Institutions such as museums, performing arts companies, cultural centers, parks, libraries, and other community based-organizations are uniquely positioned to support a sense of civic engagement in their community due to the fact that they are apolitical. This free workshop will focus on opportunities where your arts, culture, and recreational programming can be utilized as an intentional access point for civic discourse. Participants will be introduced to the broad scope of participatory civic engagement activities to help remain relevant to the communities you serve. These low-lift best practices will help you introduce civic engagement principles into your existing community programming with placemaking as a starting point for gathering community perspectives. Find an entry point for engaging in the creative reimagining of public spaces for community gatherings and conversations, reinforcing the value that public spaces have in making residents feel included.
Workshop attendees will:
- Understand the spectrum of activities that comprise civic engagement
- Acquire basic starting points for placemaking
- Review case studies and learn best practices for using arts & culture as a catalyst for civic engagement
- Walk away with resources to implement placemaking into your programming
Intended Audience: Directors, managers, and programmers at community- or civic-based organizations, libraries, parks, recreational facilities, cultural or performing arts centers, and museums.