A creative approach to assessing the impact of community arts practices

1. Arts-­‐Informed
Evaluation
A
Creative
Approach
to
Assessing
Community
Arts
Practices

2. 2
Table of Contents
Vital Ideas (p. 3)
Pursuing a Vital Idea
Who We Are: Arts For Children And Youth (AFCY)
Welcome to Arts-Informed Evaluation
Community Arts Practices (p. 6)
Qualities and Characteristics
Goals and Challenges
Evaluation (p. 8)
Educational Influences
Conventions in Community Arts Evaluation
Art of/as/for Evaluation
Arts-Informed Evaluation (p. 14)
What is it?
Why is it important?
How do you do it?
Flexible Framework
Pilot Project: The Teesdale Mosaic Mural
AFCY Workshops: How would You do Arts-informed Evaluation?
Example Activities (p. 35)
Resources (p. 40)
Print
Internet
Professional Development
AFCY
Your Practice (p. 42)
Thank-you (p. 44)
Works Cited (p. 45)
Endnotes

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Vital Ideas
Pursuing a Vital Idea
This handbook offers a Vital Idea: Evaluation can be a creative, artful, energizing and inclusive process.
Diverse communities and the diversity within communities must be reflected not only in the kinds of
programming and services that are available to them but also in the ways that the value and impact of
those programs and services is explored and interpreted. Reaching out to communities through social
programming is only effective if the people and perspectives in those communities are honoured and
engaged in the shaping, implementation, and evaluation of outreach.
The Toronto Community Foundation is a registered, public, non-profit organization created for and
by the people of Toronto and it is one of the largest of Canada's 165 community foundations.
Community foundations are charitable organizations dedicated to improving communities in specific
geographic areas. They do this by pooling the charitable gifts of donors to create endowment funds and
using the investment income to make grants. Community foundations also provide leadership —
monitoring their area's quality of life and convening people, ideas, and resources to help build stronger
and more resilient communities.
According to the Toronto Community Foundation, a Vital Idea is a high-impact program, project, or
organization that has been piloted or is currently in operation that helps make Toronto a better place to
live, work, learn and grow. The foundation’s goal is to help connect these Vital Ideas with others in the
community who can learn from them, benefit from them and support them to increase their impact. The
foundation’s aim is to ensure that Vital Ideas secure the attention and support they deserve so that they
can sustain and grow their contribution to improving Torontonians’ quality of life.
Arts for Children and Youth (AFCY), with the support of the Toronto Community Foundation’s Vital
Ideas program, embarked on a one-year initiative to foster the development and implementation of an
approach to evaluation that takes into account the unique qualities of community arts practices and
outreach programs. At AFCY we believe that Arts-Informed Evaluation can be used to help improve,
sustain, and deepen understandings of community arts practices and their impact. It brings creative
presence into every layer of a community arts experience. Our initiative has included:
• Research into arts education, community arts, and arts evaluation
• A pilot project in a local community that put Arts-Informed Evaluation into practice
• Provision of a series of professional development workshops on Arts-Informed Evaluation for
community artists and outreach workers in the Toronto Area
• Creation of this handbook as a resource for building further capacity in Arts-Informed
Evaluation amongst community outreach practitioners / participants and for fostering
appreciation and understanding of this method.
Vital ideas have life; they endure beyond the immediate moment, situation, person or group. The idea
behind Arts-Informed Evaluation, that evaluation can be a creative, inclusive endeavor, has emerged
before in other forms. We offer our interpretation of this idea using a flexible framework so that it can
sustain multiple contexts. We share it with the purpose of encouraging others to explore, expand,
reshape, and utilize it as they see fit.

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Who We Are
Arts for Children and Youth is a not-for-profit community arts organization located in the city of
Toronto, Ontario. AFCY’s mandate is to engage young people living in priority neighbourhoods in high
quality and accessible arts educational programs that are meaningful, relevant and collaboratively
developed with community and education partners. AFCY positions arts programs in schools and
neighbourhood venues as a means of building community, and providing opportunities for marginalized
children and youth to empower themselves and to reach their full potential as artists and social
contributors. We have been working to provide access to the arts for young people in Toronto since
1995.
AFCY believes that direct participation in the arts provides young people with numerous benefits.
Through community and school based arts engagement, children and youth can self-express, develop
skills, learn new ways of seeing and doing, and establish new connections with society and with the self.
AFCY’s programs are grounded in excellence, skills development, hands-on arts-based learning,
mentorship, self-expression, collaboration, inclusiveness and social awareness. AFCY fully recognizes
the importance and involvement of young people as program supporters and designers, along with other
key community and education partners.
AFCY’s approach to arts programming focuses on generating dialogue, learning, and valuable social
impact. At AFCY there have been countless young children and youth engaged in creating art that aims
to change communal landscapes or prompt the reimagining of streets, homes or recreation centres
through the making of murals, plays, poetry or song. In AFCY’s Community Sharing program young
people give back to their communities through their art. They may choose to give their work to a
neighbouring school, public library or a social service agency such as a Seniors’ Home, Shelter, Daycare
Centre or Children’s Aid Centre. Sometimes youth donate their time through performances, which often
take place in a local, non-traditional venue, such as a shopping mall. Here the arts are used as accessible,
liberating and inclusive processes for reflecting on social realities. They allow people, especially young
people, to re-imagine their place, design solutions, and collectively and individually, create the steps
necessary for achieving the change they have envisioned. In this way, the young participants can share
their creative learning and engage the many social layers of their neighbourhood.
But what also fuels AFCY’s advocacy for high quality community arts education is what lies beyond the
aesthetics of a mural, the steps of a dancer or the words of a script. At AFCY we are most interested in
the stories behind the art. There are many layers to every community arts activity. There are narratives
to every creative communal experience. We focus on acknowledging and celebrating each layer of the
collective experiences that transpire during a community arts program. To understand these experiences
and their impact it is important to share our stories as well as our artworks.
Within each community arts process lays the potential for participants to discover new things about their
communities and about themselves. Meaning and stories are cultivated within the communities where
AFCY programs operate — outside on the streets, in youth shelters, in schools, in hospitals, or in public
housing. Therefore, at AFCY, impact is measured not only through the creation of art that makes the
ideas, dreams and emotive qualities of young artists accessible to communities but also through
attentiveness to the holistic engagement of participants throughout the process — what is the story of
their community art journey?

