Reframing the Arts in South Dakota | John A. Day Gallery | Tuesday Evening, Nov 5 from 6pm – 8pm
For too long, advocates have been trying (and failing) to justify art’s public purpose with weak secondary effects: art boosts tax revenues through the economic multiplier effect, playing in the school orchestra raises students’ test scores, and so on. The net result is a 30-year decline in arts allocations; for instance, the NEA has lost more than half the real value of its budget since Ronald Reagan took office. These advocacy strategies are too confining and too narrowly conceived to excite public support. A fresh approach is needed.
In this workshop, participants will share first-person stories about experiences that gave them a glimpse of the full meaning and value of arts work to themselves and their communities. We’ll explore those stories, mining them for the ideas, images, and metaphors that will speak most strongly and directly to the people participants wish to engage in arts activities. Then together, we’ll consider ways they can be put to effective use in your own communities and organizations. Participants should come away with a new understanding of how to connect and engage with people who can benefit the most from the work of artists and organizations in South Dakota.
