art/vision/voice - Maryland Institute College of Art

110 art / vision / voice
carmel Of the $7 million raised by Columbia in one year, $5 million
was [cap funding]. This work is fundable. The question is how are
these resources really benefiting the college? Columbia has created
Vision 2010, which calls for students being actively engaged in
communities and civically responsible. The college is ready to
support work in the community, but buy-in within the institution
is not universal.
ken Over the last ten to fifteen years, mica has become a one of the
leading art institutions in the U.S., consistently ranked in the top
tier of art colleges. mica used to be a regional school. Now
it is a national, international school that embodies the highest
principles, standards, and expectations of the fine arts world.
Nonetheless, as Baltimore goes, so does mica. cap and other programs
at mica continue to serve as the anchor to the college’s longstanding
commitment to the local community and culture.
closing
In looking back at the stories that arose from our efforts to create
partnerships between diverse communities and institutions of higher
learning, many elements of our work have become clear. The stories are in
the main about the struggle to move mainstream academic institutions
forward to meet the needs of communities while at the same time
preparing young artists to transform the role of a studio artist to an artistcitizen
engaged in the lives of others and in the issues of their time.
These cases are the first systematic attempt to document how this
educational model might occur. They reveal the frustration and critical
junctures of misunderstanding, revision, negotiation, and change
required to be truly involved in serving our society. The main themes
of legacy and knowing reflect the deep wealth of knowledge within our
communities. But the dilemmas are as revealing as the themes.
The struggles for power, the conflicts of values, the tensions between
students and youth, and the institutional obstacles and inconsistent
resources were persistent elements in the narratives. In confronting
these dilemmas the stories do not always offer the best solution, but
they offer the possibility of a discourse that takes us to resolution.
In this book’s introduction, by Arlene Goldfarb, the issues of advocacy,
the artist’s role, community collaboration, and process were raised as
attributes of the work undertaken in the field of community cultural
development. This casebook, while it is a resolana, a telling of shared
stories, is also a vital confirmation of these attributes. The stories honor