ANIMATING DEMOCRACY E-NEWS

 Animating Democracy News and Updates

National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue

Dates: October 9-12, 2003 * Flint Cultural Center, Flint, MI

Program Update: Session titles posted and daily schedule updated!www.americansforthearts.org/AnimatingDemocracy/programs/programs_007.asp
In addition to updates to the daily program schedules, a preliminary list of session titles for the National Exchange has been added to the Animating Democracy website. Each day, multiple concurrent sessions will be offered, as well as plenary sessions and special evening events. Participants can choose to attend case studies, issues, practices, art focus, or perspectives sessions; or use the Animating Democracy Café and the Video Space for informal and impromptu sessions. Organized by day, the schedule will give attendees a good idea of what to expect and the opportunity to start planning their experience. Session descriptions will be posted towards the end of August!

Update: Registration Spaces Still Available
www.americansforthearts.org/AnimatingDemocracy/programs/programs_007.asp
Limited spaces are still available to attend the National Exchange. Interested persons must commit to attending the entire convening, Thursday, October 9, 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, October 12, 1:00 p.m. There is a registration fee of $200 and the hotel costs are approximately $80 per night for a single or double room. Animating Democracy encourages individuals interested in attending to contact Michael del Vecchio, project associate, at mdelvecchio@artsusa.org.

Americans for the Arts presents the National Exchange on Arts & Civic Dialogue with support from the Ford Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ruth Mott Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

Common Threads Team invited to participate in Creative Communities Network

www.creativecommunities.org.uk
In mid-July, Theresa Henry and Martie MacDonnel, Council for the Arts of Greater Lima (OH), attended the board meeting of the Centre for Creative Communities (CCC), the organization that developed the Common Threads concept. Through Henry and MacDonnel's participation in the event, CCC Director Jennifer Williams invited Lima/Allen County to participate in a "Creative Communities Network" along with communities in Greece, Scotland, Spain, Italy, and Lithuania; all of which have adapted the Common Threads concept for community development. The findings from this exchange will be studied by the CCC and the University of Scotland in Fife and published in the future.

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 News from the Field

First Annual Interdependence Day announced

www.civworld.org
On September 12, 2003 the first annual Interdependence Day, sponsored by The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, will be launched in Philadelphia at a ceremony at the American Philosophical Society. Interdependence Day is a call to action, asking citizens to celebrate their own global connectedness and the realities of our interdependence. The program will also feature a discussion on the topic "From Independence to Interdependence: On the Continuum." Remarks will be made by George Soros, former Senator Gary Hart, Frank Judd, and Lord Bhikhu Parekh, among others. The event will also be launched in Budapest, and through student-organized celebrations in Maryland and Argentina.

Road re-construction brings artists' creativity to town meetings

www.danvilleproject.com
The Vermont Arts Council has launched www.danvilleproject.com, its redesigned website for The Danville Project--a ground-breaking partnership among the Vermont Arts Council, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the historic rural village of Danville. A unique collaboration between engineers and artists, The Danville Project will integrate public art and creative processes into the reconstruction of a portion of U.S. Highway Route 2. The goal of The Danville Project is to enhance the essence of a small, close-knit rural community by providing a safe, attractive and comfortable pedestrian environment in the village while celebrating its unique historic, built, and natural features. The process draws on time-honored Vermont traditions of public meetings, civil discourse, and representative democracy. Participation by professional artists infuses the process with a creative approach to problem solving and an openness to new solutions. The new website offers an intimate and interactive look "behind the scenes" of this project with an overview of the history, safety, and design issues; and over the course of the next year, the artists and engineers will prepare final construction drawings for the various components of the $4.6 million dollar capital project. The Danville Project is currently slated for completion in 2006.

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 Articles and Publications

"Staging America" by Sonja Kuftinec published

http://store.yahoo.com/americans4thearts/stagingamerica.html
After several years of collaboration with the Cornerstone Theatre Company, Sonja Kuftinec's long-awaited book, "Staging America: Cornerstone and Community-based Theater" has been published. Already, the publication has been marked as "the first in-depth investigation of community-based theater that traces historical affiliations connected with the form while critically examining how community-based theater both enables community and challenges the very notion of 'community' as a stable site."

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Northern Lakes Center for the Arts case study posted

www.americansforthearts.org/AnimatingDemocracy/reading_room/reading_002.asp
Another new Animating Democracy Lab Case Study has been posted on the Animating Democracy website. The Northern Lakes Center for the Arts case study, written by Animating Democracy Liaison Cheryl Yuen, explores the implications of water--its use and abuse--through the Water Project; and examines the vital role that a local arts agency can play in catalyzing and linking public interest to a key civic issue in a small community.

Visit the Animating Democracy website for continued updates on projects and publications.

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 Events on the Horizon

A Sense of Place: Displacement and Integration

The Role of the Arts and Media in Reshaping Societies and Identities in Europe
www.asenseofplace.org.uk
Dates: November 24-27, 2003. To be held in Cardiff, Wales, Sense of Place will consider how societies are in flux, how cities are in transition, and how rebuilding is taking place at both a physical and psychological level within the context of evolving European human rights and immigration policies. Proposals for presentations/papers/discussion groups/partnerships are welcome. Speakers and performers will include artists and professionals who self-identify as refugees and asylum seekers, such as Israeli saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and Palestinian vocalist Reem Kelani. The event is being sponsored by the British Council.

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 About Animating Democracy

Animating Democracy is a four-year initiative of Americans for the Arts and is made possible with support from the Ford Foundation.

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Do you have news you would like to share with Animating Democracy and the broader world of art and civic engagement? Send an e-mail to adi@artsusa.org with "Animating Democracy E-News" in the subject line. Please be sure to include full contact information.

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