Make Arts for a Better Life

Brian Schrag is SIL International's Ethnomusicology and Arts Coordinator, and founder of the Center for Excellence in World Arts (Dallas), a graduate program in applied ethnoarts. He has engaged in sustained arts research and development in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon, and holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology (UCLA), an M.A. in Intercultural Studies (Wheaton, IL), and a B.S. in Cognitive Sciences (Brown University). Brian actively promotes artistic creativity for healing and education in communities affected by Huntington's Disease. Kathleen J. Van Buren is an ethnomusicologist with special interests in medical and applied ethnomusicology, arts and social change, and musics of Africa. She is currently Honorary Research Fellow for the Department of Music at the University of Sheffield, where she previously worked as lecturer for ten years (2006-2016). She holds an MA and PhD from the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA inEnglish and self-designed BM in ethnomusicology from Lawrence University and Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin.

• List of figures Preface About the companion website Who Should Use this Guide? Foundations Steps Step 1: Meet a Community and Its Arts Step 2: Specify Goals for a Better Life Step 3: Connect Goals to Genres Step 4: Analyze Genres and Events ---Part A: Describe the Event and Its Genre(s) as a Whole ---Part B: Explore the Event's Genre(s) through Artistic Domain Categories -------Music in an Event -------Drama in an Event -------Dance in an Event -------Oral Verbal Arts in an Event -------Visual Arts in an Event ---Part C: Relate the Event's Genre(s) to Its Broader Cultural Context Step 5: Spark Creativity Step 6: Improve Results Step 7: Celebrate and Integrate for Continuity Closing Matter Closing 1: References Closing 2: GlossaryClosing 3: Sample Research Documents Closing 4: Sample Community Arts Profile (CAP) Outline Closing 5: Index of Artistic Domain Research Activities Closing 6: Index of Sample Sparking Activities Closing 7: Suggestions for Guide Users Closing 8: Measuring Artistic Genre Vitality Closing 9: Quick Reference

In clear language and laudable book structure, Van Buren and Schrag propose a 7-step collaborative method for working with communities to address their own perceived needs. This book would be useful for all kinds of community workers, students, and professionals and the results far more satisfactory than top-down community projects.