ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AnimatingDemocracy
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IMAGINE, DEFINE, DESIGN:
Planning & Designing Arts-Based
Civic Engagement Projects
This tool is designed to help community leaders and artists create plans for effective and meaningful arts-based
civic engagement projects. The materials are adapted from the Arts & Civic Engagement Toolkit published by
Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts. Referenced within are other tools and items in the
toolkit that offer further detail.
1. IMAGINE what it could be!
2. DEFINE what it will be!
3. DESIGN for success!
Where are you star ting from? What do you
What is the civic or social concern at the
How will art and engagement activities be
need to know? What difference do you think
center of the project? What residents do you
linked or integrated? How will you tap the
you can make?
want to engage? Who are the artists and
power of the art to foster engagement? How
what are the artistic component(s) of the
will you attract targeted participants to project
project? What are the desired outcomes?
activities? How will you assess your impact?
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AnimatingDemocracy
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PHASE I:
IMAGINE what the project could be!
Where are you starting from?
Your impetus may be art or it may be a social concern. As you begin thinking about the possibilities with others in your organization, with artists, or
perhaps a project steering committee, use the worksheets in this section to ask yourself:

What do we know?

What do we need to learn to move forward?

What difference do we want to make?

What might be the opportunities for linking arts and civic engagement?
Answering these questions will help you connect with potential constituents and partners to test ideas, ask good questions, and be open to creative
engagement possibilities. To help you IMAGINE the possibilities, the Spectrum of Arts-Based Engagement diagram may spark some ideas
IDENTIFYING ISUES
Here are some ways to be mindful of ripe
opportunities or critical moments for civic
engagement.
Listen to PEOPLE.
Link with CIVIC PLANNING PROCESSES.
 Is there a nascent issue that people are
talking about that would benefit from more
focused attention?
Confer with COMMUNITY AGENCIES and
ACTIVISTS.
 Is there a simmering issue that people are
not yet willing or able to talk about or engage
in that needs to be surfaced and awareness
increased?
 Is your community embarking on a planning
process that will engage residents in
visioning the future, articulating values, and
identifying issues?
 What issues are social services, justice,
education, health, environment, or civic
agencies in your community focusing on?
 Are there particular initiatives related to
transportation, development, or land
reclamation that will require public process?
 What issues are neighborhood associations
or other grassroots groups concerned about?
 Are there plans for memorials,
commemorative events, historic
preservation, or heritage tourism that will
seek public input?
 Are there dialogue initiatives or ongoing
dialogue groups whose efforts could be
enhanced through an art-based project?
Consider the HEADLINES.

