I am very excited to see how this class built upon the evaluation class I took before with Bill, but more specifically on how to bond the community and the cultural art events. I was once very confused about the word “community” which continual used in the US but can refer to various meanings, while in China we don’t use community that often. When we talk about the community, we mean the physical living space communities. That was a big confusion and challenge for me at first. This class, Community Cultural Development, for me, either is a great vehicle to learn the practical strategies toolkit, also it is an excellent venue to understand the word “community” used here. With such a group of different background folks, I got to experience a diverse culture, and with their use of the word “community” in their stories, I got to understand more about its meaning, which we might use a different word in China but the similar meaning. This is another interesting thing for me, as a foreigner here to experience a different culture.

I think culture is a broad but at the same time a definite word. It can include every basic necessity of people’s lives, alco can be elevated to a more profound level, which is the valuable spiritual heritage of the different race. Every action that related to people can be defined as the culture because the way people act is influenced by their culture.

Nowadays, a majority of people still define the museum as a place for the fine art or the so-called high-end exhibits. In my interesting field, I am consistently curious about how the museum can break this “wall” of the definition, and make the museum a welcoming space that can display either fine art, also show the cultural value.

I really enjoyed Saturday’s delicious spread and sharing our food stories. It reminded of our readings for Goldbard’s book, The Art of Cultural Development. In chapter 4, there is a story circle potluck that evolves into the Breaking Bread Project. The group decides to make a cookbook and that spills over into working with local businesses and a larger portion of community. The deep connections that bonds us in sharing foods and cooking has helped me work through some cultural barriers. When I lived in California, I would make jam with friends and neighbors in the summer. I met family from India and they had an apricot tree. They called me and asked if I could come over and teach them to make jam. During the process we shared other recipes and “grandma” showed me a variation on cooking mung beans. She doesn’t speak any English. I was excited to learn from her because she loved to cook for the family. When the jam was done, I got nervous that she wouldn’t like it. Later, I learned that she loved it and ate it all the time. I was invited over many more times to exchange in cooking. Even though grandma and I had a language barrier, we communicated side by side in the kitchen.

Earlier this week I read a piece in OP-ED section of the New York Times by David Brooks (May 8, 2018 page A25) who writes a column about politics, culture and social sciences.  In the column Brooks writes about Stewart Brand, an American writer who founded the Whole Earth Catalog in the 60’s based on the belief society needs to follow the example of Native Americans and return to living off the land.  In 1985 Brand created an organization called “The WELL” which stands for Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link, where he envisioned the creation of a virtual community that could fulfill “spiritual longings” through technology.  David Brand labels Brooks a “model of how you do social change” and a “cultural craftsman.”  In one of the more interesting quotes from the column, David Brooks writes “When a culture changes, it’s often because a small group of people on society’s margins find a better way to live, parts of which the mainstream adopts.”

I’m curious what the rest of the class thinks about two ideas from the column in light of what we’re learning in class.  The first idea, is it possible to build a “virtual community” that is as meaningful and fulfilling as an actual physical community?  Second, do you believe the assertion that social change comes from a small group of people (like Saul Alinsky for example,) or do you think it’s driven by larger social forces?

The David Brooks column can be found at: “https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/opinion/stewart-brand-hippie-silicon.html”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/opinion/stewart-brand-hippie-silicon.html

I think what I get excited about is being a part of a class that opens my mind to seeing and hearing in new ways.  I love how we all bring our collective backgrounds, skills, understandings to discussions and have an open place to truly explore these new concepts.   I love how a reading will trigger different thoughts from each one of us.  I’m appreciative to be learning from Bill and his modeling of how to engage us in discussions.

An area that I am interested in is evaluations and the readings this past week were very helpful.  I find the area of Community Cultural Development to be very interesting and am curious to see how this will all fit into my future career journey.

We had a great group meeting last night where I felt the energy of four different minds, attitudes, and interests work together into a cohesive unit. I am excited to research social justice art installations and projects that I find powerful to create an engaging presentation for class.

Practical knowledge is power.  I am part terrified and part elated to be acquiring so much useful information.  In this day where there is so much information available, most information cancels itself out.  Our readings and discussions in this class are 110% applicable to the work that I am doing now and the work I want to do.  I don’t want to skim anything, in fear of missing a jewel that will unlock a curiosity I didn’t know I had.  In collecting the tools of a community cultural developer, the pressure of responsibility builds.  As I had voiced in-class, I feel overwhelmed.  I am fortunate to be given access to this information, and to be in a safe room to pick and pry it open with a supportive collective.  Am I the right  person to be telling the story I want to tell?  Side stepping this question, how do I do it right?  Right for the community I am exposing/ promoting.   I hear and see examples of exemplary work from our readings and shared experiences.  I aspire to learn from those who came before and do justice to my time and place.

I am very thankful for the texts we’ve read in that I have field guides to reference for the rest of my professional career, and concepts to ponder to the ends of time.  I asked Bill Rauch of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, “How do you balance truth with theatricality?”  This is in reference to making new theater.  Bill responded with, “In that you are asking the question, know you care.  That’s good.  Don’t worry about caring anymore, it will be there with you along the whole process.  Make the work with the community you are exploring and invite them in and listen to them.  Listen to them a lot.”  What do people think?  With the privilege of knowledge do you feel greater responsibility?

