From the Americans for the Arts website/newsletter:

Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts, has launched an initiative to map and highlight the spectrum of ways the arts are being activated to engage and make change. A centralized online resource will make this important work visible and serve to link change agents, artists and the arts, funders, and an interested public.

By mapping this arena of practice the initiative seeks to enhance understanding of: 1) the growing spectrum of arts activity that fosters civic engagement and social change; 2) the expanding circle of artists and arts organizations actively pursuing this work; and 3) the funders who support such work. From the results of the mapping process, this initiative will:

1. Assemble a current portrait of funding support for arts that foster civic engagement and social change available from a range of arts, social change and other funders;
2. Design and implement a robust, online registry of artists as well as cultural and community organizations that foster civic engagement and social change through the arts;
3. Synthesize a typology and a vocabulary that helps distinguish different streams of practice and intended civic and social outcomes as well as advances unifying language for the field.

Want to learn more? Download the PDF here.

Learn more about all of Animating Democracy’s special initiatives here.