CSA&C Services

• Developing New Community Arts Partnerships
• Improving Management Support
• Community Arts Partnership Training
• Open Space Technology

CSA&C has over twenty-five years experience building arts partnerships in educational, community and social institutions. We provide expert guidance for developing artistic, educational, funding, community development and political collaborations among artists, arts organizations and school and community based partners. CSA&C's clients include: artists and arts organizations, educational, human service and criminal justice agencies and the business and philanthropic communities.

The center helps community organizations, public agencies, schools, and arts organizations respond assertively and creatively to increasingly complex community needs. To do this we work with clients to build and maintain new arts-based partnerships. We also help educational institutions strengthen their relationships with the broader community using the arts. CSA&C activities are: research/evaluation, publishing, training, lectures, and consulting services.

Consulting Services Include: Artist and Educator Training, Community Arts Partnership Development Community Arts Education Planning, Facilitation & Team Building, Research and Assessment, Curriculum Development, Marketing and Public Relations, Strategic Planning, and Board/Staff Training.

DEVELOPING NEW COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIPS

To thrive, the arts must play a larger role in the complex and changing landscape of American community life. CSA&C works with clients to:

• Planning: The Center works with local arts agencies to expand their planning efforts to create new partnerships between the arts and the business, government, health., public safety and human services sectors.
• Plan and Design Arts Based Collaborations: CSA&C provides expert guidance on the development of successful artistic, funding and political strategies for creating joint projects between and among artists, arts organizations and prospective community-based partners.
• Provide Partnership Assessment: CSA&C conducts project specific research and evaluation of funding programs, residencies and other arts based collaborations in schools, criminal justice agencies, religious institutions and community and social institutions.
• Advise Non-Arts Agencies: CSA&C works with government and members of the business, health and human services, and philanthropic communities to develop, implement and assess arts-based community partnerships and projects.

IMPROVING MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

To achieve stability and growth the arts community must look beyond its own boarders for innovative ideas for moving, marketing, and communicating CSA&C works with clients to:

• Plan and Prepare for the Future: CSA&C works with communities and organizations to revitalize their missions and prepare for the future. We help clients develop a strategic plan that is efficient, uncomplicated and most importantly, easy to use.
• Expand Markets: CSA&C helps organizations and individuals develop a comprehensive no/low cost marketing plan that leverages existing resources and increases audiences, memberships, funding and community awareness. We provide expertise in market research, advertising, public relations and media use.
• Provide Project Design and Management Services: CSA&C will assist clients as they develop and administer new or expanded programs. We have extensive expertise in the areas of Arts Education, Arts in Communities and Social Institutions, Arts Residencies, and Advocacy.
• Assess Quality and Effectiveness: The Center provides objective evaluations of, and research on funding strategies, management, program and information systems. Our experience will help us quickly access an organization's options, prepare recommendations and provide follow-up and feedback on implementation.
• Facilitate Teamwork and Communication: CSA&C provides clients with the benefits of an experienced group facilitator to assist with group planning, team-building, and leadership development. We have extensive experience using Open Space Technology as a tool for effective group collaboration and decision making.

COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHP TRAINING

The creation and presentation of long and short-term, community-based arts partnership training programs is a core element of the Center's work. The CSA&C approach emphasizes collaborative curriculum design and cross-sector training. Collaborative design creates training content that is both community specific and community sensitive. This approach helps builds sustained partnerships among artists, arts administrators, human service providers and participants from other sectors.

Curriculum: The Center's training approach developed in part in partnership with the Arts Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts. I was refined through four, six month community arts training institutes created with the St. Louis Regional Arts Council, Webster University (St. Louis), the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council and the Oklahoma Arts Council.

Subject areas include: The History of arts-based community development. Art and Community: definitions, myths and perceptions. Research & Reconnaissance: What do artists, arts organizations, and community partners need to know before entering into collaborations? Environmental Issues: How do racism, classism and other biases effect arts partnerships? Partnership Strategies: What skills do partners need to share power, define success, build trust and succeed. Survival Strategies: What strategies must partners employ to support high quality, sustainable arts programming? Also: Research & Evaluation, Teaching Strategies, Legal Issues, Advocacy, PR, and Funding.

William Cleveland is CSA&C's principal training consultant. He has a 25 year history, producing arts programs in educational, community, and social institutions. These include leadership of the Walker Art Center's Education and Community Programs Department, California's Arts-In-Corrections Program and the California State Summer School for the Arts. His book, Art in Other Places, chronicles 22 model programs developed by artists and human service providers in 17 American communities.

OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Open Space Technology is a method for convening creative events involving anywhere from 5 to 500 people. The process frees people to take responsibility for what they care about resulting in greater alignment, awareness, learning, and action. It does this by uncovering the people with passion about important issues and questions, who are willing to provide leadership, and exercise their sense of accountability.

At the Center we believe open space technology is the most effective process we have found for organizations, and communities to identify critical issues, voice to their passions and concerns, learn from each other, and, when appropriate, take collective responsibility for finding solutions. Over the past 3 years, the over 50 meetings and conferences we have facilitated using have taught us a great deal about the innate capacity within communities and organizations to effectively identify, discuss, and deal constructively with challenging issues.