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Welcome to Arts-Informed Evaluation
Community art practitioners and participants know the value of the creative processes that they engage
in. Working collaboratively in a particular context toward a shared goal inevitably results in the creation
of dynamics, relationships and experiences that have impact beyond any concrete final product. The
power of this kind of work is clear to those who participate in it; however, it may be less tangible to
people outside of the process.
When asked to explain if a community arts project was successful or whether it achieved standards of
excellence, conventional means of expression or measurement often fail to capture the dynamic qualities
of creative collaboration. As physicist Albert Einstein said, “Everything that can be counted does not
necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.” Excellence and success are not
always easy to point to; but just because we can’t immediately perceive something that doesn’t mean it
isn’t there. The goal of this manual is to make the elusive aspects of collaborative community practices
more accessible.
If people understand the value of something they are more likely to pursue or support it. To sustain a
rich and evolving community arts field it is important to share and explore all the elements of this
practice with individuals and groups both inside and outside community arts processes. We want to
welcome others to the stories, learning and impact of this field. We also want to support new ways of
reflecting on and communicating about it. In this handbook we propose an exciting method for doing
this, Arts-Informed Evaluation.
The beginning of the handbook includes background information on Community Arts Practices and
approaches to Evaluation. Next, Arts-Informed Evaluation is explored: Its influences, What it is, Why it
is important, and How to do it. Finally, we provide examples of arts-informed evaluation activities and
resources. Our aim is to help community arts practitioners and participants to explore and articulate their
experiences in the field in ways that are relevant to them and accessible to others.
We want to invite readers to join us in putting the ideas that this handbook proposes into practice. Your
efforts will activate this material bringing its contributions, and your own, to light.
Welcome!
Julie Frost
Executive Director
Arts For Children and Youth
Leah Burns
Centre for Arts-Informed Research
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto

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Community Arts Practices
Trying to define community arts practices creates a bit of a paradox. How can you define something that
aspires to be inherently diverse and constantly evolving? Many debates about community arts pivot on
this contradiction. Funders, administrators and policy makers might ask, “If you can’t pin something
down or determine its boundaries how do you create structures to support it?”
If community arts are so elusive how can they be learned, promoted, or valued? We consider the
differences amongst community arts practices to be rich and dynamic; art acts as a response to and
engagement with lives in context. Rather than seeking out one standard definition, we feel it is more
effective to identify some of the qualities and characteristics, goals and challenges, that many
community arts practices have in common.
Qualities and Characteristics
Relational
Community arts practices emphasize the cultivation and negotiation of relationships as part of the
process of art making. “[Community arts are] a collective method of art-making, engaging …artists and
self-identified communities through collaborative, artistic expression.” (Lee and Fernanadez 7) Both
artists and community members actively participate in the creative process and help to determine its
focus and direction. The process of creating the work is as important as the final product. The process is
recognized as an important site for /source of: dialogue, building understanding and awareness, creating
connections and developing relationships within and across communities.
Flexible
Community based-arts practices involve a lot of stretching — reaching to meet the needs of diverse
people and contexts and finding ways to operate inclusively within limited social and political
environments. Stretching to find those moments or spaces of openness where change can happen
requires a lot of flexibility. Stretching can be painful. It requires a lot of time and commitment to
become flexible and to stay flexible requires on-going practice. Community arts therefore require
approaches to practice that leave room for expansion and contraction. They need to be adaptable to fit
the emerging needs of the people and contexts in which they are situated. Planning for possibilities and
responding to the unexpected is an important characteristic of the field and a skill that community artists
and participants must continually practice.
Goals and Challenges
Supporting Equity and Diversity
Community arts practices explicitly work towards using the arts as a means to address social and
political concerns and to support social justice. In working to promote, support, and engage innovative
arts practice it is essential to consider equity and diversity not only in terms of content but also of form.
Emphasis and value should be placed on process as well as product. This means rethinking who
qualifies as an artist, what art practice is for, and how it should be evaluated and disseminated. “For
many First Nations artists, artists of colour and immigrant artists, community arts are the manner in
which they have worked and developed as artistic creators throughout their lives. Their struggle with

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arts institutions and agencies for access and recognition of their arts practices has largely paved the way
for community arts” (Lee and Fernandez, 7). In the arts and culture field much time is spent seeking
legitimacy and competing for recognition and reward. In working toward equity it helps to draw strength
from solidarity rather than competition. To do so it is important to foster circumstances that sustain and
nourish an ethos of sharing.
Sharing is one of the best ways to learn. However the environment that seems to dominate in
many artistic arenas is often based in initiation rather than welcome. I would prefer an
environment not necessarily safe, not uncontested or uncritical, but more inclusive, a place of
potential and flexibility instead of restriction and limitation —where you must play by the already
determined rules of the game. I want to be a part of a community … where diverse voices are
invited not just to join the conversation but also to question and redefine it. (Burns 5)
Author and artist, Jan Cohen-Cruz calls attention to how community arts require attentiveness both to
the complex and shifting nature of identity and to the negotiation and representation of identity within
the relationships that community arts cultivates.
Community art is about not only collective, but also multiple identities. Being an artist may be
part of one's identity but it's not the whole thing. So even when an artist is "doing" community art,
they bring their aesthetic self. Similarly, "communities" are not fixed, monolithic entities any more
than individuals are. This is a great thing. It means that for as strongly as one holds certain beliefs,
one also feels oneself part of a place perhaps, or an ethnicity, or a class. Interacting around these
several identities engenders personal relationships — a wildly effective way to break stereotypes
and, by extension, change social attitudes. Artists are also rendered more accountable in the
context of local relationships; there's a price to pay for making assumptions or representing people
in unauthentic ways when they are part of your neighborhood. We're all more responsible to one
another when we're in a web of relationships and that's what community art provides. (Cohen-
Cruz 6)
The relational quality and social justice goals of community art require a willingness to reflect on how
individuals and groups are implicated in supporting or challenging inequity.
Sustainability
The success of professionals in the arts and culture field demands not only inspiration and excellence of
craft but also the ability to sustain a belief in the legitimacy and worth of creative practices. To do so
practitioners must have the skills to articulate the value of their work both for themselves and for the
communities in which they live and interact. For community art practitioners this is especially
important. Recognition, responsibility, and renewal are important concepts for sustainability in the field
of community arts practices.
Recognition for the value (both social and aesthetic) of community arts practices is a continuous
challenge. Author Arlene Goldbard claims that, “public attention and resources have not been
commensurate with the intrinsic merit of this work.” (20) Many programs, practitioners and
organizations struggle to make tangible the worth and accomplishments of community arts in order to
sustain both social and economic investment in the field. The struggle for recognition extends into the
arts world as well where community arts are often positioned as marginal within different artistic
disciplines.

