Key stakeholders in a public arts initiative are: artists and arts organizations, funders, municipal or regional government, community agencies and services, and community members. As the organizer of your initiative you will be the primary liaison and facilitator between all stakeholders. Your role requires a great deal of sensitivity, communication and flexibility.

Municipal Partnerships
Having members of your municipal government support the project from its inception will aid in its success. Champions at the highest level might provide direct resources (such as funding) but can also help you leverage other resources. TAC and TAF were exceedingly fortunate in finding a real champion in the mayor of Toronto.

“One of the things we absolutely need is to bring people together in this city, and one of the ways we are going to do that is through programs like this. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing this program bring that joy, that creativity, that diversity, and that talent to our parks over the course of the summer.” - Mayor John Tory, 2016 Arts in the Parks press conference

Parks may be subject to a number of regulatory frameworks and navigating municipal divisions can be challenging. For instance, some Toronto parks have recreation trails that are managed by Transportation division, shorelines that are managed by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, facilities that are managed by Parks, Forest and Recreation, or infrastructure underground or on the property managed by any number of entities (Hydro One, phone companies, Toronto Water, etc.). Depending on the proposed artistic programming, you may find yourself navigating a complex web of regulations which can have associated costs and further requirements. Allow for additional time to navigate these complex issues and a contingency budget line to cover unexpected costs.

Support from councillors, municipal staff, and park staff in the planning process and during the event can be invaluable to your project, as can be having a municipal staff member assigned to your initiative to assist in navigating your local government’s regulatory systems (as we do for Arts in the Parks). Inviting politicians and dignitaries to champion your event can encourage residents to engage with it and can help discourage some residents from instinctively bringing up issues such as parking, litter and noise levels. But be aware that some municipal staff have the ability to intercept and stop a project if they take issue with it. The best defense is a having clear objectives and establishing a clear line of communication with local councillors and municipal officials. Depending on the municipality this might be easy while others will have to be persistent in developing a relationship.

Community Partnerships
Partnering with other organizations, agencies and services can help you make contacts in local communities and recruit collaborators, participants, and volunteers. Some partners may be from outside the community you are programming in but it’s important to ensure you also have partners from within the community.

Find an organization that shares your interests and vision and helps you better understand your own organization’s capabilities and areas of weakness. For example, TAF partnered with Park People, a national organization that works to improve quality of life in cities across Canada by supporting and mobilizing people to activate the power of parks. Through Park People, connections were made with local communities.

Local or neighbourhood community groups and organizers can connect you (or your organization) with local community members, which generates the opportunity for community needs and wants to be communicated and better served. Community organizers and groups are an invaluable bridge between you and the neighbourhoods you are animating with arts activities.

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  Creating clear and transparent roles and responsibilities is an important way of showing respect for your partners and the wealth of experience and knowledge they bring to the partnership. A “memorandum of partnership” is a useful way to ensure each partner knows what their role is and understands the scope of the project.

Community Partnerships
Partnering with other organizations, agencies and services can help you make contacts in local communities and recruit collaborators, participants, and volunteers. Some partners may be from outside the community you are programming in but it’s important to ensure you also have partners from within the community.

Find an organization that shares your interests and vision and helps you better understand your own organization’s capabilities and areas of weakness. For example, TAF partnered with Park People, a national organization that works to improve quality of life in cities across Canada by supporting and mobilizing people to activate the power of parks. Through Park People, connections were made with local communities.

Local or neighbourhood community groups and organizers can connect you (or your organization) with local community members, which generates the opportunity for community needs and wants to be communicated and better served. Community organizers and groups are an invaluable bridge between you and the neighbourhoods you are animating with arts activities.

Artistic Partnerships
For municipalities, towns or regions, engaging artists can seem like an intimidating task, but don’t wait until your initiative is already launched to put a call out for artists. Design your initiative so that artists are involved in the production, design and delivery from the beginning.  Be open to their guidance. Respect their experience. Advocate for their needs. Take risks. Trust artists.

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  Be responsive to emergent dynamics within the web of partnerships and remember that partnerships are worth more than the sum of their parts. You may discover, for example, that your initiative will achieve unforeseen goals of the partner organizations. Be open to unexpected outcomes. Embrace complexity.