What are the skills I need and where can I get them?
Build your endurance here.
Last year, Jennifer McGregor and I were working on a book chapter about audience and socially engaged artwork. We decided to approach this massive topic by interviewing artists for whom community engagement is an instinctual and integral part of their practice. Some of them began as studio artists, and I am grateful that they shared their experiences about how they developed into artists who work in socially engaged ways. The list of skills below reflects the knowledge shared in those interviews, my experience as an artist and an arts administrator who commissions artists to engage with communities, my experience as an attendee of many lectures and conference panels on this subject, and as a person who encourages people to expand the types of opportunities and resources for artists to be involved in the development of community. This list is not only written for artists who want to work in socially engaged ways. It is for anyone who wants to collaborate in a community.
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Skill |
How to get it |
Why is this important? |
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Dowsing |
Break yourself of the habit of thinking you already know the skills and abilities and interests of the people you are working with. Seek out opportunities to learn about their areas of expertise and what they are interested in working on. |
Knowledge, experiences, and abilities are the groundwater of collaboration. Divining the knowledge of your collaborators and putting it to use creates agency in the development of the content and form of the project.
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Endurance
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There are lots of ways to build endurance for a long haul project, but if you are not used to working collaboratively on projects that can take a long time, consider attending public meetings that are not related to making artwork and see how long it takes for you to check your cell phone. Eventually, you won’t anymore. Try your local City Council; school board; PTA; food bank; church group; environmental, water, or air quality committee; a transportation committee, or citizen’s council.
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As you listen and watch what is going on in these groups, think about what would be helpful to your own process, and what could be reinvented. By attending a range of meetings like this and deeply listening, you also can gain a very good understanding of the diversity of issues at stake in a particular community; how people and organizations are connected; and what makes people laugh, cringe, or get agitated. |
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Humility
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Get schooled by someone who knows something you don’t know anything about. Or better yet, get schooled in something you think you know a lot about.
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People sharing their free time, resources, skills, ideas, connections, and more is a huge gift to any project and collaboration. Developing humility is a way to stay grateful and open to new ideas and opportunities. But it is also a reminder to thank people and ensure that they are engaged and appreciated. |
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Optimism
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I was lucky to be born very optimistic. Friends who are not naturally optimistic suggest surrounding yourself with people who are and fake it for a while until they rub off on you. Other ideas? Drink only half full glasses of water and wine. |
No one wants to work on something they think will never change or lacks interest. If you can’t see the hope in a complicated situation, how can you expect others to want to work with you? Optimism can help in identifying short term and attainable goals and make long-range goals seem possible. |
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Storytelling
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This skill is practiced in the beginning through the process of developing the project and seeking collaborators and resources. But once the project starts moving, tell stories using multiple formats, media, and languages, as well as stories for diverse audiences to add variety to your storytelling skillset. |
Getting people to show up and want to participate requires clear and inspiring communication. Socially engaged work can be very complex and being able to tell the story of a project can help bring together collaborators and allies. Telling the story of the project, or different stories of the project for different media, is essential. Sure, develop an elevator speech and a series of good tweets. But also develop ways to share the long, uncut tale through multiple points of view in a compelling way.
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About the contributor: Renee Piechocki is an artist and public art administrator living in Pittsburgh, PA. She is part of the collaboration Two Girls Working with Tiffany Ludwig. Their first project Trappings explored the meaning and presentation of power in women’s lives. 600 women from 15 states participated in interview sessions responding to the question: what do you wear that makes you feel powerful? Their current project explores the meaning of value in men’s lives and will be featured in an exhibition in Pittsburgh in fall 2015. She is also the founder of Pittsburgh’s Office of Public Art. You can learn more about her at reneepiechocki.com.