Forklift is very excited to have been included in a project by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF) investigating the civic role of arts organizations. Here’s an excerpt from the case study on Forklift:
[Artistic Director Allison Orr explains] “‘We now think of ourselves as playing in the world of civic engagement, because of what our collaborators taught us about what the works do for the city. The company’s mission has formulated in response. Previously it referred to transforming communities, but now Orr understands it more as ‘leveraging the creative process to support communities to activate themselves, in a way that they determine needs to happen. The idea is that we use the dance-making process to support the community to build connection, build understanding, advocate for itself on its own behalf, be heard, be witnessed, feel more agency, feel more hopefulness.'”
Read the rest of the case study here, where you can also find studies on other organizations and additional resources. The full report on Phase 1 of their research is available here. We are grateful to CGF for including us in the project, and we are proud to contribute to this important research!
