{"id":5580,"date":"2023-11-30T15:41:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T15:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/?post_type=update&p=5580"},"modified":"2026-03-09T18:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:08:13","slug":"what-we-learned-creating-connection","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/artsmidwest.org\/about\/updates\/what-we-learned-creating-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Learned: Creating Connection\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2013, Arts Midwest partnered with social change agency Metropolitan Group<\/a> to design and launch Creating Connection<\/a>, a national movement focused on building public will for arts, culture, and creativity. The goal of this effort was to make creative expression a more recognized, valued, and expected part of everyday life.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project was rooted in a national research effort that studied how personal values relate to beliefs about and participation in arts and cultural activities. It drew on Metropolitan Groups\u2019 building public will theory of social change, and worked with thousands of arts organizations and leaders across the United States to catalyze shifts around the way people support, advocate for, and expect creativity in their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Community members at the \u201cLove Letters for New Bedford\u201d private film screening, a project made possible through Creating Connection. Filmmaker Ethan de Aguiar recorded over 50 events, exhibits, and programs throughout the city. He and Beatriz Oliveira interviewed dozens of artists, which culminated in an award-winning 15-minute documentary that is currently on the film festival circuit. Photo by John Robson.\n\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n \n \n <\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

What We Did <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the project\u2019s nearly 10-year span, our team shared research findings at national conferences, workshops, and trainings; provided grants, tools, and technical assistance to organizations looking to test the recommendations in their communications and programming; and encouraged those organizations to help their audiences to connect with each other through creative experiences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work on Creating Connection culminated in December 2022 after a year-long, place-based engagement with arts and cultural organizations and artists in New Bedford, Massachusetts. You can read more about that community\u2019s work in our story, \u201cStrengthening Community, One Love Letter at a Time.\u201d  <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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