U.S. & CHINA: A Symposium on Communities, Cultural Participation, and Policy

All day
Begins October 23 through October 24, 2018
The University of Chicago Center in Beijing
Culture Plaza 20th Floor
59A Zhongguancun Street
Haidian District, Beijing, 100872

About the Conference

In addition to being a driver of economic development, the arts are recognized as playing an important role in social development in China and the U.S.: how, when, where, and why are arts/culture being used as community-building resources? How effective are participatory public arts programs in promoting meaningful community connections and interactions?

The Chinese Ministry of Culture has supported the development of an extensive network of community cultural centers, located throughout the neighborhoods of Beijing and in other Chinese cities and regions, and featuring many kinds of arts and cultural programs. Community cultural development is an important policy priority in China: how effective are the centers in meeting community development policy goals?  Who primarily uses the community centers (and who does not? Why not?) What are the goals and impact of new public/private partnerships in community cultural centers in China? 

In the U.S., community cultural centers exist on a more ad hoc basis, although there are many with deeply-rooted community ties. The goal of community cultural development has also been a priority of U.S. cultural policy, enacted both at the national and local levels.  The key policy initiative is “creative placemaking,” which is defined as “a field of practice that intentionally leverages the power of the arts, culture, and creativity to serve a community’s interest, while driving a broader agenda for change, growth, and transformation in a way that also builds character and quality of place.” What has been the impact and effectiveness of creative placemaking projects as community building tools?

The goal of understanding and measuring cultural participation is based on one or more assumptions that cultural engagement has other important policy consequences: (1) amateur participation cultivates audiences for professional arts; (2) cultural engagement leads to other forms of valued civic engagement and improves health and wellbeing; (3)participation in traditional arts/culture reinforces tangible and intangible cultural heritage that promotes group and national identity; (4) participation activates individual creativity, and encourages recognition of the role of artists as innovators and problem solvers (e.g., in urban design and community development).

What do we mean by cultural participation? How can we measure it, evaluate what’s effective and what’s not, and make better use cultural research as a tool of public policy? 

How can cultural practitioners benefit from relevant cultural research and policy?

What kind of research and policy initiatives would practitioners like to see? What’s most relevant to the work cultural practitioners do?

Co-organizers

Terry Nichols Clark, Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago

Betty Farrell, former Director, Cultural Policy Center, University of Chicago

Robert Chaskin, Professor, University of Chicago

Michael Reynolds, Vice President for Academic Research, NORC at the University of Chicago

Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Director of the Master of Science Program in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, Northwestern University

Wang Liesheng, Director, Public Cultural Policy Center, Chinese National Academy of Arts

Li Yan, Associate Researcher and Administrator, Graduate School of the Chinese National Academy of Arts

Li Jingshuang, Assistant Researcher, Public Cultural Policy Center, Chinese National Academy of Arts

Yang Nan, Assistant Professor, Beijing Opera and Arts College

Ju Jing, Doctoral Candidate in the National Institute of Cultural Development, Wuhan University; and in the Public Cultural Policy Center, Chinese National Academy of Arts

Agenda

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

9:30am–10:00am

Arrival, Registration and Coffee

10:00am–10:30am

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Wang Liesheng, Director, Public Cultural Policy Center, Chinese National Academy of Arts

Terry Nichols Clark, Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago (by video)

10:30am–12:30pm     

Session 1: Community Cultural Development
Chair: Robert Chaskin, Professor, University of Chicago

Presenters:

Public Art Policy: Mechanisms, Goals, Challenges

Daniel Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto

A Ground View of Changes in Cultural Participation

Cate Fox, Arts & Culture Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation

Practice and Thoughts on Community Cultural Governance in China

Yang Yongheng, Professor, Associate Dean, School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University

The Innovative Experiment on Community-based Cultural Governance of Chaoyang Cultural Center in Beijing

Xu Wei, Senior Researcher, Curator, Chaoyang Cultural Center

12:30pm-2:00 pm

Lunch at Center (All Participants)

2:00pm–4:00pm

Session 2: New Cultural Policy Initiatives:  China and the U.S.

Chair: Yang Yongheng, Professor, Associate Dean, School of Public Policy & Management, Tsinghua University 

Presenters:

National Cultural Policy in the U.S.

Betty Farrell, former Director, Cultural Policy Center, University of Chicago

Local Arts Agencies: Cultural Policy in Action in the United States

Karen Gahl-Mills, Consultant; former CEO & Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (Cleveland, Ohio)

Ten Policies and Regulations for China’s Culture Industry

Qi Shuyu, Professor, Director of Social and Arts Research Department, and Cultural Policy and Management Research Department at the Party School of the Center Committee of the Chinese Academy of Governance

Fu Caiwu, Professor and Dean, National Cultural Development Research Institute, Wuhan University

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

10:00am–10:25am

Arrival, Registration and Coffee

10:25am–10:30am

Welcome

Betty Farrell, former Director, Cultural Policy Center, University of Chicago

10:30am–12:30pm

Session 3: New Approaches to Measuring/Evaluating Arts and Cultural Participation

Chair: Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Director of the Master of Science Program in Leadership for Creative Enterprises, Northwestern University

Presenters:

Cultural Participation in the US: An Evolution of Metrics

Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Northwestern University

Metrics for Evaluating Changing Perceptions of Artists in America

Rachel Skaggs, Postdoctoral Scholar, Vanderbilt University

Cultural Lives and Consumptions in Rural China

Chen Bo, Professor and Vice Dean, the National Cultural Development Research Institute of Wuhan University

The Characteristics, Challenges and Policy Thinking of Beijing Cultural Participation: Based on the Evaluation of Cultural Amenities

Wu Jun, Associate Professor of Sociology, Beijing Administration Institute

12:30pm–2:00pm

Lunch at Center (All Participants)

2:00pm–3:45pm

Session 4: Key New Research Findings / Methodologies Relevant to Practitioners: Lightning Round of Short Presentations 
Chair: Li Yan, Associate Researcher and Administrator, Graduate School of the Chinese National Academy of Arts

Presenters:

The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) - Overview & Applications to Arts Research

Michael Reynolds, Vice President for Academic Research, NORC at the University of Chicago

Gwendolyn Rugg, Senior Research Analyst, NORC at the University of Chicago

The Cultural Location Index

Daniel Silver, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto

Creation of Art Spaces in Communities

Xu Jin, Associate Professor, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics

Problems of Cultural Cooperation in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area

Huang Yurong, Researcher & Director, Academic Research Department, Institute for Cultural Industries, Shenzhen University

Grassroots Cultural Workers’ Training and Its Influence on Communities

Yang Nan, Assistant Professor, Beijing Opera and Arts College

3:45pm–4:00pm

Wrap-up discussion

Fu Caiwu, Wuhan University

Robert Chaskin, University of Chicago

4:00pm–5:00pm

Reception at Center (All Participants)