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Responsibility to the communities that are engaged in community arts practice is a fundamental goal for
people working in this field. Being responsible means ensuring that community members are involved in
determining and evaluating the content, shape, implementation and outcomes of community arts projects
and programs.
Renewal is both an important goal and a challenge in community arts. As a constantly evolving field
there is a commitment to the on-going review, revision, and re-articulation of defining concepts and
practices. This commitment supports the potential of emerging voices and provides flexibility so that
those who are already deeply invested are able to renegotiate and renew their relationship to practice in
response to new learning. However this flexibility also poses a challenge within social and political
contexts that favour standardization. Renewal is important to sustain innovative practices yet confidence
is often claimed through reliability. Finding ways to demonstrate that foundations need to be responsive
rather than static and that confidence can be found in results that emerge from changing contexts is a
priority for many in this field.
Evaluation
Effective evaluation is a continuous, on-going process. Much more than determining the outcomes of
learning, it is rather a way of gauging learning over time. Learning and evaluation are never
completed; they are always evolving and developing. — Anthony D. Fredericks
Educational Influences
Many methods of evaluation in the arts are based on models and theories from the field of education.
However theories and ideals are sometimes difficult to put into practice; and evaluation within the field
of education is often influenced by social and political contexts, climates, and agendas. A common
concern of educators is that the conditions and evaluative structures within education systems do not
foster environments for effective evaluation. In response educators have devised ways of integrating
alternative strategies of evaluation and assessment alongside institutionally mandated forms.
A variety of evaluative tools are necessary to provide the most accurate assessment of students'
learning and progress. Dependence on one type of tool to the exclusion of others deprives
students of valuable learning opportunities and robs you of measures that help both students
and the overall program grow.
Evaluation must be a collaborative activity between teachers and students. Students must be
able to assume an active role in evaluation so they can begin to develop individual
responsibilities for development and self-monitoring.
Evaluation needs to be authentic. It must be based on the natural activities and processes
students do both in the classroom and in their everyday lives. For example, relying solely on
formalized testing procedures might send a signal to children that learning is simply a search
for “right answers.” (Fredricks 100)
Like educators, community arts practitioners need to be responsive to the participants and environments
in which they work. In addition, they may face challenges such as irregular schedules, shifting contexts,
and fluctuating participation that make conventional methods of evaluation difficult to implement or
unsuitable.

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Conventions in Community Arts Evaluation
To understand what Arts-Informed Evaluation is, it helps to review some of the more common forms of
evaluation used in community arts practices. We explore some of the motivations for evaluation in
community arts and some of the methods used. The review allows us to demonstrate how Arts-Informed
Evaluation relates to more familiar methods of evaluation and what makes Arts-Informed Evaluation
different.
Evaluation as Reflecting Back
An important part of learning from any project or process includes evaluating or assessing it. Many
conventional approaches to evaluation involve reflecting back on a process once it has been completed.
When we assess a process or project by reflecting back on it we are often asking the question “How did
it go?” In collaborative community arts practices when we respond to the question, “How did it go?” we
need to consider the three W’s: Who wants to know? What do they want to know? and Why do they want
to know?
Who
There are usually many individuals and groups who have an interest in evaluating community arts
projects. The specific artists and participants who were part of the process have an obvious interest.
Additional interested parties might include: community arts organizations that facilitated the process,
other artists and cultural workers, sponsors or partner organizations, funders, members from the
communities in which the work took place, curious observers, supporters and skeptics, politicians and
community organizers, or even just people interested in doing similar kinds of work.
What
In addition to thinking about who we might be communicating with when we attempt to evaluate how a
project went, we also need to determine what they want to know. Different groups and individuals may
want to know different things. Did everyone feel included? What was the quality of the work? Were
there things that could have been done differently? Were there things that worked especially well? What
kind of impact was there as a result of the project? How was the budget managed? What kind of
messages did the process convey?
Why
If we know who is asking and what is being asked, it can also be helpful to understand the reasons for
their questions. Why do these various groups and individuals want to evaluate how a community arts
process went? Participants may want to share their experiences of the process — the ups and downs and
their overall assessment. Their insights can contribute to future projects. Artists or community workers
facilitating a project may want feedback to learn how processes and products are interpreted. Evaluation
can become a part of their professional development. Funders may want to know if their investment was
worthwhile. Was their contribution well spent? Should they continue to support this kind of work?
Evaluation and what we learn from it is important; therefore, understanding what different kinds of
evaluation can tell us is essential.

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Methods of Evaluation
Engaging in evaluation requires the collection of information. There are numerous different methods for
collecting information. Many methods are classified under one of two broad categories:
1. Quantitative Evaluation: Methods of evaluation that focus on measurement
A few examples of things that are often measured in community arts projects:
Ÿ Number of participants Ÿ Number of outcomes
Ÿ Number of spectators Ÿ Number of productions
Common methods of collecting and representing this information:
• Surveys Ÿ Charts & Graphs
• Attendance sheets Ÿ Statistics
Questions to think about:
(Try discussing, drawing, or writing out your responses to the following questions.)
Do you have other experiences of quantitative evaluation in community arts?
How has quantitative evaluation helped or hindered you?
What role does quantitative evaluation play in community art?
In a recent, one month community arts project we kept a record of participant attendance every day
to track participation. High participation rates are supposed to be a sign of success. We started with
15 youth and ended up with only 8 by the time the project was completed.
Looking back at the attendance sheets it was possible to see patterns of participation and at what
points attendance began to diminish for certain people. What you couldn’t see were the reasons
behind the drop in attendance — which had to do with personal and family responsibilities, not the
community arts project itself. When we looked at the patterns we were able to make connections
between attendance and certain personal or social moments / events.
In this case the attendance sheet, a quantitative measure, made an overall pattern visible but it
didn’t reveal why the pattern emerged. The interpersonal information was left out. Only using
attendance as a record for good participation was insufficient. Even when you could show that all
participants were in attendance, this method couldn’t show the quality of their participation on that
day. And the fact that certain participants didn’t stay until the end does not mean that they did not
benefit from or make significant contributions to the project. Attendance alone was not an accurate
reflection of the impact of the project.
Quantitative approaches can be useful for revealing patterns that you might not see as you are
working on a project day to day, but their emphasis on the overall pattern can also leave out some of
the specific details. It is often through an understanding of those details that the pattern becomes
more meaningful.

