The Center for Community and Cultural Policy and Arts and Administration Program Visiting Scholar Series welcomes Barbara Schaffer Bacon, co-director of the Animating Democracy Initiative. Barbara will present a series of workshops, forums and presentations April 28, 29, and 30th.

What is Animating Democracy?
The Animating Democracy Initiative fosters arts and cultural activity that encourages and enhances civic engagement and dialogue. Animating Democracy builds organization and artist capacity through different services including case studies on arts-based civic engagement projects, updating news and events surrounding civic engagement activities, disseminating publications, artist directories, and providing resources and technical assistance services cultural and community organizations. Animating Democracy also offers professional development services to build knowledge and skills in planning and implementing social and civic impact-oriented artistic programs. Topics include: civic dialogue and cultural contexts, creative authority, ethics, working in the civic realm, and issues unique to civically engaged art. The Animating Democracy Initiative, a program of Americans for the Arts, started in 1995 and contracted 32 cultural organizations across the country to implement projects related to arts-based civic dialogue.

Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. It maintains a Cultural Policy Listserv, Arts Services Directory, National Arts Policy Database and conducts research on advocacy, arts education, cultural diversity and planning, and other topics related to the arts and cultural sector. Americans for the Arts provides resources for arts policy and advocacy and offers professional development services to arts professionals.

What is Civic Engagement?
Civic engagement is an individual’s commitment to improving one’s community and world through participation in collective efforts and dialogue that address civic issues. Civic engagement happens when an informed public engages in issues that really affect the world, the people around them and their every day lives. It can include joining committees or boards, volunteering, community organizing, participating in community planning or improvement efforts, and attending and participating in civic forums. Civic engagement activities foster a sense of belonging, investment and ownership in a citizen’s local, regional and national communities.

Who is Barbara Schaffer Bacon?
Barbara Schaffer Bacon co-directs Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts that fosters civic engagement through arts and culture. With Pam Korza, she has written, edited, and contributed to many publications including Civic Dialogue, Arts & Culture: Findings from Animating Democracy; Case Studies from Animating Democracy; Animating Democracy: The Artistic Imagination as a Force for Civic Dialogue, Fundamentals of Local Arts Management and The Cultural Planning Work Kit.  Barbara worked as a consultant since 1990 and prior to that served as executive director of the Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts.  Her consulting work includes program design and evaluation for state and local arts agencies and private foundations nationally. An arts management educator, she has served as a primary instructor for the Fundamentals and Advanced Arts Management seminars. Barbara recently concluded 14 years of service on her local school committee.  She is a board member of the Fund for Women Artists and the New WORLD Theater. She serves as president of the Arts Extension Institute, Inc. at the University of Massachusetts.

Animating Democracy in Eugene
One of Animating Democracy’s first case studies was Eugene’s own Oregon Bach Festival in 1995. The theme was War, Reconciliation and Peace, and local churches, veterans’ groups and organizations, in partnership with the Oregon Bach Festival, convened forums with the community to critically engage with the pieces to be performed and to better understand the significance of the St. John Passion from a musical experience perspective. The efforts were successful in engaging in meaningful dialogue around the events of the Bach Festival and in creating a sense of community and ownership of the Festival’s theme.

Animating Democracy is back in Oregon almost 15 years later to discuss where we are now, how we can participate in more meaningful civic engagement, and the role of the arts in creating an animated democracy in Oregon.

For more information about Barbara Schaffer Bacon’s visit and the Animating Democracy Initiative, email Dr. Lori Hager at lhager@uoregon.edu.