Promoting Discourse By Community Arts-Making

One of the unique aspects of community arts-making that appeals to me is the opportunity presented for reflection and discourse, which can lead to learning.   In Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice, Jack Mezirow (1997) suggests that, “becoming critically reflective of one’s own assumptions is the key to transforming one’s taken-for-granted frame of reference, an indispensible dimension of learning for adapting to change” (p. 9).  He goes on to describe the situations that can be created by an educator to promote effective discourse.   As I read this, it occurred to me that some of these ideal conditions of discourse described by Mezirow can be equally effective at promoting discourse through community arts-making.

Free From Coercion with Equal opportunity to Participate

I attended several Brazilian sarau’s during the past several years, which are informal art-making gatherings often held in homes, that may involve music, dance, storytelling, as well as presentations of visual art or found objects.  I was invited to my first sarau by a classmate in Collaborative Symposium – Community Arts Making at Lesley University several years ago.  An appealing aspect of a sarau is that participation in the art-making is voluntary and there is no pressure to perform.  At the sarau’s I attended, participants who chose not to perform were as deeply engaged as everyone else and appreciated being invited to participate even though they chose not to.  The image above shows the tragic and comedic masks of the theatre, the palette of the artist and the note of the musician, above the words, Sarau de Artes & Cultura.

Having Full Information.
Community arts-making events often include an ‘awareness or promotion’ component, providing both art and information at the same time.  For example, in April the Fitchburg Cultural Council hosted an open mike for musicians and vocalists at a local restaurant.  During the event, council members made several announcements explaining how to apply for LCC grants and handed out materials that described the programs and services offered by the council.  In fact, I learned later that the purpose of the event was in fact to promote the work of the council and clarify how easy it is to apply for a grant.  Of course, having full information also implies having access to conflicting points of view depending on the situation.

Empathetic and Willing to Listen

Another great community art making event I participated in was the CityHeArt Art Show, which is an annual visual art show and sale by clients of local social services which, support homeless individuals.  Many of these organizations have implemented art-making programs for their homeless clients and this public event is designed to showcase their client’s talents and provide a source of revenue for them based on the sale of their artwork.  I volunteered as a musician at this event and it opened my eyes to not only the talents of the artists, but also to their personalities, to their ways of art-making and being.  I saw them appreciate each other’s art.  This event promoted empathy for this marginalized group by just ‘being an art show. ’ The event organizers made the decision with some of their marketing materials not to promote the event as a homeless art show for this very reason – as one organizer explained it to me, "They are artists and deserve to be treated as such."  The image at the right shows one of the musicians, Mallory Cormier, viewing the handmade, colorful fabric artwork being bresented for sale.

References

Mezirow, J. "Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice." New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. 1997, 74 (Summer), (5-12).