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2. Qualitative Evaluation: Methods of evaluation that focus on qualities
A few examples of elements whose qualities are often measured in community arts projects:
• Pace, Content, Structure, Relevance, Impact
• Learning Experiences
• Transformation (what changed from beginning to end)
Common methods of collecting & representing this information:
• Questionnaires Ÿ Testimonials
• Interviews Ÿ Written Reports
Questions to think about:
(Try discussing, drawing, or writing out your responses to the following questions)
Do you have other experiences of qualitative evaluation in community arts?
Have you experienced qualities in community arts that have not been addressed by evaluation?
Is understanding these qualities important? Why or why not?
Filling out questionnaires is something we often ask participants to do at the end of a project to
obtain feedback, kind of like a comment book at an art show. It can be really exciting to read some
of the things that they say. Often participants use questionnaires to express thanks about having had
the opportunity to participate or mention aspects of the experience that they felt were meaningful,
which they might not express directly to the artist or facilitator.
This kind of feedback can be useful and validating. However because this happens at the end they
may not remember or talk about earlier stages of the process and sometimes the focus becomes the
final product, which is really only one of the outcomes of the overall project. The different moments
or points which participants recall might be important but they are often just pieces or fragments
and there is little opportunity to put the puzzle together. It would help to explore how their various
experiences may be connected to one another or to parts of the process that worked or that were
challenging.
Another concern that comes up with questionnaires is the issue of redundancy or a lack of
engagement. Participants who have a longer relationship with an organization and have
participated in more than one project often respond with “not another one” or “not again” when
asked to fill out evaluation forms. So their responses may be half-hearted or rushed. A lack of time to
fit in the evaluation during or immediately after a “big push” to finish at the end can also have this
effect. And then just the medium of writing can be an issue: language and literacy barriers, hidden
cultural messages or even the formalness of a form can be intimidating and shape people’s
responses.
Questionnaires can be interesting for seeing different responses to the same questions or identifying
things you want to explore; but really they are only one part of the puzzle because not every idea,
expression or even person can fit into their format.

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Art of/as/for Evaluation
Effective evaluation is an art. What does this statement imply? Usually when we say something is an
“art” we are referring to some kind of activity that requires facility, a knack, a degree of proficiency
obtained through practice and, even more importantly, inspiration.
My favourite part of artwork is the movement. I know an art piece will stick with me when I
feel moved — not in the usual sense of that phrase which can tend toward sentimentality — but
moved into the piece, engaged with it in a way that is embodied as well as abstract. I move
beyond the rationalist view of intellect, body and emotion as separate, (which often dominates
my perceptions) to places where they are necessarily intertwined.
Seeing the line of a drawing where I can almost feel the gesture as it was put on the paper;
pulled into the rhythm of a dance or piece of music pulse racing, muscles tensing and relaxing;
so engrossed with a story that it envelopes me shadowing my consciousness throughout the
day; opened up by a poem so that my senses feel sharper, more aware; these are points of
connection. (Burns 4)
Art can be electric, creating moments that resonate between and among artists, participants, and
audiences. These sparks are moments of friction when things are not clear-cut and are open to
possibility. Within this friction are spaces of potential, the in-between, where connection, transgression
and imagination can shift what and how we come to know. Many authors share in the belief that art
making is an effective method of harvesting and revealing new truths about human experiences. Art
achieves this through creative processes, which use the imagination and divergent thinking to prompt
fresh ideas and visions and sustain them long enough to intercept and affect a person’s consciousness.i
Used for inquiry art can enable humanistic interactions that encourage empathy.
Art is a source of knowledge. It advances understanding of social conditions and human experiences and
it does this in ways that are different from but equal to social science. Social theorist Austin Harrington
states, “…there are certain things that art can tell us about society that social science cannot tell us; and
further…there are certain ways in which art can tell us about things in society that a social scientific way
of telling us about these things cannot claim to supercede. Novels, plays, films, paintings and drawings
tell us different things about social life from the things that a piece of sociological research can tell us
about social life, and to the extent that they tell us these different things, they tell us more things.” (3)
For example, a social scientific report may be able to cultivate an understanding of the kinds of
experiences faced by people with cancer. However it cannot provoke the same kind of emotive and
empathetic connection to the experience of living with cancer that a story, performance or poem can
produce. It is this kind of emotive and embodied knowledge that moves people to action.
In response to research practices that did not acknowledge or engage embodied and intuitive
experiences, researchers in education and the social sciences have developed new methods for studying
and representing social and cultural contexts and practices. “Arts-informed research is a mode and form
of qualitative research in the social sciences that is influenced by, but not based in, the arts broadly
conceived . . .[t]he methodology infuses the languages, processes, and forms of literary, visual, and
performing arts with the expansive possibilities of scholarly inquiry for the purposes of advancing
knowledge” (Cole & Knowles, 2008 p. 59). According to Cole and Knowles there are seven defining
elements that characterize arts-informed research. First is a commitment to a particular art form (or
forms) that is used in both the process and representation of the research. A second element of arts-
informed inquiry is an emphasis on integrity of form and ideas. When using and arts-informed method

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one should have a rationale for using a specific art form in relation to a specific inquiry — indicating
“how and how well [the chosen art form(s)] work to illuminate and achieve the research purposes” (p.
61) The other defining elements of arts-informed approaches include: acknowledgement and
incorporation of the presence of the researcher; strong reflexive elements; inclusion of the emergent,
responsive nature of the creative inquiry process; attention to audience both within and beyond the
academy; and an emphasis on audience engagement and accessibility in terms of form and content.
Bringing together the systematic and rigorous qualities of conventional qualitative
methodologies with the artistic, disciplined, and imaginative qualities of the arts acknowledges
the power of art forms to reach diverse audiences and the importance of diverse languages for
gaining insights into the complexities of the human condition.” (Cole & Knowles 59)
An arts-informed framework leaves room for change. The same spirit of dialogue and transformation is
often embodied in community arts. Community art processes encourage dialogue and adapt to the
people and communities they engage. Arts-informed methods offer a way of using the arts to create an
entry point for those outside of creative artistic practices into a better understanding of the value of
artistic processes and outcomes; in addition they offer a more engaging source of reflection for those
within them.
“The purpose of Art is to lay bare the questions
that have been hidden by the answers.”
— James Baldwin
(Novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist)

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Arts-Informed Evaluation
What is it?
Arts-Informed Evaluation is an innovative approach to qualitative assessment.
Arts-Informed Evaluation emerges from a philosophical perspective that values: collaboration,
creativity, flexibility, relevance, reflexivity and the continuous nature of learning.
Arts-Informed Evaluation uses art forms and art processes to explore and communicate an evaluation of
experiences.
How is it going? versus How did it go?
Arts-Informed Evaluation communicates how a community arts project is going. It is different from
some of the more conventional practices of evaluation in community arts because it requires that
evaluation be integrated throughout a community arts process rather than just at the end. That way
evaluation can occur while a community arts process is still going on and what is learned can be applied
to the process as it continues to develop.
Art Forms & Arts Processes
Instead of using conventional tools for collecting evaluative information, such as questionnaires,
surveys, or devices for tracking numbers, Arts-Informed Evaluation uses art forms and arts processes as
mediums of evaluation. Art is used to inquire into and explore the qualities of a community art process
and the experiences of those who are affected by it. Art is also used to communicate these qualities and
experiences to others.
What is Missing?
When we only look back at a project or process in order to evaluate it, dynamic qualities such as moods,
feelings, moments of learning or connection may be hard to recall. It is often easier to access concrete
traces and outcomes after the fact; but identifying all these parts doesn’t give a complete picture.
A holistic understanding of accomplishment values the development of every person’s intellectual,
emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potential. Questionnaires, surveys and numbers
offer certain kinds of insight. However, in order to capture a richer representation of community arts
experience and impact, it is also necessary to integrate methods of evaluation that permit more creative
flexibility and that occur throughout a process.
Arts-Informed Evaluation works to express some of the qualities of community arts that conventional
forms might miss: Art is used to explore and express impact; Art informs us how a process is going as
well as how it went; and, Evaluation is integrated throughout the community arts process in ways that
are relevant and responsive to the participants, community and project goals.

