Design / architecture

These thoughts were sparked by attending the Council on Foundations 57th Annual Conference, "Philanthropy: Investing in the Vision of Progress." I was especially engaged by the plenary remarks of George Soros and Newt Gingrich.

A growing number of scholars and writers have been tracing the multiple connections between the arts and economic vitality during the past decade. A recent book by anthropologist Maribel Alvarez, There's Nothing Informal about It: Participatory Arts within the Cultural Ecology of Silicon Valley (2005) has drawn a new set of connections for me and raised the possibility that informal, or participatory, cultural practices may have greater meaning in an economic context than I previously recognized.

America is on the threshold of a significant transformation in cultural life. There have been many cultural shifts in recorded history: Gutenberg's invention of the printing press and the rise of the reading public; the growth of a mercantile class and the birth of private art markets independent of the church and the king; the invention of gas streetlights and the beginning of urban nighttime entertainment. The most recent cultural transformation, still with us today, was set in motion on the threshold of the twentieth century.

2005, 158 pages. Arts Education Partnership , One Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001-1431, 202-336-7016, aep@ccsso.org

The Arts Education Partnership's new book, Third Space: when learning matters, should be required reading for anyone involved in what promises to be a lively and contentious debate around the 2007 reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

2006, 114 pages. Published by the University of Minnesota, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Project on Regional and Industrial Economics (PRIE). Funded by the McKnight Foundation and the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota.

2005, 65 pages. Institute for Innovation in Social Policy, Vassar College, Box 529, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, 845-452-7332. For copies contact opdycke@earthlink.net

The second in a series based on a national survey (the first was 2002), this report looks at participation in artistic and cultural experiences in the US in quantifiable terms as well as in ways such experiences affect the well-being of participants. One key finding is that 78 percent of respondents "believe that attending art events helped them to see things from other people's perspectives."

2005, 78 pages. McKnight Foundation, 710 Second Street South, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401, 612-333-4220

Beginning with an honest appraisal of the way changing economic factors have reshaped Minnesota's rural communities, this elegant publication highlights artistic projects and the individuals who have helped maintain or restore cultural vitality to different towns throughout the state.

122 pages. Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), 1743 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202, 888-562-7232 or 303-629-1166, staff@westaf.org

October 2005, 200 pages, $19.95. New Village Press, Oakland, CA, 510-420-1361, www.newvillagepress.net

A Beginner's Guide to Community-based Arts is a wonderfully designed and accessible training guidebook for teachers, artists, and activists wanting to use art as a vehicle for social change. Lead writer Mat Schwarzman and cartoonist Keith Knight create graphic profiles of ten exemplary practitioners followed by activities, exercises, discussion questions, and resources on how to connect with and develop art emanating out of a particular community.

2005, 67 pages. Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, 161 Avenue of the Americas, 12th floor, New York, NY 10003, 212-992-8847, www.fepproject.org

Download PDF: www.fepproject.org/policyreports/WillFairUseSurvive.pdf