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For full story and images, click on ICCD complete
Minneapolis, MN
Sponsored by Intermedia Arts and Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
2002-2004
The Project
The Institute for Community Cultural Development (ICCD) is a professional development initiative for people who work at the crossroads between art and community development.
- About ICCD Faculty
- The ICCD Core Faculty team consists of Bill Cleveland, director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community and author of Art in Other Places; Erik Takeshita, Senior Policy Aide for the Mayor of Minneapolis; and myself.
- In addition to the core faculty, national and regional leaders in the field of community cultural development are brought in to provide additional resources to the fellows.
- About ICCD Fellows
- The ICCD fellows are a select group of seven community-engaged artists and seven community development professionals with significant experience working in areas such as community organizing, community development, and urban planning.
- About ICCD Curriculum
- The curriculum outline below is a framework for the journey of ICCD, which parallels the journey of the work itself, from preparation through evaluation.
- The ICCD Core Faculty team consists of Bill Cleveland, director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community and author of Art in Other Places; Erik Takeshita, Senior Policy Aide for the Mayor of Minneapolis; and myself.
| Session # 1 | Community & Cultural Development: Getting to Know the Field and Ourselves |
| Session # 2 | Setting the Table: What do artists, arts organizations, and community partners need to know before entering into collaborations? |
| Session # 3 | Environment: Recognizing Rank and Privilege |
| Session # 4 | Diversity of Learning Styles, Conflict Resolution & Motivating Others |
| Session # 5 | Authentic and Appropriate Partnerships: Organizing and Advocacy |
| Session # 6 | Authentic and Appropriate Partnerships: Partnership Strategies |
| Session #7 | Sustainability: Clarity and Purpose- Articulating Your Message |
| Session #8 | Evaluation and Public Relations |
| Session #9 | Open Space Technology: Taking Stock of the Journey |
| Session # 10 | Open Space Technology and Graduation |
The Inquiry
How do arts and community development contribute to capable and caring communities?
Challenges
Although the actual practice of bringing communities together with art is ancient, the field of Community Cultural Development is still emerging. As with any emerging profession there are fewer national organizations, journals or convening events than in more established fields. An ongoing challenge of ICCD is to define (and re-define) exactly what we are talking about when we combine the words community and culture and development. Stories have been an essential instrument to ground our conversation in real life practice.
Another challenge has been designing a program that addresses the broad spectrum of learning styles among ICCD fellows. We frequently shift modalities (writing, talking, moving, making…) to accommodate the reality that one participant’s preferred mode of information exchange is the edge of another participant’s comfort zone.
What I learned
- Through ICCD, I have gained a deeper understanding of how civic and political systems produce the structures that impact a whole lot of people’s lives. This understanding informs the way I now design my artistic work, so that my efforts have a greater likelihood of genuinely affecting social transformation.
- ICCD is important because it invests in leadership development.
- Stories have the power to generate a shared understanding that connects people to one another.
- I have come to think of place-making as an art form.
- Stating the obvious is a simple, but helpful, stepping-stone to more inclusive communication.
- I am too close to ICCD to honestly know, yet, what I am learning and how I will be influenced by ICCD over time.
Resolution
To continue the work. For more information about the future of the Institute for Community Cultural Development, visit www.intermediaarts.org or click on Changes.