It’s Lisa again - with a continuation of the discussion started in my previous blog on community engagement around the arts. Please keep in mind that my forays into relational aesthetics are only just beginning, and I welcome the comments of those much better read in this particular academic area.

Point II: “What criteria should we use to evaluate socially engaged art?” (taken from an interview with Claire Bishop from July 2006).

My last post was more concerned with evaluating the impact of community engagement programs in terms of social change, e.g. civic engagement. This post is inspired by the work of Claire Bishop, an Art History lecturer at the University of Warwick. Bishop argues that socially engaged art has been evaluated more for its ethical merit rather than aesthetic, with an overwhelming focus on process rather than on product. According to Bishop, “There can be no failed, unsuccessful, unresolved, or boring works of collaborative art because all are equally essential to the task of strengthening the social bond. While I am broadly sympathetic to that ambition, I would argue that it is also crucial to discuss, analyze, and compare such work critically as art.”

I reiterate that I am just now beginning to explore Dr. Bishop’s writings and the field of relational aesthetics overall, but when I ran across this quotation, I couldn’t resist bringing it up for discussion here. I’ll be writing again soon on how this discussion factors into our upcoming activities this summer at the Pulitzer.

I’m currently in a self-diagnosed professional existential crisis, which is not surprising given the phase of program we’re currently in…sort of like being on a plane in-line to take off after waiting on the tarmac for hours. In the back of my mind, I know that the hands-on work will begin in earnest, but in the meantime, that means I have too much time to think and continue to plan for the next exhibition. A wise man once told me, sometimes, the best thing you can do is sit back and wait, and this is definitely one of those times.So, back to the too much time thinking and the professional existential crisis…I find myself reflecting on the past six months and am realizing that I’m feeling somewhat removed from what originally brought me to this unique position. In a sense, I feel as if I’ve lost the social work side of the community engagement, so in the next few blogs, I plan to address this point by point in hopes that you might have thoughts, advice, and reflections that will ultimately help me find my way back to my core mission.

Point One: Evaluation.  Are we making an impact with what we do, and how do we measure that impact? One of the primary reasons for the merging of the applied social sciences and the arts is to further develop and refine the use of evaluation in community programs implemented by cultural institutions. There are a few sources out there that provide a framework for the discussion, one of which being Gifts of the Muse, a report released by the Rand Corporation in 2004 that proposes approaching the discussion about the benefits of the arts from a different perspective. The same tools, methods, and challenges are faced by social service providers, as they seek to justify the relevance and effectiveness of their work. While there are easily quantifiable measures of success, the qualitative effects of programs are more difficult to firmly grasp. Add to that the difficulty of proving causality, bias, and other perils of human subjects-based research, it becomes all too easy to lose yourself in a land of meaningless data collected through ineffective measures. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I blog about this, and the issues of effective evaluation are weighing heavily upon my mind at the moment. Do you have any ideas on what a good measure of impact of the arts might look like? If so, I’d love to hear them. Then we can get down to a discussion about methodology, instrumentation, and implementation.

Well, normally I would not be one to post my thoughts for the world to see—I find that they are much more comfortable nestled in my own head; however, since the lovely Rachel has requested a blog entry, how could I refuse? Think of it as a belated birthday gift, Rachel! My debut in the blogosphere comes from my new job as Manager of Community Engagement, a collaborative position between the Pulitzer and my dear alma mater, the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Now, being a social worker in the high contemporary art world might seem, at first, like being a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Samuel Clemens references aside, the fit is actually quite natural.

My position is predicated upon the belief that high art has social relevance, and through experience and evaluation, it will be possible to begin describing this social relevance in both qualitative and quantitative terms. In practical terms, it means that the Pulitzer will now be engaging the community in innovative and substantive ways in hopes that our community will be strengthened by our efforts.

You might be asking how we are defining community. I see community as all the people, neighborhoods, and institutions (private and public) that surround us. We have started working with the community around Grand Center, our immediate neighbors, as it were, but our plans are to expand far beyond these artificial boundaries. We’re not confining our efforts to the community defined by geographic proximity—I believe that community has been redefined in the digital age, and in recognition of that, we will be reaching out to you—fellow bloggers, programmers, system administrators, casual net surfers and web addicts alike. We need your input to build our network with you, so please share your thoughts. Are you interested in a Second Life counterpart, like the much-lauded Dresden Museum, or would you rather like the opportunity to curate your own exhibit within a blank digital Tadao Ando-designed canvas or help us develop folksonomy for our exhibited works? Let us know!

I promise to keep you abreast of our community engagement efforts, if you promise to give me your feedback—constructive or otherwise. I look forward to our conversations! In the meantime, happy surfing (if you’re interested, check out this New York Times article about the evolutionary purpose of art and culture) and best wishes for a happy 2008!