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Key Characteristics
Arts-Informed Evaluation embodies four key characteristics that reflect the values of community arts
practices. It is artful, integrated, reflexive, and it values the ephemeral / elusive.
Artful
First and foremost, Arts-Informed Evaluation is artful. It requires a commitment to the use of art forms
to engage in evaluation.
• Art informs us about how something is going.
• Art forms are used to think through experiences connected to community arts projects / processes.
• Art forms are also used as the means of communicating those thoughts to others in order to help
capture what might be missing in conventional forms of evaluation.
Integrated
Community arts practices value process and strive for relevance. An Arts-Informed approach frames
evaluation as integral to the community arts process. Evaluation is planned as part of a community arts
project and is integrated throughout. Evaluation becomes an on-going activity used to reflect on a
community arts process as it happens. In this way arts-informed evaluation adds to the experience rather
than just trying to represent results.
Arts-Informed Evaluation is also relevant. The art form(s) used for evaluation are chosen based on the
artists, the participants, the context and the purpose of the community arts project. Evaluative activities
emerge in response to the needs and interests of each community and are integrated within the
community arts process rather than being externally imposed — made-to-measure not ready-to-wear.
Reflexive
“All learning depends on the reflexive interpretation of one's experience together with the experience of
others” — Pierre Lafitte (Psychologist)
Being attentive to process is a key part of community arts practices. To be reflexive means to be
conscious of and to actively examine the processes we are part of, and the products we create. In Arts-
Informed Evaluations of community art, being reflexive includes being aware of the whole picture.
Rather than thinking about each stage of a project, each project activity or participant as completely
separate it is important to keep in mind that they are part of a larger process. How do they help to
develop and / or support one another?
Arts-Informed Evaluation also recognizes and reflects on the relationships between all elements of a
community arts project: objectives, lived experiences, themes, and outcomes. It draws meaning from
these connections (e.g. How do the themes explored in a project relate to project objectives? In what
ways are participants’ lived experiences linked to outcomes?). What is learned is applied as the process
continues.
Reflexivity also requires self-awareness and self-reflection. In Arts-Informed Evaluation participants
consciously link personal / professional experiences to the evaluation process and maintain an awareness
of the impact this has.

16. 16
Ephemeral / Elusive Qualities Valued
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” — Carl Sagan (Astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist)
Some qualities of community arts projects are difficult to identify or express using conventional
methods. They are part of moments, dynamics, feelings, ideas, and relationships. These qualities are
often ephemeral: lasting only in the moment or not leaving an obvious trace. This makes it difficult to
provide evidence of them or make them accessible to people outside the process. These qualities may
also be elusive: they may be hard to point to directly or describe in simple terms. This makes them
difficult to measure or to report on. At the same time, these ephemeral / elusive qualities are often the
richest parts of community arts processes.
Arts-Informed Evaluation prizes these qualities and seeks ways of sharing them that are accessible and
that do not diminish their complexity. Art forms and processes are often able to represent the complex or
the elusive not through exact accounts of it but, rather, through gestures that evoke and point towards it.
As author and poet Maya Angelou has stated, “There's a world of difference between truth and facts.
Facts can obscure the truth.” So if much of the true impact of community art is in essence ephemeral
then art is an appropriate medium for documenting this kind of impact. Arts-Informed Evaluation offers
a different kind of precision, one that energizes and requires more from both the observer and the
participant.
“When you are describing,
A shape, a sound or a tint;
Don’t state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.”
— Lewis Carroll (Author,
mathematician,
logician,
and
photographer)

17. 17
Why is it Important?
“Such happiness, as life is capable of, comes from the full participation of all our powers in the
endeavor to wrest from each changing situation of experience its own full and unique meaning.”
— John Dewey (Philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer)
Arts-Informed Evaluation is important because it offers opportunities for reflection that embody the
collaborative values of many community practices. It contributes to fuller understandings of the impact of
community work. The following section highlights some of Arts-Informed Evaluation’s benefits.
Benefits
Participant & Community Voices Heard
The forms of evaluation used in conventional methods may use language and processes that do not capture
the voices, spirit and lived experience of the people who participated. Arts-Informed Evaluation takes into
account community and participant interests and modes of expression in shaping the design, implementation
and communication of evaluation processes. It provides insight in ways that are useful to more of the people
invested in community arts practices than conventional evaluation often does.
Creativity Honoured
“When trying to translate an idea from one language to another, and the target language doesn't have the same
idea as the original language, the meaning may be lost, even in a word-for-word translation.” — Anonymous
Some of the most valuable aspects of community art can be found in participants’ creative expressions.
Rather than attempting to distill and translate artful experiences into non-art forms, Arts-Informed
Evaluation keeps them whole. Arts-Informed Evaluation uses creative expression and art forms as the
basis of evaluation. These works are then used as a source of dialogue. Artists share their learning and
people who encounter the artworks can become active participants in the work’s interpretation.
Honouring creativity in Arts-Informed Evaluation also means allowing for flexibility within the
evaluation process so that participants can innovate and re-shape it to meet changing needs.
Well-Tailored Techniques
“The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me,
while all the rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.”
— George Bernard Shaw (Economist and playwright)
Arts-Informed Evaluation ensures that the method of evaluation and the way it is applied is tailored to
suit each community context and each stage in a process. A “good fit” is important. A generic evaluation
process that doesn’t fit well may not effectively represent the unique and changing qualities of different
projects, communities or participants.
Energizing Activities
Arts-Informed evaluation aims to energize participants. In community art practices many conventional
methods of evaluation happen at the end of a project. They sometimes seem like an “add-on” or a hoop
to jump through after the fact that is not particularly energizing or engaging. Arts-Informed Evaluation
builds evaluation in, throughout a project, so that participants can reflect as they go and apply what they
learn during the project. It uses activities that attempt to be more stimulating and relevant so that
evaluation is an enrichment rather than an obstacle.

