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Community Cultural Development

according to Adams & Goldbard

Don Adams and Arlene Goldbard developed these lists in their books, Creative Community: the Art of Cultural Development (2001) and Community, Culture and Globalization (2002) for the Rockefeller Foundation. I reviewed these list for Artwork in 2003.

The seven 'unifying principles' that they believe guide the work of 'practitioners of ccd':

• Active participation in cultural life is an essential goal of ccd.
• All cultures are essentially equal, and society should not promote one as superior to the others.
• Diversity is a social asset, part of the cultural commonwealth, requiring protection and nourishment.
• Culture is an effective crucible for social transformation, one that can be less polarising and create deeper connections than other social change arenas.
• Cultural expression is a means of emancipation, not the primary end in itself; the process is as important as the product.
• Culture is a dynamic protean whole, and there is no value in creating artificial boundaries within it.
• Artists have roles as agents of transformation that are more socially valuable than mainstream art-world roles - and certainly equal in legitimacy.

The 'core beliefs about the nature of the social transformation (that ccd) seeks to advance':

• Critical examination of cultural values can reveal ways in which oppressive messages have been internalised by members of marginalised communities. Comprehending this 'internalisation of the oppressor' is often the first step toward learning to speak one's own truth in one's authentic voice.
• Live, active social experience strengthens individuals' ability to participate in democratic discourse and community life, whereas an excess of passive, isolated experience disempowers.
• Society will always be improved by the expansion of dialogue and by the active participation of all communities and groups in exploring and resolving social issues.
• Self-determination is an essential requirement of the dignity and social participation of all communities. No narrow interest within society should have the power to shape social arrangements for all the others.
• A goal of ccd work is to expand liberty for all, so long as no community's definition of "liberty" impinges on the basic human rights of others.
• A goal of ccd work is to promote equality of opportunity among groups and communities, helping to redress inequalities wherever they appear.
• Ccd work helps create conditions in which the greatest number are able to discover their potentials and use their resources to advance these aims.

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From The Hawkes Library; affiliated with FourthPillar.biz

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