Local art houses and galleries help improve and strengthen community engagement.
According to a study done by researcher Alan Key at Glasgow University “there is evidence to show that art, as a medium, can enable individuals and groups to become more employable, more involved, more confident and more active in contributing to the development of their local communities” Key writes that support for local art programs can be a catalyst for community and personal development.
Fostering public community spaces helps promote greater interaction among citizens.
The Project for Public Spaces describes the importance of art in public spaces, stating that it helps promote interaction. Art in public spaces motivates people to gather and socialize together in their community, where they are exposed to their neighbors and others in the community, fostering relationships and a rich and diverse cultural atmosphere.
Local Art participation fosters a greater sense of connection within a community.
The involvement of citizens in the curation of public spaces encourages a sense of responsibility to the community, according to the Project for Public Spaces. The community is brought together by a sense of ownership of their cities public spaces, which motivates more civic engagement and interaction.
Local art helps grow communities and protect against gentrification
The University of Pennsylvania researched the impact of art in the community and came to the conclusion that “cultural participation and diverse communities are mutually reinforcing and tend to promote gradual growth rather than rapid gentrification”
Local art encourages cultural participation
“Cultural participation builds bridges across neighborhood, ethnic and class divides in ways that many other forms of civic engagement do not” according to the University of Pennsylvania. The engagement of a community with art has the ability to expand the cultural horizons of citizens, and draw new people into the community, diversifying it.
Children exposed to art have greater cultural awareness.
Teaching children about art and design choices makes them more capable of examining and accepting cultures around them, PBS says. When children are exposed to diverse aesthetic choices and art forms, it gives them the tools to critically think about the images that are being presented to them about different cultures. Experiencing art that is made by different cultures also makes children more accepting and tolerant towards those who are different from them.
Exposing children to the arts at an early age helps with later academic achievement.
PBS reports that “there is a correlation between art and other achievement... young people who participate regularly in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement than children who do not participate”. It is easier for children to be exposed to art, and participate in art related events, if there is a strong foundation for the arts in their community.
Madison, WI has a local artists guild that dates back to 1914.
In 1914 a group of women in Madison formed the first non-profit art guild in Madison. After WWII, Madison became a center for experimental artists, who participated in and helped grow the Madison Art Guild. Currently, the Madison Art Guild supports local artists, and hosts events where they can display and sell their work.
Local Madison art houses provide Madison artists with a place to display their work.
There are many opportunities for local Madison artists to display their work in public spaces. Art galleries such as the Hatch Art House, the James Watrous Gallery, and the Hyart Gallery often showcase local madison artists, offer studio time or lessons, and provide a space for the public to experience the local art scene. For example, the Hatch Art House chooses one artist from their list of 75+ local Madison artists every month and showcases their work in a special exhibit. They also have larger art shows that accept submissions and give newer artists a chance to display their art on a broader scale.
Madison is also home to many unconventional art galleries.
Traditional art galleries, while important to the local art community, can seem daunting and inaccessible to the general public. Many Madison coffee shops have art by local artists hanging on the walls. This has the effect of broadening the audience that is exposed to the artist's work, while simultaneously helping the artist by widening their possible consumer base. One coffee shop in Madison that does this is Mother Fools coffee house, which has a rotating art gallery and also a graffiti wall that allows artists to display their work on a large scale.