ARTICLE | Making the Case for Arts-Based Engagement

ARTICLE | Making the Case for Arts-Based Engagement

This resource is also available in French. Click here to access the French version.

The arts bring life to our communities. It sparks joy. It teaches. It connects. It asks us to see things differently. But so often when the arts are used in community engagement activities it feels like an add-on, a sidebar. As we continue the migration from more traditional community engagement—that tends to rely on surveys and is more transactional in nature—to transformational engagement that seeks to authentically connect, listen, understand, and empower, arts practices have so much to offer

This article is for the community engagement practitioner who wants to breathe more life into the engagements they are designing. For the municipality who desperately wants to connect with community members in more creative ways. For the planner who feels more comfortable with quantitative processes but wants to stretch themselves. For the strategy facilitator who wants to create spaces for stakeholders to imagine. We invite you on a learning journey to try something new.



Recent posts

A group of people smiling and holding up chocolate moustaches. This is the team at Carman Wellness Connections.
CASE STUDY | Carman Wellness Connections
Why Community Engagement Is Essential to Climate Adaptation and Resilience
ARTICLE | Why Community Engagement Is Essential to Climate Adaptation and Resilience
 Interconnected Practices for Community and Systems Impact
ARTICLE | Interconnected Practices for Community and Systems Impact
Neighbours Taking a Strengths-Based Approach to Increase Emotional Well-Being in Their Community
Neighbours Taking a Strengths-Based Approach to Increase Emotional Well-Being in Their Community
ARTICLE | “I felt the power, I felt the fire”: Empowering Newcomers to the Peel Region Through Participatory Grantmaking
ARTICLE | Making the Case for Arts-Based Engagement
ARTICLE | Making the Case for Arts-Based Engagement
Making the Most of the Times - Virtual Community Engagement in Indigenous and Remote Communities
ARTICLE | Virtual Community Engagement in Indigenous and Remote Communities
How do you prioritize potential solutions?
Blog post: Resources for Truth and Reconciliation
Resources for Truth and Reconciliation
It's Time to Do Stakeholder Mapping Differently
How to Recruit Diverse Community Groups
A Gut Check on Youth Voice
PAPER | Understanding Community-Led Approaches to Community Change
ARTICLE | On Not Letting (Another) Crisis Go to Waste
house-1
Building Social Capital Through Bartering, Learning and Relationships
PAPER | Creating the Culture for Engagement
Finding the Right Community Engagement Mindset
The Opposite of Boring: Eight Things to Care About when Hosting A Community Consultation
feet looking down with two arrows
Authentic Engagement is a Personal Journey
Community Engagement - A Foundational Practice of Community Change
PAPER | Community Engagement - A Foundational Practice of Community Change
34354680954_dc2d8f49b0_o
Trust: An Essential Ingredient in Authentic Community Engagement