18. 18
Diversity of Excellence and Success
What is excellence? How can you tell if a community project is successful?
Community-based collaborative practices require rigorous attention to context. In order to be effective
and to meet the needs of different communities it is essential to understand and respond to the
uniqueness of each situation. Using a rigid formula for interaction and community engagement often
limits how people interact and the kinds of outcomes that projects achieve — there is little room for
creativity. It can also create barriers to participation if someone or something does not fit the plan.
It is the impetus to adapt and respond to things as they emerge that energizes community-based
practices; this creative quality is what sparks excitement and generates positive interactions.
In the same way, applying a generic standard of excellence or success to creative endeavours can be
counterproductive. A standard provides a model against which other things can be measured or ranked.
But much of the value of creative and community-based work emerges as a process or as a project
develops and is defined by the people and places in which the work takes place; so predetermined
standards are not useful measures of excellence. We need to rethink the concept of excellence / success
and reclaim it in a way that moves away from competition and hierarchies and purposely redefines it as
more inclusive and more creative. Arts-Informed Evaluation works towards this goal.

19. 19
How do you do it?
“Creative people are more creative when they have real constraints, real limits. You become
immobilized when you try to be completely open to every single thing. You need the structure, but you
need a structure in such a way that when you hit the edge of it you realize it and you can open up.”
— dian marino (Visual artist, activist, educator and storyteller)
Finding a Flexible Framework
The ideas behind Arts-Informed Evaluation are interesting — but how do you put it all into practice?
A big part of figuring out how to do Arts-Informed Evaluation depends on you and the people you work
with as well as the contexts you are all working in. In other words, those participating determine what
evaluation processes will be used and how they will be integrated. Each community / project requires a
specific, specially tailored approach.
But we do not intend to bombard readers with a bunch of ideas and then take off. Our aim is to provide a
flexible framework that can act as a support or starting point for community arts workers and
participants who are interested in the possibilities of Arts-Informed Evaluation. We identify four major
steps involved in Arts-Informed Evaluation. We also name six important factors to consider during each
step. Used together they help to take the measure of your context and assess what might work for a
particular community arts process.
Arts-Informed Evaluation in:
Four Major Steps
Step 1: Choosing Questions
Step 2: Selecting the Art Form(s)
Step 3: Integrating the Process
Step 4: Communicating the Findings
Consider Context
Factors to keep in mind as you plan each step:
Six Factors
1. Goals
2. Skills
3. Resources
4. Relationships
5. Challenges
6. Timeline

20. 20
Planning the Process
In the following section we discuss each of the four major steps in an Arts-Informed Evaluation process.
Then we consider how the six different factors relate to each step. Keep in mind that the framework we
propose is flexible, you may identify other things that you want to consider. Use this as a place to start
and then be creative. Adapt it to meet the needs of your own practice and the particular needs of the
people, communities, and projects with which you are involved.
Step 1: Choosing Questions
Our initial discussion of evaluation touched on the three W’s: Who, What and Why (Who wants to
know? What do they want to know? and Why do they want to know?). Arts-Informed Evaluation begins
with those most directly involved in a community project / process at the centre. They will explore how
a project / process is going and what kind of impact it is having. It is this group that will be responding
to the questions that the evaluation poses; so choosing and constructing questions that they relate to and
find valuable is important. In addition, Arts-Informed Evaluation seeks to communicate these findings to
those outside the process. Questions must be meaningful to the group that is answering them and
questions must connect to the larger issues and goals that a project is endeavoring to address. Also keep
in mind that the questions you choose in Step 1 will affect the kinds of evaluative activities and art
forms that you decide to use.
When Choosing Questions consider the following:
Goals:
What are the goals of the project?
Determine what kinds of questions will help you find out if project goals are being met.
Skills:
Create questions that take into account participants’ ability to understand and respond to them.
Resources:
Seek input from artist partners, staff, example materials, and participants / community members.
Relationships:
Consider how questions will be asked so that participants feel comfortable and motivated to respond.
Challenges:
Think about ways to adapt questions if they are not effective.
Timeline:
Plan when to ask questions. Different questions may be asked at different stages or a question may be
repeated to see if there has been a change in participants’ responses.
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?

21. 21
Good Question!?
“To be an effective questioner you may have to develop the patience to wait for answers to be
formulated, the skill of listening so that you will know how to respond, and the finesse to “send the Ball
back” in such a way that [participants] perceive learning as dialogue; a dialogue in which everyone’s
thoughts, feelings and actions matter.”
(N. Morgan & J. Saxton, Asking Better Questions, p. 15)
When formulating questions to encourage people to share their experiences it is useful to think about
what it is you want to know. Are you asking about:
1. What people think and know (Knowledge)
2. What people feel about what they think and know (Feelings)
3. What people do as a result of their knowledge, thoughts and feelings (Actions)
You may be interested in all three areas — and they do overlap — but different kinds of questions (or
asking questions in different ways) can help if you want to focus on one area versus another. And likely
you will have different kinds of responses, some may be literal and direct, some may be more intuitive
or metaphorical. Many forms of evaluation focus on the first (Knowledge) and the third (Actions)
categories. Arts-Informed Evaluation also emphasizes the second category (Feelings). In fact, recent
movements in the fields of health and education have acknowledged that we often seriously
underestimate the impact that people’s feelings have on what they know and what they do.
You may have heard the saying that people will not learn unless they want to learn. Motivation is often
described as the key to successful engagement or participation, and at the heart of most motives one can
usually identify a particular feeling (excitement, desire, hurt, anger, frustration, curiosity, inspiration,
isolation, connection, sadness, happiness). Good questioning is presented in a way that connects with
people at both an intellectual and a feeling level. Good or effective questions require the sort of vitality
that challenges people to be creative in their responses. (Morgan and Saxon 13-15)
What kinds of questions make people want to respond?
How do you ask questions so that people feel compelled or invited to explore them?
Part of being a good questioner means being thoughtful about the way in which you ask questions and
part of it is being thoughtful about how you construct them.
Asking
Good asking requires good listening. Have you ever felt that you “couldn’t get a word in edgewise” or
that you were “just faking your way through”? If people feel that they don’t have space or that they have
to fill space to respond to a question then there are likely problems with the way that the question has
been asked. How do people pose questions in ways that shut you out or that make you feel like you have
to fake it? Listening well means being attentive to people before, during, and after the asking of a
question. Consider the mood, energy, power dynamics, body language and intonation (your own and that
of the people you are asking) as you determine when and how to pose a question. Asking questions in a
way that builds a sense of trust or confidence may inspire people to respond. Think about how you
communicate to a particular group or person that you are interested in understanding what they think or
feel, and use this to inform the way that you ask questions.

