Special issue: Supporting community development through the arts

Abstract

In this Special Issue of Local Development & Society, we are pleased to include articles that focus on “Supporting Community Development through the Arts.” We appreciate the endorsement of the editors of Local Development & Society for dedicating this issue to the exploration of the work occurring at the intersection of community development and the arts and providing assistance throughout the development process. We would also like to thank the group of reviewers who dedicated their time and expertise to providing feedback on such a wide variety of work. Reviewers are critical to the development of manuscripts and journal issues. The continuing effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic have imposed increased demands and so we offer additional thanks to those who made the time to offer essential feedback and insights for improvement. Although the call for proposals of manuscripts for this Special Issue was released in December 2020, the efforts of this research reach back further than that. As editors of this Special Issue, we have been cultivating this topic for several years, with hopes for increasing the interdisciplinary way art and community development can be studied. Through our call for proposals, we reached out across many disciplines in search of articles that would share a variety of methods and viewpoints for the readers. We felt that Local Development & Society was the best fit with our goals, as the journal is also committed to cross-disciplinary research, drawing from both academic and practical contributors. The submissions received were richly varied, reflecting many of the disciplines where these topics intersect and including scholars, practitioners, and instructors of practice. Our authors represent the fields of sociology, university extension offices, landscape architecture, educational administration, arts administration, and English translation (languages), as well as leaders of community organizations. It is this diversity of perspectives, research methods, and experiences of the impact of arts on community development that make this Special Issue so rich and vibrant. Research methods in this issue include quantitative data analysis, participatory action research, qualitative analysis through in-depth interviews, and case studies. Collectively, the body of work demonstrates the diverse way arts and culture enhance our communities. It is exhilarating to see that so many disciplines find the arts to play a role in community development. It is also reassuring that so many of these authors respect and acknowledge the role that equity and inclusion play when creating art projects that reflect the community. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT & SOCIETY 2022, VOL. 3, NO. 1, 1–6 https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597.2022.2085896