I am very excited about all of the practical applications and ways I feel that I can utilize the course materials in my future practice. This course has added more to my personal tool kit than any other course I have taken at the UO. I feel that I have learned a great deal about evaluation. The use of evaluation tools throughout, as well as after a project or program ends, tells the community leader or cultural developer so much about the success or failure of the initiative. The European Evaluation Toolkit – ‘The Evaluation Journey’ had fun and quirky ways to measure success which I found useful and inspiring. I will definitely implement formal evaluation tools in my future programs.  I now understand the value that feedback and data collection can make for a community organizer.  In the future I will also utilize sharing circles with both the artists I work with and the communities I work in. I am very thankful to have taken this course. I am inspired as an artistic director as well as someone who is interested in social practice.

In this class, we have had the opportunity to read seminal works in the field as well as discuss modern approaches to Community Cultural Development. What I’m most excited about, though, is the wealth of resources we have in one another. This class is filled with people who have been in the field or collaborated on projects or researched a particular topic in depth, and this is so invaluable. What this class has taught me is that it is important to understand the basics, but the only way you can really learn is from another human being.

I’m struggling with creating and following a  decolonized and anti-patriarchal approach to organizing, as many groups, organizations, and individuals will only respond to a heirarchical system of leadership, which eliminates community participation. If anyone has any resources or other ideas, I would love to hear them!

What excites me about this course are the possibilities between artists and communities that we are studying.  Like I said in class last Saturday, I’ve become somewhat cynical with collaboration with other artists and other groups, especially other groups. Successful collaborations with other non-artistic groups have been pretty much non-existent in my experience, though I have tried very hard. As a part of my theatre company, I have contacted local social justice organizations to join us in a production, even if it is just to host a talk  back to discuss the issue the play addresses. Maybe help the audience connect the science fiction situation to our own society. (I think I mentioned the first day that my theatre company is a sci-fi one, but here is just a reminder..) But I have also invited groups to come act in a show or collaborate in some other fashion: perhaps give an introduction or have a table with literature in the theatre , or lead an activity with the audience. I not only think this would be great exposure for each group involved, but a great way to facilitate discussion and understanding.  But people are busy and no group has ever taken me up on the offers. I’ve kind of given up on that sort of project. It could be that they are busy, but it could be that they don’t think 1+1=3 is not worth the trouble.

The examples of successful collaborations between cities and artists from this class are quite hopeful.  And the idea that it is a job to be the mediator on that collaboration adds to this hope.  The Creative Community Builder’s Handbook is a great resource on how to mediate collaborations. It is very practical with steps and examples of successful collaborations between communities and artists (although for every successful one, I wonder how many unsuccessful ones there are.)  Even though the handbook is sort of reductive in listing steps one should take, but Borrup prefaces it by saying all collaborations are different and the steps might not take on the form the book describes. Yes, collaboration can be quite complex by navigating people’s personalities, culture, wishes, and disagreements and every situation will be different as every person and group is different.

But what about just finding a group to collaborate with? The second step in the handbook “Identify and Recruit Effective Partners” seems a little too easy. I think this is the hardest part of the process.  At least in my experience and I think Borrup makes it seem a little easier than it actually is. How can I get other community groups excited about collaborating with my theatre company? Or how to just get groups generally excited at the prospect of working together?

I felt incredibly excited and impassioned after reading and reporting, The Field Guide for Park and Creative Placemaking by Matthew Clarke because the field guide addressed the power of curating a natural space and cultivating community engagement with a public, natural environment through strategic programming and the addition of art. Within my own research on the evolving idea of natural culture, assembling my constellation of interests into viable research options and career goals has been difficult. Reading an article that categorized parks as cultural assets allowed me to view my career and interests in a new and existing venue. The field guide offered an incredible tool with an easy to absorb format and presentation style. Through expanding the understanding of parks to larger parks such as national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites and landscapes (as outlined by the first step in the process of creative placemaking: define a community based in geography), I am wondering in creating an idea of natural culture, what is the change people would like to see in their understanding and relationship with the environment (the second step in the process of creative placemaking: articulating the desired change). Of course, I have my own ideas about how to create a genuine connection with nature, but I am wondering how to create an adaptable program that facilitates an authentic connection with nature? I am also wondering if a specific artistic medium is ideal for facilitating this connection that allows for a greater reverence of natural spaces? Also, does each community desire a different connection to nature? If linking community and culture creates a deeper bond, as outlined in the field guide, how does one link culture and nature in a variety of communities, are parks the answer? Please comment and explore the possible answers to the aforementioned questions.

If anyone is interested, additional research that I have conducted on this topic include resources such as The Natural Principle by Richard Louv which explores nature deficiency disorder, Ecology Without Nature by Timothy Morton, The Colors of Nature edited by Alison H. Deming and Lauret E. Savoy, and The Social Creation of Nature by Neil Everden.