- ARTS & CULTURE

Is it time to embrace arts and culture as powerful vehicles for connection and change?

As TYTHE evolves and reimagines how it engages with community, we can’t help but wonder, is it time for a change? Many tried and true engagement strategies have been implemented since the 1970s, and perhaps communities are in need of new ways to share their thoughts, needs, and opinions. Could it be that surveys and tabling are no longer as impactful as interactive placemaking and storytelling events? Is the future of community engagement in leveraging the power of arts and culture?

These are the questions that TYTHE is asking as we reflect on our decade and a half of work in this sector. Our 2018 partnership with NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs was moving the needle in this direction with its Building Community Capacity initiative. This project challenged communities to map existing arts and cultural resources in their neighborhoods–from institutional behemoths to smaller community-based organizations and individual artists. It imagines a world where arts resources are given the same power to impact communities as social service agencies. And why shouldn’t they? TYTHE’s placemaking workshops continue to offer this type of innovative community creativity across sectors. We believe the future of community engagement lies in meeting people where they are: through creativity, culture, and connection.