This week has been the first week that I feel like I understand what we are doing, and why we are doing it. I wish I could have had this feeling earlier in the class, but know that this happened for a reason, just as all things do. I do know that my project will be a case study of the Colquitt-Miller Arts Council to discover the ways that an arts council can support community revitalization. I chose this arts council because it was 1) successful in revitalizing its community through the art and 2) is similar in size, cultural make-up, and economy as my own hometown and 3) I have already formed a relationship with them and hope to visit them in February. I will use what I learn from studying this successful arts council in my own town’s newly formed arts council in hopes of having the same successes. I will be using interview, literature research, and survey as my data collection methods, with interviews being the primary instrument.
There is little literature concerning arts councils, so I have had to be very creative in my search. This search has taken me from the usual ‘art can affect a community’ to the ‘affects of mission statements on nonprofit organizations.’ When I first started this project, I considered an arts council just a group that provided the community with art programs. Through this discovery process, I have realized that to be a successful arts council you must realize the needs and desires of your community and use this knowledge to plan relevant arts opportunities in order to create the type of involvement that may result in RESULTS! This week (as a result of my pilot study) I have discovered the importance of a mission statement, as well as the importance of the elements found within it. I have discovered, as a result of the pilot study, that the heart of an arts council’s purpose should be creating community engagement through relevant arts programming.
I know for sure that one article that made an impact on me during this course was the one by Koroscik & Kowalchuk (1997). I’ve had to pull this article out several times in order to decode several of the other articles that I just didn’t understand. There advice to question everything we read is a good motto to have while conducting research. I also found Stockrocki’s (1997) article extremely useful in helping me to understand the basics of qualitative research. Isn’t it funny that both of the articles I chose were written in a step-by-step way? Simple is better!
Smith Koroscik, J., & Kowalchuk, E. (1997). Reading and interpreting research journal articles. In S. D. L. Pierre & E. Zimmerman (Eds.), Research methods and methodologies for art education (pp. 75-102). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Stokrocki, M. (1997). Qualitative forms of research methods. In S. D. Pierre, & E. Zimmerman (Eds.). Research methods and methodologies for art education (pp.33-56). Reston, VA: NAEA
Rhonda, you sound like you have a great grasp on what you are doing and you understand the method to do it by. I am getting there but still am unsure of a few things. I also found a step by step article about qualitative methods and open-ended interviews. It is GREAT! I too like the more simple language of explaining things. Too many big words and I have lost focus of the article to figure out what all those words mean. :)
ReplyDeleteRhonda, I am part of a community art center and would love to hear what you find out and see if it can be adapted in rural wv (we are packed with independent artists.) You say, "that the heart of an arts council’s purpose should be creating community engagement through relevant arts programming." How will you determine what is relevant to a community?
ReplyDeleteWill you survey? Maybe talk to the "influential folk" in town? Whatever it is you will have to have major support(financially as well as human resources.) How did the successful group accomplish this?
Rhonda--Bravo! Sounds like you are figuring things out. Studying a successful group seems like such a good way to form your own. Even though putting together a mission statement can seem like haggling over words (I tried it with my art department and it was minor hell)--it is a way to get everyone's opinion and make sure you are on the same page. As for figuring out what is relevant to a community--an initial survey may be part of it but I bet a lot of it will be trial and error ( a lot like a classroom)--just seeing what works and what doesn't. If you don't have any funding, are you considering an art co-op or is that too low-scale? Sometimes big ideas start with small things. Anyway--good for you--I'm envious--Janice
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