Engage Now!
Engage Now!
An arts worker’s guide to deepening experience and strengthening participation in the arts.
Participating in the arts is exhilarating, inspiring, and full of meaning. For years, I’ve wished that what means so much to me could be experienced by others, and I don’t mean just people with different values, but classmates, neighbors, and family members. I continually have asked myself why I can’t convince them to become active participants. I think we now have some of the answers.
Engage Now! is written to serve busy arts workers by summarizing key points from recent research and identifying new fundamentals of participation.
Throughout the guide, I use a framework, developed by RAND, that describes
people’s behavior and summarizes demographic, perceptual, practical, and
experiential aspects of their arts participation. I use this model as a reference point for other readings. I also provide practical examples – starred (*) paragraphs in the text – as well as worksheets and a bibliography of readings. Working collaboratively, we’ll gain new knowledge and develop new practices to increase participation. It’s our hope that these notes and our experience in Pittsburgh will assist other arts workers in their own organizations and communities.