Learning objectives (accompanied by #reflections):

In my Community Arts Praxis course I will engage in self-directed learning so that I may develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between social awareness and community arts management.

#I am more aware of my personal strengths and weaknesses and feel fortunate to have had a safe environment in which I could explore these in a small group. I would like to expand upon the idea social awareness in my future interactions with the community by helping people to identify and define this in their own relative context.

During this term, I would like to hone my organizational skills so that I may communicate more effectively as a learner and directly apply these structural systems to my professional career.

#I must continue to strive to be as organized as possible with my thoughts, work load, time management skills, and research opportunities. I have a deeper understanding for the role of community organizer in the field of arts management and look forward to investigating the direct impact of this position.

As a graduate student in the Arts Administration Program at UO, I will work objectively to: increase my level of professionalism during presentations, become more confident in my expressions of creativity, and utilize resources to expand my professional network.

#These are goals I feel I have addressed equally this quarter and will continue to focus on throughout the next year. It has been truly inspiring to surround myself with like-minded individuals and I will strive to be more professional, confident, and resourceful for my own reference and to serve as an example.

I plan to support learning through constant reflection as I draw on my personal experiences in the field of arts administration. I will also reinforce my learning by incorporating best practices in education into my everyday efforts of time management, accountability and community involvement.

#I’ve learned to balance standing up for what I believe in with open mindedness. I will challenge myself to think conceptually as I discover new avenues for community engagement. This course helped me to reflect on theory in the field of community arts and provided positive reinforcement for my decision to select this area of focus as my concentration.

Community Statement:

Community is realized when connections are established through shared value and interest. As a community arts advocate, I am interested in exploring identity, fostering relationships, encouraging respect and facilitating understanding.  My enthusiasm for alternative teaching methods and environments has introduced me to a diverse network of community arts participants including museum professionals, visual arts educators, artist co-ops, at-risk youth, adults with special needs, and military families. I believe my role as arts administrator is to consider the needs of a community from multiple perspectives so that I may actively engage members in collaborative processes of reflection and praxis. I hope to bridge my experience in specialized arts programming with my knowledge of community arts management to ensure arts creators and consumers appreciate the value of art as I do.