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Building Public Engagement in the Arts

A workshop held in Fredericton on March 30, 2009

A workshop held in Fredericton on March 30, 2009

The project

The pilot project Building Public Engagement in the Arts will promote the arts among New Brunswickers and strive to increase their participation in the arts and culture.

The project is an initiative of the Canada Council for the Arts and its partners:  Department of Canadian Heritage (Atlantic region), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, New Brunswick Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport and New Brunswick Arts Board.

The project has 3 objectives:

  1. to collect data on the attitude of New Brunswickers toward the arts and on their participation in arts activities
  2. to encourage New Brunswickers to increase their participation in arts activities
  3. to increase the ability of the local arts organizations to establish relations with their public

Public engagement in the arts means any involvement in the arts, including participation, donations, education and volunteerism. This pilot project is based on the major study on arts participation published in the United States in 2001 by the RAND Corporation. A report on the results of the study is available here.

The pilot project includes a number of complementary initiatives, among them projects on research or skills development for the arts community, outreach and support for public engagement for organizations.

Project development

We conducted a public opinion telephone survey in 2008 among 1000 residents of New Brunswick on their participation in arts activities and the level of importance they give the arts. The report on the results of this survey is available here.

Local arts organizations and institutions carried out self-assessments in early 2008. Through feedback we received from questionnaires and a series of interviews, we were able to determine training needs and a format for 2 skills development workshops.

Workshops on public engagement were held in Moncton (June 2008) and in Fredericton (March 2009).

Arts Participation Fund

The Fund is a component of the pilot project. It provides financial and peer support to New Brunswick arts organizations to help them implement self-designed arts participation projects.

Objectives of the fund:

  • to support NB arts organizations in developing innovative arts participation projects
  • to increase the knowledge and capacity of NB arts organizations in broadening, deepening and diversifying their relationship with their publics
  • to develop, within the NB arts community, an opportunity for shared learning around public engagement in the arts.

Two NB organizations - Performing Arts NB and the Conseil provincial des sociétés culturelles - will administer the Arts Participation Fund on behalf of the 5 funding partners. The application period closed on May 27, 2009.

Funded projects :

The projects proposed by the following 6 organizations were selected by a peer assessment committee:

1.      ARCf de Saint-Jean (Saint John)
2.      Centre communautaire Beausoleil (Miramichi)
3.      Les Productions DansEncorps inc. (Moncton)
4.      Musical Ventures inc.
        (site 1 and site 2) (Fredericton)
5.      St. Andrews Arts Council (St. Andrews)
6.      Symphony New Brunswick (Saint John)

These organizations will take part in a meeting halfway through their projects where they will share their public engagement experience.