Convenings

Past Learning Exchange Reports

Animating Democracy convened Animating Democracy Lab participants in eight Learning Exchanges between 2000 and 2003. These gatherings were opportunities to share and build knowledge to help projects meet their full potential for success. Learning Exchanges encouraged critical thinking about the philosophical and practical dimensions of arts-based civic dialogue projects, through peer feedback and exchange. Learning Exchanges aimed to enable practitioners in various disciplines to inform each other about their work, explore common questions or problems, and draw on differing perspectives. While Learning Exchanges were geared to serve the interests of Lab participants, guest artists, curators, arts and cultural institution leaders, critics, scholars, and civic dialogue leaders were invited to diversify perspectives and enrich discussion.

Summary notes that capture key points raised in presentations and related discussions are available for the following Learning Exchanges:

Los Angeles, November 2002
This Learning Exchange offered an opportunity to explore challenges and issues related to dialogue and diversity. Participants looked at diversity inclusively, discussing different kinds of diversity, as well as a range of impacts diversity can have, informing, enriching, disrupting or challenging work in arts-based civic dialogue. This convening provided an opportunity to think through various inter-group dialogue models, collaborative conversations and approaches to art, inter-group partnerships, and diversity within groups. Some questions that emerged prior to the convening and informed session development included: How do we address bias, power, assumptions, prejudice, or inequity in our projects? How do we sustain difficult dialogues around diversity? What are the variables or attributes of meaningful inter-group collaborations? What are the special contributions and challenges of art in supporting, celebrating, or revealing the significance of diversity?

Seattle, May 2002
The Henry Art Gallery hosted this convening in conjunction with its exhibition, Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics, which explored the human genome project and related bioethical issues through a range of arts-based civic dialogue activities. This Learning Exchange also had a thematic focus on Institutional Issues in doing arts-based civic dialogue work including: balance of art and dialogue goals; dynamics of partnerships—negotiating and balancing goals, issues of ownership, imbalances of power; internal structures, board and staff leadership buy in, individual versus organizational commitment; perceptions and expectations of cultural organizations as they enter the realm of civic issues by the public, the media, civic leaders and institutions, and audiences.

See also museum studies scholar Selma Holo’s essay, "Conducting Civic Dialogue: A Challenging Role for Museums," (PDF) reflecting on the Animating Democracy Lab experiences of the Henry Art Gallery, Andy Warhol Museum, and Jewish Museum.

Minneapolis, March 2002
Intermedia Arts, Children's Theatre Company, and the Perpich Center for Arts Education hosted this artist-centered Learning Exchange. This Exchange was a focused opportunity to explore questions and issues of artistic practice and civic dialogue. Through experiential learning and inquiry, it provided an opportunity to look deeply into methodology, to share and reflect on approaches, to engage in rigorous and stimulating peer learning among artists, dialogue specialists, and others engaged in this work. Participants contributed to the design of the program by offering questions and areas of inquiry important to them prior to the convening. Some questions included: How do we balance the goals of artistic excellence and civic dialogue? When and how is artistic process dialogic in nature? What are the challenges and approaches to making the transition from response to the artistic experience to dialogue on civic issues?

Chicago, November 2001
The Chicago Learning Exchange was the first opportunity at which participants from both the first and second grantee groups of the Animating Democracy Lab came together. They were joined by many guests from Chicago and around the country. With Lab projects still in progress at the time, sessions offered an opportunity to put forward in-progress investigations, questions, and ruminations regarding dialogue, artistic, and curatorial methodologies and critical issues. Session topics included: artistic practice in theater-based civic dialogue; pursuing critical community issues through high stakes history-based civic dialogue projects; and evaluation and documentation approaches and methodologies.

See also artist Suzanne Lacy’s essay, "Seeking an American Identity (Working Inward from the Margins)" (PDF) inspired by and drawing upon her experience of the Chicago Learning Exchange.