Robert Gard has been characterized as the “the father of the community arts movement,” a fair assessment, if not quite complete. He was a once-in-a-generation visionary driven by the bold, democratic idea that the arts, appropriately understood and cultivated, could be transformative for communities of every size, especially rural places where the arts are sometimes regarded as a frill or extravagance. That concept—as anyone who has ever involved themselves in a small town cultural agency will know—is particularly important for overcoming the stigma of elitism that sometimes attaches to the arts. Gard masterfully charted a course through these waters.
“In terms of American democracy,” he once wrote, “the arts are for everyone. “They are not reserved for the wealthy, or the well-endowed museum, the gallery, or the ever-subsidized regional professional theatre. As America emerges into a different understanding of herself, it becomes clear that her strength is in the people, and the place where the people live. The people, if shown the way, can create art in and of themselves.”
His cultural advocacy was a lifelong affair, but Gard’s deepest impact in the arts was realized with the 1969 publication of The Arts in the Small Community: A National Plan. Affectionately called “The Windmill Book” by advocates (the cover illustration depicted a striking ink rendering of an old-fashioned windmill), the report detailed a pilot program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, aimed at building arts infrastructure in five, rural Wisconsin communities. It gave examples of the sorts of projects each community embraced, profiled key figures in carrying out those efforts, drew conclusions about what worked and did not work in each case, and extrapolated lessons learned for the benefit of those who would follow suit. And follow suit they did.
A veritable cavalcade of rural arts development inspired by Gard’s findings and activism was the result of The Windmill Book’s publication. The writing groups, theater companies, craft guilds and the like, that sprang up like mushrooms in the wake of the report, weren’t the first such organizations in the U.S., but the rapid proliferation of arts organizing signaled a strong national appetite and broad acceptance of the book’s overarching message. As it turned out—perhaps surprisingly to some—Gard’s firm assertion that the arts were for everyone had resonance with millions of rural Americans.
Of course, “small community,” doesn’t exclusively mean rural, but there is no doubt that Gard’s choice to begin his democratic arts crusade with five towns of fewer than 10,000 residents has left an indelible stamp on countless rural places. Thirty years later, when my wife and I first began considering how to improve cultural development in our home community of around 5,000, The Windmill Book was still the gold standard. At the time it was, in fact, almost the only written resource that offered a playbook for those seeking to improve arts programs with volunteers working on a shoestring budget. I devoured it and have read and recommended it numerous times over the years.
The Arts in the Small Community was revised and updated in 2006 by Gard’s daughter and heir to his legacy, Mario Gard Ewell, and her team at the Gard Foundation. It remains a seminal work of community cultural development and a practical tutorial for rolling up one’s sleeves and diving into the work. The original and revised versions, along with other helpful resources, are available for free on the Gard Foundation website. It’s still a great jumping off point for people seeking to organize communities for the arts.
The Continuing Case for the Arts in Small Communities
Today it’s hard to envision where many rural places would be without the benefit of functional arts councils operating in their midst. At their best, these agencies fit their respective communities like a glove, offering something positive for artists and audiences alike.
As Gard intuitively recognized, intentionally engaging the creative sector while carving out spaces for them to interact with the larger public, was not only healthy for intellectual and spiritual life, it was a springboard for renewed civic pride; a powerful catalysts for reimagining communities; a means of engendering cohesion among diverse peoples; a potent economic development tool; and an opportunity to focus citizens on positive identity building. Put in this way, it’s easy to see why Gard’s insight has made such an impact on so many rural communities. Civic pride, fresh ideas, positive identity and reimagined economic development strategies reads like a laundry list of ongoing rural needs.
Personally, the presence of an active arts agency in a town is almost palpable the moment I cross into the city limit. While my background in the arts may leave me more attuned to that experience than the average person, the outward signs are not hard to spot: theater marquees; works of public art; banners advertising cultural festivals and concerts; thriving co-op galleries and arts related business; and so on. All of these loudly announce a community’s commitment to the sort of development Gard had in mind almost 60 years ago. The fact that these things are now largely taken for granted in many places is evidence of their acceptance in the small community. To say Gard’s outlook was prophetic is an understatement.
But it’s more than that. I notice more optimism and pride of place in communities that enjoy thriving art programs. The citizenry seems more engaged with local affairs and plugged in to a broader range of development initiatives. All this adds up to a certain optimistic vibrancy that is more felt than seen.
I write with a fair amount of experience about this particular issue. Beginning as the cofounder of the rural arts agency, Arts in McNairy, a quarter century ago, and later as a rural cultural development consultant, I have had a front row seat to the transformative power of the community arts movement. It has given me the benefit of the “before and after” view of places where ordinary citizens value creativity and devote adequate resources to see that it is prioritized.
My hometown/county is one good example of how all of this comes together. Three significant changes I’ve witnessed with local investment in the arts:
Shifting attitudes among the young and young at heart—This might have been expected among the young people who participated in youth theater, community band or student art exhibits, but it surprised me somewhat that those who were not as directly engaged with organized arts programs also seemed to exhibit an improved pride of place. Students benefited as theater and concert goers, as well as from educational arts programs staged specifically for them, but it was the youthful embrace of local placemaking efforts that really got my attention.
A series of public art installations in the downtown district seemed to spark student imagination and give them something tangible to admire about their hometown. Kids hanging out in the vicinity of the vibrant murals and smiling young faces in social media selfies with public art backdrops was a welcome departure from the barrage of constant complaints about having nothing in town for the youth. The changing attitudes were most noticeable in youth leadership classes who began to speak and act in markedly different ways about their hometown.
