#artsmgtchat

Guest blogger and host: Bea Dominguez
Online Community Curator at TechSoup/Media and Communications Director at Emerging Arts Professionals

There have been a lot of conversations around the role of the arts in the creation of vibrant cities. These conversations have gained popularity since the release of Richard Florida’s book The Rise of the Creative Class And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure and Everyday Life. The book argues that “creatives” – those whose economic function is to create new ideas – can encourage the sort of economic development that drives urban revitalization. Such economic development also influences the launch of large-scale funding initiatives such as Art Place, a private-sector partnership created to foster “creative placemaking” supported by major national foundations. But are artists and arts organizations the saviors of our cities? Can art truly change our neighborhoods? The economy? The world?

Read the Full Post Here

Questions

1. What do you think is the role of the arts in urban renewal & community rehabilitation?
2. What makes a successful/vibrant city?
3. What is the formula? How is it that art transforms our cities?
4. Are arts the precursors of vibrant cities or are they the outcome?
5. Does your city value creative labor? In what ways can it value it more?
6. What does it mean to you to transform a neighborhood?
7. Does community transformation mean gentrification? How can the arts avoid adverse change? How can we transform cities and neighborhoods yet remain inclusive?
8. How do you feel about large urban development projects. Do you think they are opportunistic?
9. How do you feel about the “community arts” label? good/bad/changing?
10. How do you measure success with these projects?
11. Can you share some examples of art transforming cities and communities near you?

About Bea Dominguez

Bea is a Jane of all trades who loves building community and connecting with people through art and technology. A citizen of the world, she grew up in El Salvador and Guatemala and spent a year in the South of France during college. She has a B.A. in Art History from San Francisco State University and has worked in education, community engagement, development, marketing, event management, and administration for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Currently, Bea is the Online Community Curator at TechSoup, a non-profit that connects other nonprofits and libraries with the technology resources and information they need to further their mission. She manages a project involving a collection of stories about nonprofits using technology for good. Prior to her work at TechSoup, Bea managed operations and recruiting for Zanbato, a Silicon Valley start-up promoting global infrastructure development, and coordinated membership activities and social media for Intersection for the Arts, a multidisciplinary arts organization. An active volunteer, Bea is the Media and Communications Director at Emerging Arts Professionals, a network focused on professional development for arts and culture workers in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a collaborator/instigator for Trade School SF, an alternative, self-organized school that runs on barter and SF Noir, a non-profit celebrating Black contributions to arts and culture. When she is not working, you can find Bea at various arts events throughout San Francisco, having dinner with friends, organizing outings, reading fiction or planning her next travel adventure. Follow Bea on Twitter and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Join us!

• Tune in on Friday, June 22 at 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern (6:00 p.m. GMT) to participate in the fourth round of #artsmgtchat.
• Follow @artsmgtchat and Bea (@trichetriche) for questions. You can use TweetChat to follow the discussion. Make sure you use the hashtag #artsmgtchat to be included in the discussion.
• If you are new to our Twitter chat, please check out our Twitter Chat 101 guide.
• Bring a colleague to this Friday’s #artsmgtchat.
• Tweet this post and share with friends on LinkedIn and Facebook.