Civic Art as Infrastructure & Civic Art Works
Client: Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture (2015-2018)
Susannah Laramee Kidd, Project Evaluator; Sara Daleiden, Community Engagement Lead & Documentarian
Tile Image Credit: Sara Daleiden Consulting
Initially named Creative Graffiti Abatement, Civic Art as Infrastructure produced public art and community engagement projects at two parks and two libraries in unincorporated neighborhoods in South Los Angeles County. Four artists or artist teams were selected to design physical artworks and engagement programming to stimulate increased stewardship and a sense of ownership among community members. Daleiden was hired early in the process to conduct site research into key community groups and stakeholders and to help select appropriate artists. As a public art and engagement consultant, Daleiden also collaborated with the artists in creating public engagement plans and created demonstration programs to model future engagement opportunities at each site.
Laramee Kidd was embedded in the project team to conduct a mixed-methods developmental evaluation and collaborated with Daleiden to create data collection methods that worked alongside community engagement techniques. Together, they developed and facilitated focus groups, interviews, and surveys within moments of cultural exchange between Black, Latinx, and Samoan neighbors. Laramee Kidd also used the Aesthetic Perspectives framework to analyze aspects of the artworks and the artistic processes that were contributors to the success of these projects. The department used the Art as Infrastructure final evaluation report for internal decision-making and published it to support field growth. The project findings supported increased artist-led programming capacity in Los Angeles County parks and library departments and ultimately led to the development of the Creative Strategists Program.
As part of the project, Daleiden also produced the feature documentary Civic Art: Four Stories from South Los Angeles, which engages with neighbors throughout the process of developing civic artworks with local artists. Daleiden developed Civic Art Works as a series of screenings of the documentary with a companion guide. Laramee Kidd co-developed a feedback activity to be used at the screenings that is featured in the guide. The series was shared in the featured neighborhoods of South Los Angeles County including A.C. Bilbrew Library, East Rancho Dominguez Community Center, Victoria Community Regional Park and Woodcrest Library, as well as other media channels and public spaces regionally and nationally. The guide offers worksheets, strategies and recommendations for exploring civic engagement through the arts in Los Angeles and beyond.