support from both the public and private sectors, NJPAC continues aggressive fund raising efforts to ensure adequate operating expenses for its future. |
| |
Village of Arts and Humanities began with a small grant from the National Endowment from the Arts, but has been creative in securing funding from the other public entities such as the state art commission, as well as a wide range of foundations and individuals. Similarly, Project Row Houses works with corporations and foundations as well as individuals and major museums to continue its programming and to expand it. |
| |
Participants at all of the forums recognized that because art is often among the first programs to be cut from public budgets, art-based placemakers have to be incredibly creative in searching for diverse sources of funding for their projects. All agreed that it is essential for those involved in the arts to work to establish their voices and presence at the decision-making tables at the policy level, in order to support work in this area and reduce the often desperate search for funding that occupies so much of the agenda of creative places. |
| |
OTHER TOPICS:
Art is Essential
Impacts
Measuring the Impacts
Sense of Place
Race and Diversity
Collaboration Helps
Seizing Opportunity
Art and Education
Challenges of Success
Leadership and Transition
Adapting the Models |
