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Title Uncovering Art in C-U, Forming partnerships to share and promote artwork and address issues of concern to artists in Champaign-Urbana
Introduction This workshop seeks to bring together members of the local arts community to engage in a discussion related to forming new partnerships and addressing common obstacles. The group will work to identify ways to overcome common obstacles with the support of technology. The discussion has been structured to maximize opportunities for individual reflection, peer learning, and collaborative decision-making. The workshop is designed to take place over the course of one to two hours. It has five distinct parts: 1. Addressing common obstacles 2. Identifying commonalities in the obstacles mentioned 3. Identifying confrontable issues and choosing specific goals 4. Identifying resources available to support those goals a. Discussion of relevant technologies (addressing pros and cons of using each) 5.) Planning next steps for the project Role of the facilitator: a) Guides the group through various activities to achieve group defined objectives b) Helps provide opportunities for all to participate c) Promotes discussion that values differences and works to reach consensus d) Ensures that discussion works toward the stated goals of the workshop and revisits class goals as necessary during workshop. It is recommended that the workshop be facilitated by a team of two instructors. Team teaching has many benefits including a.) a co-instructor can serve as a check when the facilitator of the discussion misses something of importance b.) a coinstructor increases the amount of teaching experience in the classroom, which can be especially useful when determining how to reorient a discussion that has moved outside of the scope of the class' overall goals. Additionally, it would be advantageous if at least one of the co-instructors was a member of the local arts community.

Text that appears in quotes in the outline below is intended to serve as an example. It is assumed that facilitators will alter questions and the format of workshop in accordance with the needs / interests of each group of workshop participants. Setting / Logistics / Promotion The workshop should be held in whichever space is most welcoming for a broad cross section of the local arts community. Semi-circle seating is most effective in creating an engaging environment. Food and child care should be provided. The workshop requires a large whiteboard or multiple posters, given the amount of information that will be written down. Promotion o The workshop may be promoted through the calendars of local organizations, flyers, email, and word of mouth, amongst other options. o Promotion should emphasize inclusivity, making those who create all types of art feel welcome. o It may be beneficial for the facilitator to directly contact groups who may be interested in the workshop, e.g. arts and crafts entrepreneurs, hobbyists, local bands.

Potential challenges The most challenging aspect for facilitators will likely involve responding to diverse responses (such as those that follow the question what are some obstacles that youve faced related to creating and sharing your artwork?) in a manner that pays due attention to each participant's response and helps direct the discussion down a path that is compatible with the workshop's goals and can lead to tangible outcomes. The facilitator should be prepared to respond to a participant monopolizing the discussion, comments that are outside the scope of the workshops aims, and returning to an important piece of information that may have been initially overlooked.

Workshop Goals / Outcomes Broad goals for workshop Fosters community building. Provides opportunities to develop new skills. Embraces difference as a resource. Empowers participants by providing opportunities to learn more about themselves and their communities, leading to new access points for information of interest. Challenges norms associated with technology use in that participants will utilize technology based on a shared goal, whereas technology use is typically individual driven. Opportunities are provided for participants to form new dialogues and learn from one another. Explores ways to tap into the wealth of community knowledge present in Champaign-Urbana by valuing each participants experience and point of view. Outcomes for initial workshop: A common problem is defined Goals are selected Technologies used to support goals are identified Next steps for project are determined The above steps will each take place through collaborative decision-making.

Outline Welcome / Introduction a) Pass out handouts (a handout example can be found on pg. 9) b) Brief description of workshop topic and proposed outcomes (as described in Outcomes for initial workshop). c) Participants are asked to write their names on a folded piece of paper. d) Icebreaker: Share your name, the type of art that you do, and how long you have been making that type of art. Additional option: share the art that youve enjoyed most lately (music, movies, visual art, et al) and why you thought it was great.

Ground rules for discussion The group will collaboratively determines rules / recommendations for having an effective discussion which will be written on a surface that is viewable to everyone in the workshop. Discussion begins with the facilitator making a recommendation, e.g. when someone is speaking, that person has the floor. The speaker holds floor until he or she yields that right and turns it over to somebody else. Facilitator: Any suggestions for additional ground rules? If it has not been addressed, mention that in the discussion silence is ok, its important to have time to consider. It may be necessary to revisit some topics. Facilitator: We will use a parking lot to return to topics (parking lot drawn on whiteboard) that may involve too detailed a discussion for the time that we have available. Time permitting, we will revisit the parking lot at the end of workshop to decide the most appropriate course of action for each item, e.g. continued discussion at a later date. Facilitator: Do these rules seem ok to everyone?

