Americans for the Arts is launching a new phase of work for Animating Democracy to promote best practices and build field capacity for arts-based civic engagement. The four year Animating Democracy Lab provided evidence of the contributions the arts can make to civic dialogue and also pointed to the vital role local arts agencies (LAAs) can play in fostering arts-based civic engagement. This Monograph tells the story of the Arts Council of Greater Lima (Ohio), which harnessed the power of the arts to prompt civic action, and highlights best practices culled from the experiences of 37 arts and humanities projects. It suggests roles and actions for LAAs and offers practical resources for planning arts-based civic dialogue events.

Americans for the Arts’ Monograph series featured in-depth issue papers on topics that were of the greatest interest to our members and arts professionals at the time. They often still serve as excellent resources for best practices and historic reference for today’s issues. Monographs were produced from 1993–2010. Monographs from 2001-2010 are available for downloadable in PDF format our online store at a nominal fee for nonmembers but free to members. All monographs from 1993-2000 are available for free download via the National Arts Administration and Policy Publications Database.

This Monograph tells the story of the Arts Council of Greater Lima (Ohio), which harnessed the power of the arts to prompt civic action, and high-lights best practices culled from the experiences of 37 arts and humanities projects.