Community Building

With support from the Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Education Fund, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) has developed the Welcoming and Inclusive Communities Toolkit, wanting to build welcoming and inclusive communities and combat racism and discrimination. The toolkit aligns closely with the goals of the human rights commission to build inclusive and welcoming communities and reduce racism and discrimination.

The Laurier Institution report on "Municipal anti-racism and diversity programs in Canada" provides an overview of diversity and anti-racism programs in Canadian municipalities, identifies some of the major benefits of these programs, and describes some of the more innovative features of programs in five moderately sized municipalities across Canada.

Presentation Handout in PDF format based on the Laurier Institution's report: key findings.

Community Arts Program for professional artists.

CBC Radio's "One Book" project.

Desired outcomes, challenges and lessons learned.

Creative City Network of Canada. Article written by Kari Huhtala on the rise of new architecture and public art that reflects the cultural fusion and cross-cultural experience that is Richmond.

A City of Vancouver Storyscapes project to collect stories about the intersection of Chinese and Aboriginal cultures.

Collingwood Neighbourhood House community-building through the arts project in East Vancouver – Final Report.

Carnegie Community Centre's first festival of films inspired by, relating to and created in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Fundraising calendar for the DTES Pivot Legal Society - images taken by DTES residents.

Vancouver Public Library's "One Book" project.

Folk songs for the five points is a celebration of cultural diversity and change, using "folk songs" as a metaphor to explore immigration and the formation of identity in New York's Lower East Side. The project isn't about absolute answers or clear definitions but about celebrating the unexpected richness that confronts you at every turn. (Thank you Dave Plouffe, Heritage Planner, City of Calgary).

Pia Moriarty, Ph.D. (2004). Inquiries into Culture Series. San José, California: Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley.

Case studies of exemplary voluntary and community arts projects in Wales.

The Access to Media Education Society Peer Perspectives program brings together young citizens to train and use media to create film and classroom curriculum to counter stereotypical media depictions of youth. In past projects, youth participants have addressed such topics as homophobia and racism.

ArtReach Toronto is a three-year pilot project that aims at increasing arts opportunities for excluded youth in under-served areas of Toronto to help develop their leadership abilities. It is supported by all three levels of government and various non-profit organizations. ArtReach Toronto will encourage youth to take the lead in defining what art means to them and what they need from the program to achieve their goals.

Sidewalk mosaic project undertaken by Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver to outreach to street-involved youth and to raise awareness of their issues.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport, UK (April 2010). This document sets out a vision that all children, no matter where they live or what their background, should have the opportunity to enjoy high-quality cultural experiences in and out of school.

Comprehensive & persuasive report of the President's Committee on the arts & humanities on the role of the arts & culture in youth development.

Arts Council England. October 2009.

Excellent online guide and resources for youth at risk arts programmes.

Arts Council England. (June 2006). This report summarises the findings of case study research into a drama based Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) project. The project was delivered using the Drama Enrichment materials which form part of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) PLUS strategy. Executive Summary.

Brunson, R., Conte, Z. and Masar, S. (2002). USA: National Center for Conflict Resolution Education.

H'art Studio: school of smiles is a non-profit organization offering education opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities. Programs enlist the arts to inspire and motivate.

Famous People Players is an internationally-acclaimed puppeteer company based in Toronto whose performers all face developmental challenges.

By Jaclyn Fuller, Fiona Jongsma, Kelly Milne, Sofia Venuti & Kristy Williams, Accessible Arts, Australia, January 2009. This qualitative study focuses on how creativity is facilitated within a range of creative art services for adults with disabilities. The study conducted by the authors is posed from an occupational therapy perspective to draw on the values of current art services run in the Sydney metropolitan area for this specific adult group.

Mary Hutchison (2005). Arts Access Australia.

Fotis Kapetopoulos (2009). Australia Council for the Arts.

Website of Animating Democracy Initiative: Fostering artistic activity that encourages civic dialogue on important contemporary issues (USA).

National Economic Social Forum, January 2007. National Economic & Social Development Office (NESDO).

National Endowment for the Arts. October 2009.

Summary of findings that people who participate in the arts are more likely to engage in other community activities.

A guide to the connections between Community Cultural Development and Health, Ecologically Sustainable Development, Public Housing and Place, Rural Revitalisation, Community Strengthening, Active Citizenship, Social Inclusion and Cultural Diversity. Deborah Mills and Paul Brown (2004). Commonwealth of Australia and Australia Council for the Arts.

National Endowment for the Arts.

Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engagement in America, at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Translation Paper Number Twelve, Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and Grantmakers in the Arts. April 2003.

A literature review commissioned by the Arts Council of England to support its two-year social inclusion research programme. The review explores the concept of social exclusion, and evidence of the impact of the arts in contributing to addressing social exclusion.

Walker, C., Fleming, C., Sherwood, K. (2003). Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.

Community Arts practices & information exchange.

Website of Community Arts Ontario.

What is community arts? How can we view it as an artistic discipline? How has community arts emerged in Canada and in other countries? How does one start a community arts project? What are some of the challenges to working in this creative collaborative process?

Summary of current directions and understandings in social cohesion research.

Martin Mulligan, Kim Humphery, Paul James, Christopher Scanlon, Pia Smith and Nicky Welch (2006). The Globalism Institute.

Jeremy Nowak (December 2007). The Reinvestment Fund.

Research in cultural participation rates and effects on civic participation and community development.

Maria Rosario Jackson, Florence Kabwasa-Green, & Joaquín Herranz. (2006). Culture, Creativity, and Communities Program: The Urban Institute.

2005 Report, based on a national survey in the United States, investigating the varying motivations and expectations people have when they attend different types of artistic events.

Wallace Foundation (August 2009).

Report from the American based Freedom of Expression Policy Project.

Grams, Diane and Warr, Michael. (2003). Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Cleveland, William (2005). A Report from the Community Arts Network. Washington, DC: Art in the Public Interest. This study of 10 exemplary American community arts programs focuses on how these organizations have managed to make significant and sustained contributions to their communities, defined as change leading to the long-term advancement of human dignity, health and/or productivity.

Lalonde, M. et als. (2006). Chicago: University of Chicago, Cultural Policy Center. First study of its kind in a major US metropolitan centre finds that while race and ethnicity do play a role in lower participation rates among African-Americans and Latinos, socio-economic factors are the strongest predictors of participation.

Rand Corporation, Kevin F. McCarthy, Kimberly J. Jinnett. Behavioural model that identifies main factors for individual decisions for cultural participation at successful institutions.

Urban Institute, November 2002. Survey of how and why Americans participate in arts and culture.

M. Sharon Jeannotte. The International Journal of Cultural Policy, 2003 Vol. 9 (1), pp. 35–49.