Several young people even told us the local commitment to the arts was one of the primary reasons they decided to come back home after college. Indeed, a handful of young entrepreneurs are responsible for a mini-renaissance of retail and hospitality industry businesses in the formerly derelict downtown area. All this, quite clearly, coincided with local arts development. Whether they all realize it or not, all residents—young and old—benefit from this kind of arts-inspired growth.
Civic and nonprofit reinvestment—High quality arts activities, and the resulting improvements in cultural tourism, with its increasing downtown foot traffic, was an eye-opener for city and county officials. They responded in a number of complementary ways.
The city purchased and developed green spaces in the commercial district to support public art installations and provide new passive recreation areas for pedestrians. They invested in attractive streetscapes and erected a new farmers market pavilion. Partnerships were formed between the local arts agency and the city parks and recreation department to develop an outdoor stage near one of the most popular public art installations. Co-sponsorship of concerts and other local arts events soon followed.
County officials, who had never before funded the arts, were impressed by a folk artisan studio tour which moved hundreds of visitors through the area, as well as a growing community theater program that drew cast, crew and audience members from a five county region. They had the foresight to purchase a dilapidated historic building directly across from the County Courthouse and renovate it as a visitors and cultural center. The local investment, combined with state and regional grant funding to the tune of $1.5 million, secured a first rate theater and art gallery conveniently and strategically positioned in the heart of downtown. A 20-year contract with the local arts agency ensured that arts and educational activities were year-round staples of community life.
Several nonprofits and community/professional development organizations also picked up on the growth potential offered by the expanding arts programs. Notably, the chamber of commerce, historical society and tourism offices quickly adopted marketable identity markers associated with the arts. More specifically, the arts agency’s success in tying significant regional music heritage to contemporary arts programming provided an easy entry into cultural tourism promotion. A cultural festival developed by the chamber highlighted the connection between historic and contemporary music artists. The historical society erected a series of markers around the county calling attention to places and personalities significant to the area’s music culture, which aided tourism and helped residents contextualize their own history.
A cohesive arts community—In the end, this is what it’s all about. It’s hard to overstate the impact dedicated community arts agencies can make on the creative sector of small towns. Here again, Robert Gard’s suspicions proved prescient. He knew that creative people were to be found in every stratum of society. What’s more, he understood that given half a chance these people would forge passionate bonds rooted in a core human need to create, which would in turn strengthen their communities and the nation immeasurably. I have seen this happen in my own town and in a number of others.
The theater people, visual artists, writers, musicians and other creatives who coalesce around an arts agency devoted to various creative pursuits is truly a thing to behold. These artsy citizens are to be found in every community, no matter how small, but many of them are practically invisible in the same way baseball players would be without the benefit of little league and varsity athletic programs. Playing catch in the backyard is all well and good, but it’s hardly the same as a team sport played before enthusiastic fans on a well-groomed baseball diamond. The community of parents, volunteers, spectators and sponsors who form around amateur athletics is mirrored in the creative community when people regularly turn out for plays, concerts, art shows, etc. Business and public support invariably follow, especially when local arts agency strategy involves making the case for it.
This is community building in the truest sense of the word. It is ordinary people coming together in solidarity to creatively work toward common goals for the benefit of their neighbors; for art is almost always carried out with an audience in mind. The chairs are filled by friends, family and local supporters who are edified by the end result of the play, the concert, and the art exhibit.
I am just scratching the surface of what can be accomplished with a few dedicated volunteers. In future articles, I would like to address strategic planning, missions that make sense for small towns, community-based values to guide the efforts, and best practices for community arts development. Every place has its own opportunities and challenges, of course, but there are so many inspiring examples of how all of these factors come together in ways that work for rural communities.
An Unfinished Business
Robert Gard inspired a rural arts renaissance which is still unfolding. Countless others have, and will continue to build on the foundations he laid to the betterment of small communities everywhere. His writing continues to reassure us of the supreme value of the arts to individuals and the places they live. But it’s the clear-eyed assessment of the role the arts must play in healthy democracies that resonates most deeply in our time. He was right about that too.
Gard’s faith in the arts to enrich and renew community life has been validated time and again. And faith is the right word. Gard approached his work with near religious fervor, even composing a “community arts hymn” titled, “Altering the Face and Heart of America.” The hymn is adapted from a longer poem, which beautifully summarizes the heart of his mission and his faith that the American experiment can succeed, one community at a time. The poem/song reads just as well in prose:
“If you try, what may you expect? First a community welded through art to a new consciousness of self: A new being, perhaps a new appearance. A people proud of achievements which lift them through the creative above the ordinary. A new opportunity for children to find exciting experiences in art and to carry this excitement on throughout their lives. A mixing of people and backgrounds through art; a new view of hope for mankind and an elevation of man, not degradation. New values for individual and community life, and a sense that here, in our place, we are contributing to the maturity of a great nation. If you try, you can indeed alter the face and the heart of America.”
“If you try…” Gard muses. It’s an unanswered question for some, a challenge to get to work building the sort of community we can, together, be proud to call home. And as Gard also recognized, what’s true for the small town is true for the country.
Shawn Pitts is a writer, nonprofit founder, consultant, and community arts advocate based in Selmer, Tennessee. He has served on the boards of the Tennessee Arts Commission, Humanities Tennessee and the Tennessee Folklore Society, among numerous other cultural and community development organizations.
Shawn and his wife Joanna remain active in the nonprofit arts and humanities realm, coordinating cultural exhibitions, concerts, theater productions, literary awareness events, and other arts programs for the residents of rural McNairy County, Tennessee.