22. 22
Sometimes how we ask a question can put people on the spot pressuring them to say something whether
it feels meaningful or not. Often we assume that silence or very brief responses indicate a lack of
contemplation. Do we jump in and try to fill this space or should we see it as room for thought? The
authors of the book Ask Better Questions suggest that sometimes “a good question generates a silence
filled with thought which leads to talk” often we just need to be more patient and give people time to
formulate answers (p.15). They also point out that when people do offer answers it is important to listen
well and consider what has been shared so that people feel heard. Listening deeply to someone as they
answer a question allows for more thorough consideration of their ideas as well as the feelings,
personalities and social dynamics that may inform responses at a particular moment. Good listening
provides a better understanding of who you are communicating with and therefore: What questions are
useful and interesting, How to phrase questions effectively, How to respond in ways that generate
dialogue — sharing thoughts back and forth and exploring ideas together.
Constructing
Are you asking a question to confirm something you already know? Do you have answers in mind that
you want to hear? Artist-educator dian marino wrote that, as a teacher, she sometimes felt like a lurker
amongst her students rather than in dialogue with them, “I had this recurring image of myself as a
teacher lurking behind a bush and jumping out when someone got it right” (marino 60). If you want to
inspire thoughtful responses, construct questions that do not have right or wrong and yes or no answers.
Rather than leading people in a particular direction, try to create questions that leave room for them to
go places you haven’t thought of. What kinds of questions value people’s thoughts, feelings and actions?
What kinds of questions make you want to respond?
Examples of Questions to Encourage Reflection and Exploration
Personal Experience
What motivated you to participate in this project?
How does this project relate to things you have learned before?
How is this project different from other (arts / community / learning) experiences you have had?
How do you contribute value or purpose to the project? In what ways do you influence the project?
What are you learning? What do you hope to learn?
How has this project had an impact on you?
What has surprised, interested, or impressed you?
Community / Communication
How does your experience make a difference to your community / school?
What do you imagine members of your community/school might be thinking or feeling about this project?
If this project wasn’t taking place what difference would that make (to you and / or to your community / school)?
If you had to teach someone about this project how would you do it?
What words would you use to express how you feel about the project and your experiences?
What moments in the project do you think people would say are the most important?
Strengths & Challenges
Which parts of the project have been hard for you? Why do you think they were hard?
What are you doing when you feel things becoming more difficult?
What has been easy for you? Why do you think this was easy?
What are you doing when you feel really good or confident about the project?
What parts of the project would you like more practice or help with?
What is it about the project that makes you feel the most involved?
What would people say the strongest parts of the project are?
Improvements
How could this project be more satisfying?
If you were going to repeat this project what would you do differently?
How would you improve the project?
In what ways do you think the people you have been working with might make the project better?
What do you think makes a community art project successful? In what way is this project successful or unsuccessful?

23. 23
Step 2: Selecting the Art Form(s)
The second step involves choosing the art form(s) you will use for the evaluation.
Relevance is the top concern when making this choice. The form or forms that are used should aim to
reflect the skills and / or interests of everyone involved. One art form is not superior to another but
certain forms maybe more appropriate to a particular context, timeframe, group of participants or series
of evaluative questions. Reflecting on what is being asked, who is being asked, and under what
conditions, can help determine the advantages and disadvantages of using particular art forms or
processes in a particular context. Would it be helpful for the evaluative art form to echo the forms used
in the rest of the project? Or could the evaluation benefit from juxtaposition and a medium that contrasts
the other mediums that a project engages? If a group is hesitant to verbalize then perhaps movement,
drama or visual arts processes might be better. Maybe contributors want to try out a new art form or are
only comfortable with familiar ones. Perhaps a certain medium is especially poignant for exploring
particular themes.
Goals:
Think about how the art form(s) chosen for evaluation will connect to the rest of the project. How does it
respond to the evaluation questions? What will this kind of art form allow participants to explore or
achieve in relation to the project goals? Will they be developing or strengthening certain skills?
Skills:
Integrate the arts skills and arts practices that the contributing artists bring to the project. Keep in mind
the interests and skill level of participants. How can the choice of art form(s) draw on and stretch the
abilities and interests of all those involved?
Resources:
Determine what supplies you will need for the evaluation and add these to the project supply list.
Consider other resources that will be needed (e.g. space, equipment). Think about people that could act
as a resource (staff specialists / artists, artist partners, community members).
Relationships:
What kinds of relationships or interactions will be required? Decide how the evaluation art form(s) will
be used – will participants work individually, collaboratively, or using a combination of methods? Will
the evaluation include community members and will different levels of participants contribute in
different ways?
Challenges:
Imagine what difficulties could emerge when using a particular art form and think about how you might
address them. Know where you can be flexible and where persistence is needed. How you can be both
responsive to emerging needs and still work within certain boundaries?
Timeline:
Plan when the process will take place and how it will be integrated into the rest of the project.
Will the art form(s) and process chosen, work within the time frame of the overall project?
OR OR . . .

24. 24
Step 3: Integrating the Process
As we stated earlier, an Arts-Informed approach sees evaluation as integral to the community arts
process. Evaluation is planned as part of a community arts project. After deciding what art forms the
evaluation will be composed of the next step involves determining how the evaluation process will
interweave with the rest of the project. Pacing, timelines, project aims, and group dynamics are all
significant. The evaluation is intended to support and add to the overall process not to disrupt it. As a
project gains momentum the evaluation process can help keep participants and contributing artists
motivated. Evaluation throughout offers feedback about the strengths and challenges of the process
while it is still happening. This gives contributors the opportunity to respond right away and effect
change. Problem solving and reflection help to sustain energy and enthusiasm. It can also foster stronger
relationships and confidence. When contributors see that their perspectives and experiences will be
sought out, listened to and acted on it can add to a sense of self-worth and make a project (including the
evaluation process) more worthwhile.
Goals:
What outcomes does the project aim to produce? How can the evaluation be used to “check-in” with
participants throughout the project to determine if goals are being met or to identify ways of adapting
the process to better support the goals.
Skills:
Think about the skills and community knowledge of the contributing artists. Do different contributors
have different strengths and skills? Consider these skills in relation to the various parts of the evaluation
process — perhaps the process can be facilitated differently or by different contributors at various
stages. How will the evaluation process add to or build on the skills participants are developing as the
project progresses?
Resources:
Emphasize collaboration between and amongst the contributing artist(s) and community members /
participants. Look to each other for feedback and recommendations. Identify other examples of
community arts-informed evaluation and how integration occurred in those contexts.
Relationships:
Think about the kinds of relationships or group dynamics that may evolve during the project. What
kinds of activities could be done early on and what may require greater familiarity? How would
participants’ comfort and sense of a safe space need to be considered?
Challenges:
Identify possible challenges such as time limits, environments, or group dynamics that could act as
barriers to the evaluation process. Make the process flexible or develop back-up plans for addressing
possible challenges.
Timeline:
Build the process of the evaluation into the schedule of the overall project. The evaluation should flow
well with the various stages of a project and be integrated throughout rather than only completed at the
end.

