A community arts advocacy group and its educational policies, actions and activities: A case study

This study tells the story of an arts advocacy organization (ACI) in a medium-sized Midwestern city, and how they envision their mission towards arts education. ACI has created educational policies, actions and activities in accordance with its mission statement. This story examines how the individual members of the organization interpret the mission, and how their interpretations are connected to their individual beliefs about art and arts education. This story also examines how the organization comes together to make decisions about interpreting ACI's policies towards arts education, and the processes involved in that decision-making.; The data for this qualitative, interpretive study was collected from February through July of 2001. Data sets include four formal board meeting observations, semi-formal, 1--2 hour interviews with 16 board members, analysis of documents pertaining to the 2-year history of ACI (prior to my study), and participant observation (working on a committee within the ACI board structure; and, working with the executive director on several projects).; Results were organized under the following themes: (1) how ACI emphasizes funding in their early years; and, (2) ACI's educational actions and activities. The latter indicate that ACI's educational actions and activities have a marketing emphasis; board members' arts education beliefs are not connected to resulting actions; and, ACI's decision-making processes reveal disparity of visions for: (a) the organization; (b) ACI's leadership; and, (c) choices for arts activities.; This research has indirect and direct significance to arts education. The indirect significance is in how arts boards evolve as an organizational entity. Organizations require time for a shared sense of vision to evolve. In some cases a shared vision may not be possible. Instead a shared general belief in the value of arts in our lives is what may hold the group together.; The direct significance to arts educators is in how groups like ACI can create connections within a community between (a) arts groups; (b) arts groups and schools; and, (c) between the community, arts groups and the schools. ACI also showed an ability to secure unique sources of funding for arts educators and for artists/arts groups.