--=====================_826528003==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Marnie--here are 2 documents we use constantly. Good luck!
Julia Moore
Indianapolis Art Center
--=====================_826528003==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="MULTICUL.ASC"
INDIANAPOLIS ART CENTER
POSITION PAPER on MULTICULTURALISM
PHILOSOPHY
Because the Mission of the Indianapolis Art Center is "to engage, enlighten and
enhance
our communities through art education, participation and observation," we feel a
responsibility to recognize and celebrate the diversity of the local and global
communities
through programs designed to strengthen and stimulate the visual arts, while int
egrating
the performing and literary arts.
RATIONALE
The need for expanded programming and facilities of the Indianapolis Art Center
has
been made apparent by the dramatic increase in attendance at our ongoing activit
ies and
the increasing multicultural population of Indiana. Data from the 1990 census in
dicate
that while the White population has grown by only .3% in the last decade, the st
ate's
African-American population increased by 4.2%, with the Hispanic-American popula
tion
growing by 13.5%. The Center's Riverfront programming has seen participation by
audiences that include up to 50% people of color, while our outreach program in
the
public housing centers is comprised 98% of youth of color. In addition, an estim
ated 7%
to 10% of Indiana's population has some sort of disability. It is anticipated t
hat these
numbers will continue to grow, and the Center is compelled to provide the servic
es and
programming to "reach out a hand" to these audiences and encourage deeper and wi
der
participation in the arts.
We believe that the Arts are necessary for a more human society. Our Education a
nd
Exhibition Philosophies charge the Center with offering the widest possible scop
e of
programming to the citizens of Indiana, regardless of skill, socio-economic leve
l or ethnic
heritage. It is inherent in the nature of a grass-roots organization such as the
Center to
reach out to the widest possible audience. In response to community requests and
in
harmony with the Center's strategy to serve new and lesser-served audiences, the
Indianapolis Art Center continues to reach out with new family-oriented programs
that
attract these audiences. This outreach extends across all aspects of the Center'
s role:
Education, Exhibitions, Interarts and as an arts Resource Center.
HISTORY & FUTURE PLANNING
Governance:
The Indianapolis Art Center has already taken strides toward addressing the need
s of
those who have been lesser served. This includes our governance, which has a min
ority
representation of board members 7%, staff 11%, faculty 6%, and National Advisory
Committee 11%.
Exhibitions:
Since 1983, more than half of all exhibitions presented by the Center have inclu
ded two
or more minority artists. In addition, the 1986-7 exhibit "Unlimited Visions" an
d the 1991
exhibit "Art Spirit Sings!" were focused especially for disabled artists or audi
ence. In both
1983 and 1987, the Center sponsored art and artist exchanges with Brazil. In the
future,
plans call for exhibits of artists from the Baltic states, Africa and Brazil, as
well as special
events highlighting the work of multicultural visual and performing artists. Our
annual
Broad Ripple Art Fair currently provides exposure for local, regional and nation
al artists.
An estimated 10% - 15% of all artist participating in the 1991 Fair were multicu
ltural,
and numerous local cultural groups serving the Indianapolis multicultural commun
ity also
participated.
Education:
Our Education programs employ multicultural faculty and staff, and classes are o
pen to
all multicultural and special needs students. The Community ArtReach program bro
ught
the visual arts to 80 economically-deprived Indianapolis children in the last ye
ar, and that
program is expected to quadruple in attendance by the 1993 fiscal year.
Resource Center:
The Art Center's Resource Center includes lists of multicultural artists and vid
eotapes on
contemporary African-American artists. It also provides information and assistan
ce to
artists from all segments of our community.
Interarts/Riverfront:
More than 6,800 individuals were reached by our Interarts/Riverfront programs in
the
last year -- as many as 1,000 were people of color. Events have included festiva
ls of
Reggae, Blues and Caribbean music, as well as the annual film series and a Story
teller's
Festival. The annual Broad Ripple Art Fair presented the African-American
performance group Freetown Village as a highlight of the event's Riverfront acti
vities. As
many as 75% of all artists participating in our Riverfront events are multicultu
ral. In the
future, the Art Center plans to work even more closely with outside multicultura
l
organizations in developing interarts events and interchanges.
Marketing/Focus Groups:
A community marketing strategy has been developed to better bring the programs a
nd
services the Center offers to a multicultural audience. Keys to this strategy ar
e
consistency, visibility and liaisons, and the plan calls for developing closer t
ies with both
print and electronic media outlets as well as civic organizations used most ofte
n by the
area's multicultural audience.
COURSE OF ACTION - SUMMARY AND TIMELINE
*Form an overview committee to enhance our ability to reach resources in the
community and continue to ensure minority representation among our governance
(board, advisors, faculty, staff and artists)
By March 1992
*Increase our efforts to alert and inform audiences lesser served, those harder
to reach,
and those economically, culturally or physically deprived, through new instrumen
ts and
avenues of the media, focus groups and resources
Ongoing --timeline outlined in marketing strategy
*Increase specific programming designed to appropriately highlight and support,
with
sensitivity, the unique cultural values of our local and global communities
Set initiatives by April 1992
*Track the effectiveness of these efforts through improved data collection and
comprehensive evaluations.