Questions First question Facilitator: What are some obstacles that youve faced related to creating and sharing your artwork? Participants are given 3 5 minutes to write down their responses, which will then be shared with the class. Facilitator creates column titled Obstacles After participants have finished writing, facilitator shares an example, e.g. I believe that theres a lack of performance spaces for musicians Participants responses are then written on board.

Follow up question Facilitator: How might we group these items? Do you see commonalities amongst them? Participants are given time to reflect on the diagram, then draw connections and relationships between different issues. If the initial questions dont lead to significant dialogue, the following questions can be posed: How do you feel about community accessibility to the arts? Artist accessibility to resources such as health care? Opportunities for collaboration and partnerships amongst artists? How do you typically share your work? Is there anything that would assist in sharing your work this way? Advice for following up on participants responses to create a productive dialogue: Ask the participant why he or she has made a certain response. Ask the participant to provide evidence; or can the participant provide an example? If necessary, ask the participant to clarify his or her response. Try referring to your own experience to help encourage responses and make participants feel comfortable.

Identifying confrontable issues Facilitator: Looking at the diagram it seems that _____ is a particular problem / issue for artists in our community. Do you agree? Consensus is reached by utilizing the fist-to-five consensus check.

The fist-to-five consensus check works like this: The facilitator asks for a show of hands on a fist-to-five basis if the group can agree on a particular discussion point or conclusion. All group members must participate in a display of hands. By using fingers or a fist, the group members indicate their views: Five fingers = best Four fingers = good Three fingers = okay Two fingers = needs more discussion One finger = not good Fist = totally against The group should consider consensus if all hands show showing three or more fingers. Should any one individual or more individuals display a fist or less than three fingers, then a consensus has not been reached. A majority in agreement is not a consensus. The group needs to continue its discussion on the topic by first hearing from an individual with a fist or one or two fingers displayed, and then from a representative of the three fingers or more group. After the discussion, ask for a new show of hands. Continue the process until the group ultimately reaches consensus. If after a reasonable amount of repetitions and discussion the team cannot reach agreement, then there are two alternatives: Either parking lot the topic for future attention, or the facilitator will then make a decision. The benefit of this decision-taking place after the fist-to-five method is that all participants should at least feel as though they had the opportunity to be heard.

Follow-up Question: Have we missed anything?

Identifying specific goals and resources available to support those goals Facilitator: How can we overcome this problem? What would be the ideal outcome? How can we reach that outcome? What kind of resources would be beneficial (e.g. events publications, workshops, arts education, neighborhood organizing)?

Responses are recorded on board and grouped by type.

Discussion of relevant technologies Facilitator: Is there a technology (website, video, presentation editors, design software etc.) that can help us meet that outcome? Participants work in groups of 2-3 to brainstorm. Each group has a presenter - responses written on board. Facilitator: Given our goals lets imagine that we try to get together in this space in the near future. Lets imagine that we use technology #1, where would that take us? We can expect that using technology #1 as a tool for supporting goals is going to shape our outcomes in a different way than other tools would. Since each tool will take us in different direction, lets critically consider each one, and take the ones that will allow to best achieve the goals that have been decided upon. List is created of pro / con arguments for different technologies. After a technology or group of technologies is chosen: Lets return to the fist / five fingers method Facilitator Ok, so it seems that ______ is a technology that could support these goals. Does anyone have experience using this tool? If so, would you be willing to lead a skill sharing session at some time in the near future? Is there a date that would work for everyone for a skill sharing session and continuing our discussion about utilizing this technology to achieve the goals weve laid out? Alternative to skill sharing: Group members have different responsibilities in researching a given technology (e.g. website development: one person looks at implementation, another looks at design). Revisit parking lot if necessary

Wrap Up (time permitting) Recap of class, participants are asked to summarize the discussion and key points of interest.

Reflection / assessment form is distributed at the end of class participants can write down comments on the form or verbally share their responses with group. Form could contain the following questions: a) Was this discussion useful? b) If so, what made it useful? c) Did you learn something new? d) Would you have done anything differently?

Uncovering Art in C-U: Forming partnerships to share and promote artwork and address issues of concern to artists in Champaign-Urbana
Class outline Introductions, icebreaker and ground rules Discussion: What are some obstacles that youve faced related to creating and sharing your artwork? Addressing issues of concern and defining path to affect change Technology support for achieving goals Considering the pros and cons of different technologies, how they might be used Future meetings? Wrap up and reflection