Art & Soul Civic Engagement Request for Proposals

The Orton Family Foundation (The Foundation) and the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) seek to partner with an Addison County, Vermont, community eager and able to collaborate on an exciting and novel approach to community engagement. The “Art & Soul” project will emphasize storytelling and the use of the arts to involve local residents.

Through this engagement, the selected town will begin a process of identifying and protecting its “heart & soul,” those attributes, special places, characteristics and customs that citizens treasure and that connect them to one another and to their town. If lost, these attributes would be widely missed. Through this pilot program, the community will better understand how to maintain its most valued attributes in the face of growth and change.

The Foundation invites applications from Addison County communities that have a strong rural character, an active network of involved citizens and elected leaders, and an interest in promoting citizen engagement. The Foundation anticipates selecting one (1) community to participate in this 18-month-long pilot project. This community will be eligible for supporting funds, training, technical assistance and an artist-in-residence. Community benefits include: an archive of digital interviews with town residents; an artist in residence and associated works of art; training and technical assistance with community engagement; supporting funds.

I. Project Goals

The Orton Family Foundation and the Vermont Land Trust believe that by connecting with deeper community values and relationships to place, citizens will be able to improve on traditional approaches to planning. The Foundation and VLT, in partnership with town- and community-based organizations, seek to utilize various forms of artistic expression to generate community-wide conversation. Art & Soul will offer creative, non-traditional methods of community engagement to explore whether, by starting with conversations around values and community heart & soul, residents will become more involved with, and can reach greater consensus on, decisions about the future of their town.

The Art & Soul approach aims to engage residents through storytelling, art making, and community dialogues, events and celebrations. The arts and humanities can contribute unique opportunities, settings, and creative approaches that reach new and diverse participants (including more youth), stimulate public dialogue about civic issues, and inspire action to make change. In arts-based civic engagement, the artistic process and art presentation provides a key focus, catalyst, and forum for public dialogue on issues. For more information and resources visit Animating Democracy website at: http://www.artsusa.org/animatingdemocracy/

The Art & Soul project has three components:

1. Gathering stories in the community around what residents value most in the connections to each other, their community and the land.
2. Community arts projects led by a Vermont artist for local residents to explore and reflect on those values and aspects of their community they cherish most and wish to pass on to future generations.
3. Community dialogues to devise concrete actions to implement and sustain those identified values as the town grows and develops.

II. Who Is Eligible?

Rural communities in Addison County, Vermont, with significant agricultural or natural resources and where community partners, including local nonprofits, service organizations, schools, businesses, citizen groups and town government are ready to work together to support and increase citizen engagement. Applications can be submitted by any community organization, local government, or representative on behalf of a community team.

III. Details of The Art & Soul Approach

Part 1 The Heart of the Matter

Gathering Stories From September through December 2008 a Middlebury College writing-intensive class lead by Professor John Elder will focus on collecting the stories of the town and bringing them back to the community in vivid and useful ways. Interviews will focus on how residents’ love of the land, sense of place, and rural life influence their sense of community and their civic dialogue. Among the townspeople to be interviewed will be its elders, youth, landowners, farmers, trades people, families, town officials, historians, and artists. Key questions will include both people’s most cherished memories of the town and their hopes and anxieties for the future. Possible products of the story gathering include: taped archival interviews, YouTube videos, audio slide shows, booklets, and a digital community almanac with stories, sounds and images captured onto a digital map and available via the Internet.

The story gathering project will culminate with town-wide events at which community members read stories and perform theater, and students report on their interviews and follow-up projects, distribute publications, and debut community videos.

Part 2 From Stories to Art

Conversation and Vision From October 2008 through September 2009 an artist, chosen by and working with the community, will build on the stories, engaging more residents and eliciting additional stories in different forms and voices. The goal is to include as many and diverse members of the community, from decision-making boards and land owners to schoolchildren, old timers and newcomers. Through conversation and art-making, the artist and the community will explore questions such as: Why do you live here? How does the working landscape impact your life? What are your favorite places? What are you proudest of? What one thing, if lost, would irrevocably change the quality of your life in this community? What are your hopes and concerns for future generations? Artists will be “in residence” or working in the community periodically over the 8- to 10-month period. Community celebrations will showcase the artworks and invite further dialogue on the stories and values emerging and the implications of the residents’ perceptions, beliefs and aspirations on the town’s future.

The Foundation, VLT and the Vermont Arts Council will identify professional artists experienced in working in community settings and engaging a diversity of audiences. Two to three artists of interest to the town will be invited to visit the community and propose projects for consideration. The town, with support from Art & Soul, will select the artist to be “in-residence” in the community. Artists working in all forms including theater, painting, sculpture and murals, music, dance, literature, photography, and film will be eligible for consideration.