 Are there youth engagement initiatives that
may be enhanced through an art-based
project?
 Is there an issue being deliberated that will
result in policy or other decision-making?
 Where might an arts-based engagement
project align with action oriented or activist
efforts?
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
 Is there a pressing issue that is commanding
people’s attention and engagement?
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Where are we starting from?
With a CIVIC ISSUE / OPPORTUNITY as the impetus for a
project, ask:
Thoughts/Ideas
What is the civic or social issue, concern, or opportunity demanding greater
civic engagement?
How might art engage people in this issue? Here are some ideas and
examples:
• MAKE AN INVITATION. For example: An oral history project could provide
a welcoming invitation to elders to more readily engage in redevelopment
plans for their neighborhood.
• CREATE A SPACE. For example: An artist residency at a social service
agency could create a safe environment for new immigrants to express their
concerns about immigration issues. The art created could be exhibited and
used as a space for public conversation.
• BE A SPARK! For example: A community-wide read of the right book, might
reinvigorate attention around issues of race that have been simmering below
the surface in a community.
• OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE FORM. For example: A Photovoice project that
gives students cameras to visually convey what they see as the implications
of school system budget cuts can offer their perspectives into public forums.
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AnimatingDemocracy
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What do we need to learn to move forward?
Community leaders ask:
What we know
What we need to
learn more about
How to learn more
Who do we need to involve? Who has
a stake in the issue? Who is affected by
it?
Who believes they “own” the issue or
has the right to represent it because of
histories, experience, or long-term
commitment to addressing the issue?
What is the history of engagement
around the issue in the community?
Who is already engaged? Whose voices
are not being included or heard?
Whose perspectives need to be
represented in planning the project and
the engagement
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
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What do we need to learn to move forward?
Community leaders ask:
How to learn more
What would we see as meaningful outcomes of the
arts-based civic engagement project?
What would each stakeholder group see as
meaningful outcomes of the project?
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
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How will we assess our impact?
Based on the goals you set, what methods can you employ to observe and document the community/civic effects of your arts-based civic
engagement project?
Thoughts/Ideas
 Change in participation (e.g., numbers, new voices, less •
likely participants engaged)
 Change in public awareness or understanding of a civic
issue
 Changed relationships between people in a community
 Shifts in thinking and attitudes about an issue
 Movement toward action or change on the issue or policy
 Change among participants in a sense of self-efficacy or
collective efficacy to take action
 Change in quality of or capacity for civic dialogue
 Change in the way civic leaders engaged with citizens and
stakeholders
 Change in media coverage or representation of the issue?
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
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ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
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Think PROJECT:
Points and Opportunities for Engagement
You may naturally think about linking engagement activities to the actual art presentation—the main event, the big performance, the
installed exhibition. But there are many points in the art’s planning, creation, program development, and after-life that offer
opportunities for civic dialogue and engagement activities. Think “whole project” to identify viable opportunities to foster
engagement.
Points in the Development of an Artistic
Work/Project
Planning
Research
Artistic Creation or
Program Development
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
Activities and Forums
for Civic Dialogue/Engagement
During the design and planning stage, the
artist, curator, presenter, or community
organization seeks input and participation
from advisors, partners, and constituents that
includes dialogue about issues and engaging
people actively in planning.
 Advisory groups
During the research stage, artists, curators,
arts organization leaders, and community
partners seek contextual information and
perspectives that stimulates dialogue.
 Interviews
During the creative process, artists and/or
arts programmers involve the public or
targeted segments of the public in making
the art or designing the event/exhibit; or the
public is able to interact with the artist as
the work is in progress. In some cases,
feedback offered by the public may alter the
artwork or creation.
 Design workshops
 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Public forums
 Partner meetings
 Story circles
 Oral histories
 Meetings with community agencies
 Residency activities
 Lecture/demonstrations
 Sharing of in-progress artistic work (e.g., design review,
workshopping a script)
 Engaging audience in creating interpretive materials
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Points in the Development
of an Artistic Work/Project
Pre-presentation
Before experiencing the actual performance,
viewing a film, or exhibition, the audience is
engaged in dialogue about issues.
Activities and Forums for Civic
Dialogue/Engagement
 Related programs offered in advance
 Facilitated conversations that encourage reflection about
the issue in personal terms
 Readings or thought questions offered in advance of the
art experience
 Online materials, dialogue, podcasts serve to educate
and inform as well as stimulate thinking for subsequent
engagement
 Teacher guides and activities help prepare students for
engagement during school visits
 Collaboration with the media to provide editorial,
features, or substantive coverage about issues that
promote thought and dialogue
Presentation
The actual presentation offers an opportunity for
public engagement in issues
 The art is interactive, (e.g., requires engagement with
others present, integrates dialogue) Interactive elements
of exhibition or presentations
 promote dialogue or engagement
Post-presentation
After experiencing a performance or viewing a
film or exhibition, audiences are engaged in
dialogue or opportunities to get further involved
in issues.
 Facilitated dialogue
 Panels structured to promote active participation and
dialogue
 Call-in shows
 Online dialogue or interactive follow-up
 Promotion of community resources to get involved, take
action, volunteer, continue the dialogue
Distribution
The work is distributed with means to further
opportunity for dialogue and engagement.
 Touring of shows, exhibitions with guides or tools for
facilitating dialogue and fostering engagement
 Media adaptation or broadcast showings
 Online posting of the creative work with interactive
activities
ARTS & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOL KIT
www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AnimatingDemocracy
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