Structures and Programs
(the American Festival Project has closed)

Self-Governance

Because the American Festival Project is dedicated to demonstrating a transparent and widely engaging democratic process, and to community arts practitioners taking responsibility for both their practice and the direction of the field as a whole, the organization has chosen to continue its worker-led governing body. In an effort to supercede and solve many of the traditional problems facing arts organizations today, recognizing especially the challenges inherent in a worker-led board, the American Festival Project has created a clearly defined and fully accountable body, in an innovative form, to govern itself.

The new structure was designed by the AFP’s Executive Board and a group of associates, many of whom direct organizations and all of whom work routinely with, or serve on, boards. This new body, called the Traveling Council, is led by two Co-chairs, and includes a Communications Coordinator, charged with overseeing the group’s communication and information flow. Consisting of eight members, inclusive of all generations of Project involvement, the Council meets quarterly at the sites of AFP supported work. Two full-time staff support the work of the Council.

Beyond responsibilities for fiscal health, programmatic goals and activities, membership, policy, and staff, the Traveling Council engages in an experiential process, combining business meetings with an in-depth exploration of individual projects – meeting the participants, viewing work, examining budgets and documentation, getting a feel for the community. This process allows for a full understanding of not only the individual projects, but through the exploration of a variety of projects annually, the Council is able to develop an overview of the field. This permits the Council to provide thoughtful advocacy and curate both a service oriented annual meeting of associates, and a documentation and analysis process that is truly beneficial to the field and its supporters.

Programming

The Annual Gathering. The Gathering is configured to focus on the service and learning needs of the community arts field. The Gathering includes review of AFP projects, using them as subject for serious discussion of methodology and practice, as well as analysis – the drawing of lessons beyond the tangible. The Gathering allows for training and a wide-ranging form of critical discussion (covering topics pertinent to practitioners, including the necessary and on-going discussion of artistic excellence and aesthetics) essential to the growth of the field, and the growing integration with practitioners from other, allied fields (public health, community literacy, economic development, and citizenship training).

The Primary Lab Project. Each year the AFP will determine a single project in which it will invest as a full partner, often for a multi-year period. This single project, the Primary Lab, will enjoy a substantial commitment from the organization, financially and in terms of service resources. Each Lab, brought forward from within the AFP’s network, will meet a number of criteria concerning its focus and the issues underlying its genesis, layers of collaboration, variety of arts and artists involved, engagement of and integration into community, documentation and analysis strategies, and the development of permanent resources for sustainable outcomes. The organization will, in turn, use the Lab as the basis for study and discussion on issues, methodology, and pedagogical needs of the community arts field.

The Incubator Program. The American Festival Project is committed to supporting, at a more modest level annually, several projects in development through its new Incubator Program. This program is designed to support community works that address specific topics or issues (in the work process or in the community) of wider interest to the field, and build potential Primary Lab Projects in a careful manner.

The Resource Network. A fourth programming commitment is the creation and maintenance of a technical services and project resource network. This will allow the staff and Council of the American Festival Project a structured platform to connect projects, artists, and communities with specific needs (artistic, developmental, documentary, etc.) to those with the skills and experience needed to help.

Documentation. Because of the Traveling Council’s visits to, and reviews of, funded projects, it is in an ideal situation to steer the organization’s documentation gathering and generation. The AFP will publish an Annual Report on the Project as a whole, collecting the writings generated over the year on the various tiers of the AFP’s activities, including presentations from the annual gathering, critical analysis, and educational materials.

Opportunity Funds. Finally, the American Festival Project maintains a modest series of funds to support the creation of new works, artist learning and networking, and international exchange.