How Does a Community
Fund the Arts?
by Kathy Bisbee

I recently spent four days in Boston at the NAMAC conference (National Association for Media Arts & Culture) learning about many media, youth, and performing arts projects around the country. One of the most interesting discussions focused on how community arts organizations can shape and define the importance of arts in our communities.

We agreed that there is a need to tell our fellow citizens that America can be great through the arts. But how do we create that sense of urgency around funding the arts if some folks think art isn’t accessible to their lives and when art funding has to compete with many other worthy causes?

How do we as individuals and as a community value art? If we can communicate that art is a broader tool to create community and world change, perhaps we can encourage support for the arts as a way to expressive creativity, a vehicle for community preservation, cultural heritage, a method to foster important community dialogues, and community-oriented approach to supporting economic development.

At CMAP, our members to learn how to use our media and technology tools to use media arts to express themselves, to interview others, to tell community stories through visual imagery, narration, and compelling messages. We help non-profits sharpen their communications through video and the web to attract new volunteers, funders, and promote their services. And we teach youth critical thinking skills, self-expression, and video production.

I look forward to helping you utilize CMAP’s media arts resources to unleash your creativity and inner artist at our upcoming digital storytelling, claymation, digital filmmaking, and social media classes this fall. Visit us at www.cmap.tv or call CMAP at 408.846.4983 to see our upcoming class schedule.