About the Community Arts Network
A study conducted by FASresearch on how to increase the social impact of the arts among 2075 organizations in 92 countries established that “community arts are a global community of ideas, but not yet a global community network”. That's why the Porticus Foundation-CAL and the Hilti Foundation have joined forces to create the Community Arts Network.
Co-created by visionaries who believe that the powerful transformative qualities of the arts can be used to make a social impact, CAN is a platform that aims to enable, engage and empower individuals, organizations and communities through the arts and unlikely alliances to generate meaningful change to shape a more humane future together.
To find out more about CAN, visit the following website
- Website
- YouTube
- Review the video ”Pioneers” by Anis Barnat at the #LearningPlanet 2021 Festival
- Review the festival session “Arts for Education
What can we expect from the new website?
There's an artistic dimension that will grab your attention visually. In addition, I'd like the website to be an invitation to explore the various offerings, in terms of useful tools, resources, impact stories, credible information, but also to be an opportunity to share and imagine new collaborations between CAN members. We want the website to be a useful tool for everyone and, hopefully, a modern-day “Tinder for the arts”.
So many organizations working in the arts are feeling alone these days; we hope CAN can provide a meeting space to find allies and invent new inspiring stories. We asked ourselves: how can we bring together this rich ecosystem and provide solid evidence of impact so that any grassroots organization in the world can go to potential funders with useful, accurate and meaningful information? And how can we bring hope and inspiration, change the current story and reimagine the future?
Can you describe your various impact partnerships?
The six partnerships form an interconnected network:
- Arts for Education: Recognizing that art is a catalyst and incentive for imparting 21st century knowledge and skills, Arts for Education is a global engagement program for individuals and organizations working to educate and empower young people.
- Arts for the climate : How can the arts make a difference? How can we move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution? Arts for Climate is a global engagement program for the arts world, focused on our common climate challenge and future.
- The arts in the service of democracy and peace-building : How can we use the arts to bring together communities that have suffered from wars or religious/ethnic problems? Relying on the qualities of art to move and inspire the masses, Arts for Democracy is a global engagement platform for individuals and organizations working to mobilize existing diasporas around the world and build the next generation of effective citizens.
- Arts for well-being : Using the special lens of the arts, Arts for Wellbeing is a global engagement program that aims to advance wellbeing at the heart of work in the social change sector.
- Arts for Hope : How, in these depressing times, can we find a relevant and good message? How can we bring joy to people? Arts for Hope & Coming Together is a global engagement platform for individuals and organizations working to build peace and transform conflict in order to restore hope.
- The arts at the service of business : How can we bring the arts into the world of business and enterprise? Arts for Business is a global engagement platform for individuals and organizations working to raise awareness of the need and opportunity to change the economic system.
Two other networks, which complement partnerships for impact, are very important for CAN:
- The artisans of change : For anyone who uses an artistic approach: a baker who loves to bake bread, a teacher with an inspiring method, a child who discovers the arts, caregivers who communicate with empathy, and so on. This art characterizes a way of life that values an artistic style, planting seeds in fertile soil for the six partnerships, and the other two
- A circle of funders, philanthropic circles, foundations : A good opportunity for activists to come together around a shared vision of arts for social change.
How have CAN and #LearningPlanet worked together to advance common learning goals, and how do you see this collaboration evolving in the future?
#LearningPlanet and CAN have very similar missions and share the same vision: we believe in a more connected world and a more synergistic system. We understand the value of creating this fertile ground and of being connectors in a fragmented landscape. It's only natural that we decided to collaborate with #LearningPlanet and advance common learning goals. We are very proud to be part of the #LearningPlanet community and to play an active role in past and future #LearningPlanet festivals. Together, we can open up discussions, bring together unlikely allies and create meaningful networking opportunities. It's by participating in important platforms, such as #LearningPlanet, that CAN can offer the opportunity for grassroots movements, business leaders, activists, artists, arts institutions and policy makers from around the world to discuss frameworks for a more connected, humane and just society. The more change agents there are around the cause, the better the information flows and circulates, and the greater the impact in the end.
We were delighted to take part in this year's #LearningPlanet festival (you can watch our dedicated session here). here). The Arts for Education session looks like what CAN and #LearningPlanet want to stand for: a rich and dynamic, multidisciplinary, geographically diverse and inspiring group of incredible individuals, all of whom believe strongly in an innovative and more impactful approach to our great challenges, celebrating the transformative power of the arts. The arts have a unique role and a vital responsibility in transforming what art could be. We want to work hand in hand with RCA and the #LearningPlanet festival, and maybe, who knows... organize a series of groundbreaking events. We have even bigger dreams and visions for next year's global event. For example, we'd like to propose a 24-hour artistic “off-Festival”, with a multitude of actors coming together to explore notions of a sustainable planet. It's a dream, but I'm sure we can make it happen. We'll be working on it, and look forward to seeing you next January, in 2022!
