The Exemplar Program provides two years of support, totaling $150,000 each to 12 small to midsized arts and cultural organizations nationwide. The organizations are being recognized for outstanding cultural work in their communities and in the field, based on their participation in the Animating Democracy program of Americans for the Arts and the Working Capital Fund. Supported by the Ford Foundation, the two-year Exemplar Program aims to foster a holistic and integrated approach to organizational health, institutional growth, civic engagement, and aesthetic investigation.
Representatives from the 12 small and mid-sized organizations participating in the Exemplar Program convened in early December 2005 in Santa Fe New Mexico. Recognized for outstanding cultural work in their communities and in the field based on their participation in Animating Democracy and the Working Capital Fund, the groups explored topic areas related to aesthetic investigation, institutional health and capacity, and civic engagement. From the convening, a report was compiled by Caron Atlas highlighting the event from beginning to end. With implications for the entire field, it summarizes key topics areas in relation to challenges and opportunities among cohort members.
During the four-year Initiative phase of Animating Democracy, the Animating Democracy Lab supported 32 arts- and humanities-based civic dialogue projects that demonstrated opportunities to advance the creation and presentation of arts-based civic dialogue work. Selected projects sponsored by arts and cultural institutions received financial and advisory support. These projects served as laboratories for experimentation and innovation. They were selected to create a diverse collection that, individually and collectively, would advance field learning about the philosophical, practical, and social dimensions of this work. Lab Projects were implemented following individual timelines during the period 2000 to 2004.