In addition to the artist in residence, similar explorations and community conversations will occur through the schools and with local youth. The art forms will be decided by the students and supported by teachers or community members. The student art will also be integrated with the community presentations.

Part 3 From Art to Soul and Beyond

Taking Action Townspeople will identify ways to reflect the articulated values and aspirations sparked by the story gathering and art projects in concrete actions, policies and choices shaping the future of their community and its land use. For example, a parcel or building could be designated for community use and improvement plans for the site developed; or the town plan and zoning regulations could be revised; or a landscape conservation plan could be written and adopted by the town. The direction and details of these actions will grow out of the learning from the creative phase and the responsibility for realizing these visions will rest firmly with the citizens.

The Foundation will support the community in implementing these actions through technical assistance and additional funding (up to $25,000) for eligible activities.

IV. Proposed Project Timeline

V. Role of the Foundation and VLT

The Orton Family Foundation works to build vibrant and enduring communities. It helps small cities and towns describe, apply and sustain their heart & soul assets so that they can adapt to change while enhancing the attributes they value most. Foundation staff has expertise in community planning, citizen engagement, planning tools application, project evaluation, and communications; as an operating foundation, its staff will be directly involved as a partner in selected projects. The Vermont Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals, organizations, and communities to conserve land for the future of Vermont. Its staff has expertise in land conservation and community engagement.

The Foundation and VLT staff will not be involved in day-to-day project implementation, but rather will serve in an “active advisory” role. In this role, Foundation and VLT staff will be available to assist with project design and help to identify and provide citizen engagement tools. Additionally, as a project partner and source for funding, the Foundation and VLT will be involved with the approval of consultants and artists and the scope of their work. The Foundation and VLT will also work with local leaders to evaluate the project and to communicate results to local, regional and national audiences.

VI. Role of the Community

The participating community and any of its partner organizations are expected to play a major role in project direction, management, and implementation. Communities or project teams must demonstrate that they have the leadership and capacity to ensure successful engagement, processes, and outcomes, and that they will dedicate personnel to complete the project activities.

It is anticipated that the Art & Soul project will have a designated part time coordinator to communicate with the public, partners, artists, and others involved with the project. This coordinator should be seen as a “neutral” member of the community without a particular agenda for the project’s outcome. The cost of the coordinator is reimbursable by the Foundation and VLT. In addition, the community will take the lead on public outreach efforts, providing adequate facilities for meetings and for the artist-in-residence to carry out his or her work, and provide in-kind, staff, financial and/or other resources for the project, as needed for successful completion.

VII. Support and Resources

The Foundation and VLT will commit the following resources to the project, valued at $55,000, over the 18 month project period:

• archive of community interviews and stories
• artist in residence fees
• project coordination fees
• workshops and training
• meeting facilitation
• project documentation
• events
• materials and supplies
• web-based communication

In addition, The Foundation and VLT will provide project evaluation, technical assistance, training, community engagement tools, and project advisement. The primary purposes of Foundation and VLT’s funding are to bring or enhance creative citizen engagement and storytelling, innovation, and effective discussions and decision-making. At the project’s completion, the community will be eligible for additional funding of up to $25,000 to implement the actions that emerged from the process related to land use and future growth. A detailed project budget will be developed in partnership with the selected community.

VIII. Criteria for Selecting a Community

The successful community will have a strong, if not predominant, rural character and demonstrate:

• A high level of commitment from community leadership and community partners, and the willingness and flexibility to undertake innovative, experimental processes
• A commitment to a high level of citizen involvement, including youth
• A commitment to putting values and vision into action, plans and/or policies
• A willingness to participate in workshops, training, art process and exchange of ideas
• A commitment to evaluating and sharing results of the project
• The ability to identify and contribute local human, in-kind, and financial resources to enable the project’s success

IX. How to Apply

1. Complete project questionnaire (attached), not to exceed 5 pages at 12 pt font, single-spaced

2. Attach letters of support from local government, schools and participating organization(s) 3. Attend information meetings on Art & Soul Civic Engagement:

Wednesday, May 21 7:00-8:30 pm, Shoreham (Shoreham Congregational Church—Downstairs)

Thursday, May 22 6:00-7:30 pm, Bristol (Mt. Abraham Union High School—Small Cafeteria)

Proposals must be submitted electronically no later than Monday, June 30, 2008 to: Maureen Gour at mgour@orton.org.