chapter
17
Arts and Culture
Introduction
Meyer and Brightbill (1956) advocated that arts and
crafts, dancing, dramatics, literary activities, and
music activities were standards for a comprehensive
recreation program.
This chapter does the following:
– Introduces the reader to arts and cultural leisure
experiences and the organizations that offer them.
– Examines the importance of providing arts and cultural
experiences and their benefits.
Participation
• For-profit and not-for-profit arts and cultural
organizations provide an array of arts and
culture opportunities that benefit
individuals and societies.
• Participation occurs in a variety of contexts:
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Museums
Galleries
Community arts centers
Art fairs and festivals
Performance venues
What Is Meant By Arts and Culture?
• Broadly defined, it can be thought of as an
identifiable sector present in every
community and understandable in both
economic and quality-of-life terms (Godfrey,
2002).
• Arts and culture lies in two contexts:
– Social interaction
– Cultural anthropology
Arts and Culture Meanings:
Organizations and Participants
• Participants are those who are creating the art
or those who are experiencing the art.
• Both the organizational mission and resources
influence providing arts and cultural programs.
• The National Endowment for the Arts Survey of
Public Participating in the Arts reported that
63% percent of Americans personally
participated in the arts. (Represents those who
do art and those who attend arts events as part
of an audience.)
Benefits of Arts
and Cultural Recreation
1. Celebrates and preserves our national legacy in
museums, concert halls, parks, and alternative
spaces.
2. Is inherent in the objects and buildings we use
every day and music we listen to.
3. Frees our spirit from the relentless mill of daily
obligations.
4. Entertains and instructs us.
5. Helps us understand who we are as individuals,
as groups, and as communities.
Great Simplicities:
Meaning of Recreation Experience
• Individuals:
– Provides freedom and choice, joy, and happiness.
– Allows use of our creative abilities.
– Puts us in touch with our real self.
• Groups:
– Forms and validates relationships.
– Brings people together who might not share other
common interests or relationships.
– Teaches culture-specific values and orientations.
– Enables people to be both inward and outgoing.
(continued)
Great Simplicities:
Meaning of Recreation Experience
(continued)
• Communities:
– Draws new residents into communities, reducing
poverty and increasing population.
– Mutually reinforces cultural participation and diverse
communities and promotes gradual growth rather
than rapid gentrification.
– Creates positive social environment, resulting in
greater civic participation, lower truancy rates, and
lower delinquency rates.
– Builds bridges across neighborhood, ethnic, and
class divides in ways that many other forms of civic
engagement do not.
Evolution of Arts
and Culture Programming
• Parks and recreation agencies increase the
number and variety of arts and culture
opportunities for citizens of all ages.
• Public schools provide children and youth
with learning opportunities in a range of
arts-based and culturally based
experiences.
• Private businesses create options at a
quicker rate than public programs based on
public demand.
Role of Parks and Recreation
in Arts and Culture
• In 1899, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr
created Hull House, the first “community
center.” Music, dance, and drama were all part
of the total program provided for the urban
poor, immigrants, and under-educated people
living in urban cities (Russell, 2005).
• From 1956 to 2004 several textbooks outlined
the developing emphasis placed on the
provision of art and cultural programs.
Role of Public Education
in Arts and Culture
• Arts education in the schools dates back to
the late 1800s. It included music, dance,
theater, and visual arts at the elementary
and secondary levels.
• Public educators increasingly look outside
schools to community-based arts
organizations, programs, and services for
specialists. Nonprofit and public
organizations, regional arts councils, and
associations send staff, artists, and
volunteers to schools to teach various arts.
Two Ways Arts Agencies
Support Arts Education in Schools
• Partnership building with other cultural, civic,
social, or governmental agencies
• Community cultural planning: expanding the
role of local arts agencies and helping young
people and adults to engage in the arts in both
school and community settings
Role of Private Enterprise
in Arts and Culture
• Businesses and industries add to the
number and variety of art and cultural
opportunities for people of all ages (from
Disneyland to Las Vegas and other local
examples).
• Private enterprises can often take risks in
pursuing new markets and new arts and
cultural experiences.
