Evaluating community outcomes of participation in community arts: A case for civic dialogue

VicHealth's Community Arts Development Scheme (CADS) funded three community arts organizations to work with people from marginalized or disadvantaged communities, to provide opportunities for personal and community development through the arts. This article investigates how CADS engages the public in thinking about and discussing social issues and, more generally, the role of community arts practice in promoting civic dialogue. A mixed method approach was used. Interviews were conducted with community organizations in contact with the three CADS organizations to study to what extent this contact had promoted civic dialogue. Audience surveys were used to measure the extent of similar effects in audiences of CADS performance. The interview and survey data indicated that the arts organizations were successful in engaging the community in civic dialogue by provoking and contributing to discussion of challenges faced within communities.