As a part of our 2022 Campaign: Building Creative Futures, we’ll be seeking blog posts from you about a new topic each quarter. Our first topic was “navigating.” Up next is “bridging” here’s the prompt:
What connections can we make between our selves & others' selves; our work & others' work; and our field's work & other fields' work?
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This article explores the meaning of perspective in making the case for the arts and arts education. It underscores the importance of advocacy that sees the larger system while working within a local context. Three perspectives are described which are most often represented in arts, culture, and arts education advocacy: “practitioner advocate,” “field-builder advocate,” and “policy advocate.” Each group has its constituents, ranging from teachers to corporate citizens to national advocacy coalitions. Effective advocacy is accomplished by understanding first where you are, then embracing perspectives beyond your own. Using the metaphor of being in the balcony or on the dance floor to describe the vantage points of different perspectives, the article makes the point that it is time for casemakers and systems-changers to combine their perspectives to drive the changes they wish to see in the creative education of our youth. The article concludes with four recommended strategies and guiding questions for connecting multiple points of view, enabling everyone’s ability to see the bigger picture while acting locally: Enhance your perspective; own your expertise; embrace learning; and commit to action.
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It is safe to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our lives in different ways. From stay-at-home orders, unemployment, mask wearing, social distancing, to rising infection and death rates, are just a few ways that may have impacted you directly or indirectly over the past two years. We have also developed new phrases that one would only understand because of living in this time from “you’re on mute,” to “which vaccine did you get?” to “pivoting to a new normal.” It has changed the way we work, learn, move, interact and view the world.
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At this end of the world, we are currently battling devastating floods and COVID outbreaks, all in the shadow of international conflict. These seem dark times, and our only normal is change. The change is rapid and chaotic. It feels hard to get a handle on stability. And with that, the arts and creative sectors seem to again be on the edge of precarity.
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Last week, I shared with you a bit about my friend and creative co-conspirator, Luke Chacko (LINK FROM BLOG POST), and their inspiring story using music to address the challenges faced by many young people today, especially 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.
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