Types of Arts
and Culture Organizations
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Community arts centers
Art museums
Performing arts organizations
Art commissions and councils
Historic sites
Museums and reenactments
Folklore associations
Libraries and literary organizations
Art and cultural festivals
Youth organizations
Elderhostels
Arts and Culture Programs
in Parks and Recreation: Best Practices
• State of Oregon:
– Provided opportunities for youth and adults during
summer.
– Most offerings were visual arts programs; also
offered various types of performing arts programs.
– Special events were offered in 9 cities, 5 districts,
and 2 regional organizations.
– Nontraditional programs included literary and
culinary arts experiences and culturally based
touring opportunities.
(continued)
Arts and Culture Programs
in Parks and Recreation: Best Practices
(continued)
• Philadelphia, Department of Recreation:
– After-school programs at 130 sites, 5 days a week,
serving 2,800 children
– Senior Art Camp culminating in final-day celebration
and exhibit
– Teen center cultural activities
– Phil-A-Kid History Camp
– Creative Resolution Interactive Theatre program
– Mural Arts Program, which has created more than
2,300 indoor and outdoor murals
(continued)
Arts and Culture Programs
in Parks and Recreation: Best Practices
(continued)
• National Park Service (NPS):
– Two-thirds of the NPS sites are historical or cultural
in nature.
– Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
operates two performance venues, an opera
company, and an education program, all of which
produce a variety of arts and culture activities in
addition to public performances.
Management Strategies That Enhance
Arts and Culture Opportunities
• Using high-profile events to promote
awareness and entertain the public
• Collaborating and building partnerships
• Emphasizing cultural planning
• Addressing youth interests
• Associating with tourism initiatives
• Responding to lifestyle shifts
• Creating art experiences in public places
High-Profile Events
Large public events promoted to wide
markets outside of the regional area in
which the promoting organization resides.
• Portland, Oregon, trucks 100 cubic yards of sand to
a downtown square for sand sculpting.
• Plate and Pitchfork dinners, featuring gourmet meals
and fine wines, are held in agricultural fields to bring
city folk and farm folk together.
Collaboration and Partnerships
Partnering with organizations that have similar
missions to accomplish goals for the greater
good while overcoming limited resources.
• In British Columbia, Kamloops Art Gallery and University
College of the Cariboo collaborate to find out how cultural
and arts organizations work together in a small-city
setting.
• In Los Angeles, the housing authority, police, city and
county recreation and parks departments, and California
State University at Dominguez Hills offer a program for
developing the self-confidence, cultural awareness, and
constructive social interactions of young girls.
Emphasis on Cultural Planning
• Local arts agencies lead efforts for
community cultural planning.
• In communities that have a cultural plan,
local government arts funding grows at a
significantly faster rate than in communities
without a plan (Americans for the Arts,
2004).
Addressing Youth Interests
• Youth and young adults often have special interests
in art and culture activity that occurs outside
typical organizational contexts. Two innovative,
non-agency-based practices are the DIY movement
and creating and reading zines.
• Youth and young adult interests in art and culture
also occur within an organizational context.
– Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls (RRCG), Portland, Oregon
– Totally Cool Totally Art (TCTA), Austin, Texas
Associating With Tourism Initiatives
Recreation agencies and arts organizations
offering arts and cultural programs should
routinely associate with their local
convention and visitors bureaus (CVB).
For example, the city of Hamilton, Ontario,
designed and offers walking tours that go
beyond the traditional historic overview to
include topics with clear cultural
connections related to the evolution of the
city.
Responding to Lifestyle Shifts
• One size does not fit all.
• People’s contemporary lifestyles influence
what they do with their free time.
• An intersection between art and everyday
life is emerging.
• Vast numbers of people experience the arts
in an informal manner.
Creating Art Experiences
in Public Places
Places for public art and culture can include
certain sections of our towns and cities that
temporarily become art places:
– Busy streets are popular for art walks.
– Musicians or magicians perform in shopping malls.
– Rose gardens turn into outdoor movie theaters
during the summer.
– Businesses offer late-night poetry slams or a place
for musicians to practice after the business has
closed.
Summary
• Opportunities in the arts and culture
represent a complex and multifaceted area
of recreation programming. We must remain
open to new ways of creating experiences
in unanticipated public places.
• Arts and cultural experiences contribute not
only to individual growth and the
development of leisure interests but also to
building our communities through shared
experiences.