Learning and Research

 

 

The USDAC is also a learning laboratory for cultural democracy. Everything we do is action-research into how to activate creative citizen engagement in the service of social and environmental justice. We invite others to learn with us.

Research Projects and Resources

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USDAC Lab
USDAC Lab

We collaborate with public and private entities to research, design, implement, and disseminate projects that enact our aims and values. We seek opportunities to share our creative cultural development expertise, deep knowledge of civic engagement, and transformative storytelling with partners in experimentation.

Report on the first two years
Report on the first two years

An Act of Collective Imagination: The USDAC’s First Two Years of Action Research is the first publication to summarize the USDAC’s work to date, along with the lessons we’ve learned about translating community members’ visions into powerful ideas and action. 

HI-LI Database
HI-LI Database

"HI-LI" stands for High-Impact Low-Infrastructure.  Explore our catalogue of HI-LI models for building creative community. Every project listed is participatory, replicable, and volunteer-friendly.

Citizen Artist Salons

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Citizen Artist Salon: #HonorNativeLand
Citizen Artist Salon: #HonorNativeLand

The USDAC launched #HonorNativeLand, a campaign and call to action to spread the practice of acknowledging the original Native inhabitants of the land at the opening of all public gatherings. In this Salon, we’ll be joined by culture-bearers, leaders, and activists to discuss the practice of acknowledgment, how it fits into a larger framework of truth, decolonization, and reconciliation, and how to move beyond beyond acknowledgment in our organizations and communities.

Art Became the Oxygen: An Artistic Response Guide
Art Became the Oxygen: An Artistic Response Guide

If you’re engaged in artistic response to build caring, protest, or resilience in the midst or wake of crisis, if you work with a funder or emergency management agency, or if you’re considering getting involved and want to know more, this video is for you.

Policy on Belonging
Policy on Belonging

Learn how to adopt a Policy on Belonging and spread the #RightToBelong far and wide.

#REVOLUTIONOFVALUES
#REVOLUTIONOFVALUES

April 4th marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, groundbreaking speech entitled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.”  Take part in this online learning call featuring three dynamic presenters talking about using our creative gifts to inspire and engage on April 4th and every day:

LA CULTURA CURA! (Culture Cures!): Cultural Organizing and the Immigrant Rights Movement
LA CULTURA CURA! (Culture Cures!): Cultural Organizing and the Immigrant Rights Movement

Ever heard of #SalsaShutDowns to boycott companies with exploitative labor practices? How about NewYorkTlan, an indigenous language and cultural festival that reunites families from both sides of the border? Wondering how you can bring your creativity to the fight for immigrant rights?

Activate Your Community with the 2016 People's State of the Union
Activate Your Community with the 2016 People's State of the Union

In this session, you’ll hear from several USDAC organizers across the country who've hosted story circle events for different groups and audiences. 

Create your own Super PAC (Participatory Act of Culture)
Create your own Super PAC (Participatory Act of Culture)

Join this Citizen Artist Salon to learn all about the USDAC Super PAC and how you can step up to create a Super Public Act of Compassion or Super Participatory Act of Culture.

Artists Rising to Meet the Moment
Artists Rising to Meet the Moment

What can we learn from the past that will help us call a new Culture Corps into being now? What might a 21st century Culture Corps look like? What can we learn from people who are experimenting with both public and private arts job creation today? Three presenters with knowledge and experience to share will lead an interactive discussion that just might send out sparks.

Time for a Culture Corps! Artists' Jobs for the Public Good, Then & Now
Time for a Culture Corps! Artists' Jobs for the Public Good, Then & Now

What can we learn from the past that will help us call a new Culture Corps into being now? What might a 21st century Culture Corps look like? What can we learn from people who are experimenting with both public and private arts job creation today? Three presenters with knowledge and experience to share will lead an interactive discussion that just might send out sparks.

Creative Placemaking, Placekeeping, and Cultural Strategies to Resist Displacement
Creative Placemaking, Placekeeping, and Cultural Strategies to Resist Displacement

Across the country, “Creative Placekeeping” has come into usage as a counter to Placemaking. Placekeeping as the active care and maintenance of a place and its social fabric by the people who live and work there. It is not just preserving buildings but keeping the cultural memories associated with a locale alive, while supporting the ability of local people to maintain their way of life as they choose. What does that look like in practice?

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