Community Arts

We had six artistic goals for this project: Bring more arts experiences to West Side residents; Provide arts experiences that connect with Spanish-speaking audiences; Pique the interest of non-Spanish speakers in Spanish language/culture; Contribute to a more art-filled environment and identity in the West Side community; Benefit businesses along the procession route; and provide rewarding artistic experiences and growth for our group. Overall we were successful in achieving our artistic goals. The Spring Procession took place on Saturday, June 4th, from 3 to 4:30 pm. We met first at Neighborhood House to teach the songs to people who came to process with us. We gave performances at six prearranged sites: El Burrito Mercado (market and restaurant), El Buen Sabor, La Guadalupana (corn roasting stand), Riverview Library, Icy Cup, Wabasha Brewery. The first three goals had to do with impacting West Side, Spanish-speaking, and non-Spanish speaking audiences. We definitely met these goals for the audiences we served. However, we did not have as many audience members as we had hoped for because there were fewer people out in the streets and at the 2nd and 3rd sites than we had anticipated. Goals 4 and 5 had to do with benefits to the West Side community, and we also met these goals. Seeing posters hung in businesses and public places in the neighborhood, and driving by and seeing a colorful procession of people in an unexpected place – all these help to change the feel of the neighborhood for people who are regularly there and make it more art-filled. We also benefited most of the businesses we worked with – El Burrito, Icy Cup, and Wabasha Brewery all had additional customers who were there because of the procession. At Icy Cup we took a break and everyone (about 50 people) had an ice cream cone or other treat. El Buen Sabor provided the food for the ending reception, and there were many people who were at Wabasha Brewery and who celebrated the end of the Procession there. Those three businesses benefited substantially. The final goal was definitely realized. Our group learned a new repertoire for the Procession, gained valuable experience, and had a great time preparing for and doing the Procession. In general, everything worked according to plan. What didn’t work as well as we had hoped was getting people to some of the businesses. For more information, see Question 2 below. If we were to repeat the project, the one question is timing – would there be a better time of day to do this when there might be more people out or when people might be more likely to go out? Or, a date earlier in the spring before people want to spend their weekends outside? We did ask these questions when we planned the Procession, but none of our community partners were sure what date and time would work best. So, if we were to repeat the project, we would just try a different time and/or date. Overall, the community we served was the same as what we outlined in the proposal. We reached our intended community in terms of artists and participants. As noted above, we had approximately 45 participants who processed with us, in addition to the 14 artists. An estimated 60 people saw us at the various venues. That means we served about 120 individuals, which was less than estimated. As noted above, the audience at sites 1, 3, and 4 was smaller than we had hoped. We provided posters and postcards, created a Facebook event and tagging the businesses, getting nice coverage in newspapers La Voz and The Voice, and working one-on-one with the businesses to support them in promoting the event. But it’s not clear that they did as much as they could to draw customers/audiences – perhaps because they didn’t understand what it was until we were actually there. Small, local business owners are inundated with the demands of running their businesses – some suggested (indirectly) that it was difficult for them to add something more to their plates, even if they liked the concept. The flamenco and Spanish audiences who came to see us perform (not participate) was smaller than hoped for (though they did turn out in good numbers to participate in the Procession). The outreach efforts did result in diversity, although we would like to have seen more West Side residents engaged either as audience members or participants. More support from West Side community groups could perhaps have helped support this. Our community partner West Side Community Organization was not as actively involved as we had planned and hoped; and unfortunately, in the days after the Procession was completed their Executive Director abruptly left, which reflects challenges that may have been going on within the organization. The project was very open and accessible to all because it was free of charge, was in the neighborhood where people live/work/shop, and was promoted in both English and Spanish. 14 artists and 45 community members participated in the Procession, which served 60 audience members in 6 venues. 100% of artists and participants surveyed indicated they enjoyed the experience and would like to repeat it. The project brought a unique arts experience to the West Side community, residents, and businesses.