ABC to offer cultural planning leadership program in Fall 2010

Through an innovative new Arts Build Communities program, civic and cultural leaders around the United States can work together to develop the creative economy in their communities.

The program, tentatively titled Leadership for Sustainable Cultural Planning, is scheduled to run from September 2010 through February 2011. 

Here's how the program will work: Participants, who will be teams of civic and cultural leaders, will come to Rutgers University in September to learn from experts about policies and regulations that have worked to support cultural development.  Participants will spend the next few months determining what would work best in their communities.  They will be mentored by experts in cultural planning, community development and economic development.  In February, participants come back together at Rutgers to share what they learned -- and offer advice for other leaders.

The program is still being developed, and more information will be available soon.  If you would like to learn more or get updates, please subscribe to the ABC electronic mailing list.

Other questions or comments?  Please contact Leonardo Vazquez, Director, Professional Development Institute, at 732-932-3822, x711 or by email.

Arts Build Communities is produced by the Professional Development Institute of Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.

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New ABC report explores what works in building community support for the arts

Why are the arts supported and nurtured in some New Jersey communities, but not in others?  Dozens of cultural professionals, public administrators and urban planners shared their insights in several focus groups in 2009.

You can learn from their experiences by reading "Building Communities that Support and Nurture the Arts: What Works Best?"

The report is the latest entry in the New Jersey Creative Vitality Index.  The NJ-CVI is one of the most comprehensive sources of information about the arts industry in New Jersey.  To see other reports in the index, please visit http://policy.rutgers.edu/pdi/abc/resources/cvi/index.php

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Arts Build Communities develops measure of creative sector

Just as there are multiple ways to define art, there are several ways to measure the creative economy.

As part of its forthcoming New Jersey Creative Vitality Index, Arts Build Communities has developed a set of measures for the creative economy as a way to gauge the vitality of the creative sector.  The ABC measures are influenced by those used by Americans for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts, two of the premiere arts advocacy organizations in the United States.  But ABC uses a narrower definition of the creative sector than these other organizations do.

Another difference: the ABC measures offer a different way of looking at the creative economy. While other organizations focus on creative industry subsectors -- such as visual arts or architecture -- ABC draws attention to economic functions -- such as manufacturing and distribution. The creative economy matrix can help policy makers and leaders better decide where and how to invest limited resources.

For example, leaders of an industrial city who want to participate more in the creative economy, but are limited by competition from nearby arts destinations, could focus on attracting manufacturers of supplies and creative products.  Thinking in terms of economic functions, rather than just "the arts," can help leaders be more creative about how to participate in the creative economy.

Note: Every measure of the creative economy, including those of Arts Build Communities, underestimates its true size.  The numbers that everyone uses are drawn from government or business sources, and they don't count the thousands of people in New Jersey who are part-time artists, or participate in the arts as a hobby.  No measure fully counts all of the creative people who work outside of businesses that are part of the creative sector.  (People in 'creative occupations' -- such as a graphic designer in a bank -- are a fraction of creative people in our economy.

In the end, those of us who try to measure the creative economy are like scientists trying to measure climate change.  The world is too big and dynamic to try to see everything at once.  (Imagine trying to count the number of waves in the ocean.)  We focus our lenses differently, and together we can tell a complete story about what is happening.

Read the report

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Dodge Foundation awards Arts Build Communities

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the leading supporters of the arts in the United States, recently awarded Arts Build Communities a grant of $15,000.

In the foundation's letter to Rutgers University, Dodge Foundation President David Grant said: "We are particularly impressed by what you have been able to accomplish in you start-up year... the Arts Build Communities is the only organization in New Jersey working at the nexus of creativity and sustainability, which is looking at the arts with the three E's (environment, economy and equity) in mind. With our missions so directly intertwined, we look forward to developing a strong partnership that explores how the arts can be a part of a movement that will yield a more creative economy and more viable, sustainable communities."

We are honored by the support of the Dodge Foundation.  The support will help as Arts Build Communities moves to influence the thinking and decisions of cultural and community leaders in New Jersey.

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Arts Build Communities classes help professionals connect cultural, community and economic development

Arts Build Communities, through the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program, is offering several online courses in 2010 that focus on the connection between arts and community health and prosperity.

Two types of courses are being offered: Learning Labs (which are webinars) and Deep Learning courses.  There are no required meetings in Deep Learning courses, but they are interactive.  Participants engage in online discussions through discussion boards facilitated by the instructor.  In studio courses, learners work on real problem-solving projects.

The classes are:
March 16, 2 to 3 pm eastern: Cultural Heritage Tourism Planning Basics

April 14 to May 22: Cultural Economic Development Studio
April 14 to May 20: Programming Cultural Uses
May 26 to July 3: Cultural Community Development Studio

Proceeds from the courses will be used to support Arts Build Communities

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New Jersey Creative Vitality Index now being published

The New Jersey Creative Vitality Index is now being published.  Portions of NJ-CVI are now available at http://policy.rutgers.edu/pdi/abc/resources/index.php

The site includes a table of contents and a report on the growth of self-employed artists in New Jersey, between 1998 and 2007.

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Seeking public affairs professionals to talk about arts, community and economic development

Arts Build Communities, an initiative of the Professional Development Institute, will be holding a focus group with urban planners and public affairs professionals at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ on December 10, 2009, from 9 to 10:30 am.

If you have worked on issues related to the arts in your professional capacity, please join the focus group to share your insights.  It is free and breakfast will be served.  To request to participate, please contact Arts Build Communities Director Leonardo Vazquez by email or at 732-932-3822, x711

The session will be held at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, 33 Livingston Avenue, #33.  Free parking is available to anyone who reserves a seat at least a day beforehand.

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