Abstract
Can art be a factor in community building? Is it possible to evaluate projects that explore this question, and if so, how ? Can seemingly disparate institutions, such as those dedicated to the arts and those dedicated to social work, collaborate to produce meaningful output and outcomes for a community? In fall of 2007, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis partnered to explore questions of the social relevance of art and how social work and all that it encompasses (e.g., evaluation, community work, case work) could unite with a museum-like arts institution to play an active role in the revitalization of a community. The current efforts developed through this partnership are founded on the principles of social inclusion and basic concepts of community building, i.e., promoting the formation of relationships within the community to strengthen the social network. An example of the programs created by the partnership took place in the fall of 2008. The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, in partnership with Grand Center, Inc., the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and three other area arts institutions (St. Louis Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and White Flag Gallery) presented the Light Project and accompanying Community Light Project. Both projects were inspired by the work of Dan Flavin, whose work was on display in the Pulitzer with the exhibition, Constructed Light: Flavin. As the fluorescent lights of Dan Flavin spilled out of the building, the Pulitzer decided to spill out of its doors for the first time, jointly commissioning outdoor light installations from contemporary light artists. A main goal of the project was to explore the impact of symbolic value on a struggling urban environment?to begin defining what relevance art, and in this case contemporary art, has in todays society. Further exploring this theme, the Community Light Project sought to connect members of the immediate neighborhood to these light installations and the work of Dan Flavin through work in the schools, featuring a curriculum that incorporated music and light. This culminated in a festival featuring drums constructed by area students that lit up when struck, compositions of percussion music with the students, and outdoor light installations created by four area schools in response to the Light Project installations. Through both the Light Project and the Community Light Project, the Pulitzer sought to engage new community members and enhance all community members personal relationship with art, while beginning to carve a new role for itself in the urban environment as an agent of revitalization and social inclusion. The outputs of the aforementioned Light/Community Light Project are easy to identify. The outcomes, however, are somewhat less obvious. It was of great interest to all of the partnering institutions to learn more about the impact these projects had on the immediate neighborhood and on the St. Louis community overall. Thus, the perfect opportunity for social work expertise to influence museum practice arose, and an evaluation plan was developed under the guidance of an external evaluator, who holds an MSW and a PhD in Social Work and also has extensive experience evaluating arts education and outreach initiatives. To begin understanding the impact of this program but to also establish a baseline of information against which future efforts could be compared, a mixed-method model of evaluation was proposed and implemented. These methods included the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data through observation, intercept interviews with participants in Light Project and Community Light Project events, focus groups with various stakeholders (including teachers and students from the participating area schools), and stakeholder interviews.
Author(s): Matthias Waschek, Betul Ozmat, Leslie Scheuler, Lisa Harper Chang