Ongoing -- as activities occur
--=====================_826528003==_
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="LESSER.ASC"
Indianapolis Art Center
Position Paper on Under-Served Audiences
"Diversity, generally understood and embraced, is not casual liberal tolerance o
f anything and everything
not yourself. It is not polite accommodation. Instead, diversity is, in action
, the sometimes painful
awareness that other people, other races, other voices, other habits of mind, ha
ve as much integrity of
being, as much claim on the world as you do....And I urge you, amid all the diff
erences present to the
eye and mind, to reach out to create the bond that...will protect us all. We ar
e meant to be here
together."
- William M. Chase, "The Language of Action"
Philosophy
The Indianapolis Art Center's mission continues to be to engage, enlighten and e
nhance our communities
through art education, participation and observation." Inherent in that mission
statement is the
philosophy that communities are all-inclusive; that is, that our community is ma
de up not just of those
who utilize our services, programs or facilities, but those who potentially coul
d, regardless of race,
gender, socio-economic status, rural or urban location, disability/ability, life
style, or even level of
knowledge.
Rationale
It is inherent in the nature of a grass-roots organization such as the Indianapo
lis Art Center to reach out
to the widest possible audience. The Art Center seeks to look beyond those audi
ences often lumped
together under the vague term of "minority." Overlooked in this concept is that
each individual is, in
fact, a minority of one. Each of us has his or hr own talents, interests and ci
rcumstances. The idea of
diversity must extend beyond race and must recognize both that which is unique a
nd that which is
similar. To understand that differences do not necessarily preclude similaritie
s is to understand
diversity. In the case of the Art Center, we must realize that having a differe
nt lifestyle, cultural
background or method of learning will not and must not preclude one from a desir
e to appreciate and
participate in the process of creativity.
The challenge facing the Art Center is to identify those audiences and individua
ls who, because of their
presence outside of the normal art "mainstream," have previously been under-serv
ed, and then to
develop programs that will attract and serve those audiences. In Indianapolis,
approximately 24% of the
population classifies itself as having an ethnic origin other than white, and ap
proximately 15% have
some sort of physical and/or mental disability. The counties surrounding Marion
anticipate a combined
population increase of 46% in the next five years and 73% in the next 15 years (
statistics from
Indianapolis Business Journal).
History
The 1991 "Position Paper on Multiculturalism" presented much of the Art Center's
historical efforts to
reach out to a culturally and racially diverse audience. Starting with governan
ce and moving outward
through all program areas, the Art Center has made a concerted effort to increas
e the percentage of its
audience which could be considered multicultural. In fact, since the publicatio
n of that position paper,
total annual "multicultural" audience members have increased from 1,609 in 1991
to 23,710 for the year
ending in mid-1994. That represents a total increase of 1300% over three years.
This is due to the
success of programs such as ArtReach classes in the inner-city housing communiti
es, Riverfront
programming, the annual Children of Colors art festival by and for youth, and a
n increased diverse
cultural representation in exhibitions such as Baltic/Midwest, Brazil/America, F
etish and Shaman and
Stephen Marc.
A program called Creative Connections:Art and Disabilities designed to identify
and address the needs of
people with disabilities has helped to increase the number of people with disabi
lities who are served by
Art Center programs, although there is still room for improvement. In 1994, few
er than 1% of the Art
Center's students enrolled in on-site programs had some sort of disability of wh
ich we are aware.
Efforts to improve in this area include scholarships for children with disabilit
ies under a fund established
by an anonymous donor and collaborative classes with groups such as the Indiana
Blind School and the
Indiana Parents Information network. Forty-three youth at various levels of dis
ability are currently
enrolled in classes weekly.
Utilizing this success as a foundation, and building upon the ideas set out in t
he "Position Paper on
Multiculturalism," the Art Center must now focus on reaching new audiences (whi
le continuing efforts
to reach a multicultural audience). This effort will be integrated in all parts
of our organization:
Governance - or Board and Advisors
Staff
Faculty
Volunteers
Program Departments - Education, Exhibitions, Outreach and Community Resource
One recent example of this effort to move forward is sensitivity and awareness t
raining in disabilities for
the Art Center staff.
Planning
In planning goals and actions for reaching new audiences, it is imperative that
two thoughts be kept in
mind. First, that defining the needs of new audiences should come not from abov
e, but rather intiated
from within. While it is admittedly important to be proactive rather that react
ive, programs must not
represent values and needs imposed upon an audience. The needs of audience memb
ers must be kept
foremost in the development of new programs, although the programs must not clas
h with the values of
the organization.
Secondly, it is important for all to remember that people must be treated as ind
ividuals. A member of a
particular race, economic class or other background will not speak for all other
members of that group.
The staff and leadership of the Indianapolis Art Center is currently in the proc
ess of developing short
and long-range goals for achieving the ideals set out in this paper. A new Long
-Range Strategic Plan
will address the needs of under-served audiences in all areas of programming and
operations. In
addition, the new Art Center facility is planned for accessibility and a sense a
"welcoming." As our
new building does in its design, the Indianapolis Art Center will do in its prog
ramming and policy
reach out and "embrace" all our communities.
Goal - To increase participation of these "Lesser-Served" Audiences
City demographic Goal 1990 level 1995 level 2000 level
15% Arts & Disabilities increase 1% 8% 10%
24% African-American/Hispanic/Asian participation
Blue Collar/Rural audience (new to art)
White Collar audience (new to art)
Youth at Risk
--=====================_826528003==_--
|
