art/vision/voice - Maryland Institute College of Art

48 art / vision / voice
These innovative partnerships with leading community-based
organizations have not only increased young people’s participation in
the arts in the New Orleans region, but also have allowed Xavier to
include the community as part of its teaching pedagogy, provided
opportunities for traditional skills-based art training for Xavier students,
and offered Xavier students and art faculty the chance to work with
leading New Orleans community artists and to develop leadership skills
by mentoring youth from under-served communities.
As a response to lessons learned from cap projects, the art and
business departments at Xavier developed a minor in community arts
management to model the ways and means by which community
organizations, service providers, cultural institutions, and government
agencies across the nation utilize the community arts profession as a
tool for social engagement and change. This program grows out of
Xavier’s belief that the consideration of what it means to be an artist
citizen, applied experience communicating and working with different
people, and collaborative work for the common good are all important
components in a complete education that prepares students to be
citizens in the democratic process.
New Orleans is a city rich in culture and tradition, known for its arts
and cultural scene. The city also prides itself on “passing knowledge on,”
and instilling its grassroots sense of community into everything from
businesses enterprises to philanthropic efforts. This new curriculum
helps Xavier’s Department of Art to fulfill a need in a city where festivals,
galleries, and film production companies are becoming the backbone
of the city’s economy. In recent years, the field of community arts has grown
exponentially in response to the discovery that the arts are an effective
way to involve people of every age and background in making their
communities healthier, more secure, and more democratic. This growth
has led to the need to create a common language for practitioners
and scholars to discuss and compare practices, and to professionalize
the field by establishing a baseline of theoretical and practical
educational experience.
Ron Bechet, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Art, and
Director, Community Arts Partnerships, Xavier University of Louisiana
xavier students and faculty work on
a commissioned ceramic chapel
wall for father moses anderson.
xavier students nadra reeves and
perrin green work with start
program students.
saturday start program class
instructed by 1978 xavier art
graduate denise newman.