25. 25
Step 4: Communicating the Findings
What do you do with what you find out? Art-Informed Evaluation emphasizes artist / participant
reflexivity, reflecting on what they are doing as they go, so that they gain insight about themselves and
their practices. What they learn they can apply to their projects and their lives. However, Arts-Informed
Evaluation also stresses the importance of sharing what is found out with people outside the process.
Accessibility is a key consideration when planning and implementing this step. What different factors
need to be considered to make the findings accessible to your audience?
Goals:
The goal of communicating the findings is to share the creative expressions that the evaluation captured
in an accessible way. Communication needs to take shape using forms of representation and processes of
sharing that resonate with both audience and artists / participants.
Skills:
Try to utilize and/or expand on the skills and knowledge of contributing artists and participants.
Participants may be especially talented at certain forms of communication so this stage of the evaluation
might provide an opportunity to foster these skills in a different way (maybe one person is an excellent
speaker and other participants have an interest in video and together they create a video artist statement).
Participants may also have unique insight into how to best reach out to their communities — what forms
of sharing might be the most effective.
Resources:
Determine resources such as equipment or supplies that may be required to document and disseminate
the evaluation. Consult other artists, organizations or previous arts-informed evaluations for ideas and
examples about how to communicate the findings. People who speak multiple languages can also be
excellent resources in diverse communities.
Relationships:
Consider your audience. Who will you be communicating with (funders, community members, arts &
community organizations, other artists)? What is their style of communicating? Think about how you
will share what you have learned with this audience — what kinds of communication will make the
evaluation accessible to them? How might sharing the evaluation impact relationships between and
amongst the various individuals / groups connected to a project?
Challenges:
Some art forms used for evaluation may be difficult for different audiences to engage with or interpret
without support. A few examples of challenges to communicating are: lack of access to technology for
viewing or distributing work, issues of language (there maybe a need for translation), discomfort with
the content or form of the evaluation (dialogue could be provided to address difficult content and / or
explanation might be needed to help communicate meaning e.g. a brief artist statement).
Timeline:
Make time for documenting and disseminating the evaluation by building it into your project timeline
from the beginning.

26. 26
6
Factors
Step
1
Choosing
Questions
Step
2
Selecting
Art
Form(s)
Step
3
Integrating
the
Process
Step
4
Communicating
Findings
Goals
Skills
Resources
Relationships
Challenges
Timeline
Big
Picture
Planning
This
worksheet
can
be
a
starting
point
for
planning
Arts-­‐Informed
Evaluation
processes.
Use
it
to
brainstorm,
take
notes,
or
make
an
outline
about
how
the
6
factors
impact
each
of
the
4
different
steps
in
the
evaluation
process.

27. 27
How has Arts-Informed Evaluation been done before?
We know that ideas may seem too complex or too simple when they are written out as theories of
practice. When envisioning how to use theories in a practical way it often helps to refer to examples of
similar efforts. The following pages illustrate one example of Arts-Informed Evaluation used in a
community arts context.
Pilot Project: The Teesdale Mosaic Mural
The Teesdale Mosaic Mural was a 22-day project, part of the AFCY
Summer 2010 youth employment initiative and funded by the Royal
Bank of Canada Foundation (RBC) in partnership with Toronto
Community Housing. The project acted as AFCY’s pilot site for
integrating Arts-Informed Evaluation into a community arts process.
AFCY has a well-established relationship with this community and a
sense of connection with the dynamics of the location. Teesdale faces
a variety of social and economic challenges so activities that offer
positive social impact are highly valued. Evaluation of these kinds of
projects, to learn how they contribute and how they can improve, is
important. Finding ways to make evaluation more accessible and
relevant in terms of capturing and communicating impact is a priority.
Lead artist, Sandra Tarantino, in collaboration with visiting artist,
Julie Frost, developed the Arts-Informed evaluation process for the
Teesdale Mosaic Mural project.
Project: Included the creation of a 150-foot permanent mosaic mural on the walls of an
outdoor basketball court (extension of a mural that was completed the previous
summer). The mural is adjacent to the community’s parking garage and is also very
visible from the main street.
Goals: Youth / community engagement and skill development
Participants: 13 local youth (AFCY summer youth employment initiative)
2 facilitating artists (1 professional & 1 youth assistant), 1 visiting artist, various
community volunteers
Timeline: 22 full days in August 2010
Community Context: The project took place within a public housing apartment
complex located in a large urban centre (Scarborough, Ontario). Two rooms were
provided for storage and workspace inside one of the buildings in the complex. The
majority of the work took place outside at the mural site and in a playground / common
area.

28. 28
“The Teesdale Mosaic Mural focused on integrating visual
representations of community themes and enhancing the aesthetic
environment of the community apartment complex. It was continuing an
initiative that had started in the community the previous summer.
Early on the group discovered that another mural project was being
conducted by a different organization at the same location so, during the
planning process, we fostered unity and collaboration between the
designs of the two murals and the youth from both groups. The youth
created the designs through collective brainstorming sessions.
Those working on the mosaic learned clay techniques to create tiles,
portraits and inspirational words to be included in the mural. They were
then asked to mentor and instruct other children and adults within the
community so that they could also contribute. Personalized portrait tiles of
people from the community were created and used in building the imagery.
Some of the local children volunteered and were eager to be part of the
project on a daily basis. We also had other community members keeping a
close eye on what was being created and giving wonderful feedback as the
days progressed. In addition, during a community night, the youth
participants mentored people from the community instructing them in mosaic
techniques and inviting them to include personalized objects in the mural.
Found objects such as toys, bottle caps, and buttons were also integrated.”
— Lead Artist, Sandra Tarantino

29. 29
Arts-Informed Evaluation at Teesdale
As the pilot site for the introduction of Arts-Informed Evaluation into an AFCY community arts context,
Teesdale was a strategic choice. The length of the project, 22 full days, allowed time for
experimentation and a lot of flexibility to shift approaches if needed. In addition, there was a consistent
group of participants who were present on a regular basis for the duration of the project. Teesdale was
also a good choice because it offered complexity and challenge. Cultural, economic, and language
barriers are significant issues at Teesdale as well as community safety and youth exposure to violence.
Evaluation required careful thought and attention to these conditions and an approach that was inclusive
of and meaningful for diverse participants. Two evaluation activities were developed: 1. Paint Chip
Conversations: a long-term activity that was used throughout the process and 2. Journey Tiles: a
culminating activity that was used towards the end of the project.
Factors that shaped the evaluation:
Goals: The primary goal of the mural production was youth and community skill development
(technical skills, team building, supporting self-esteem, teaching and learning skills, articulating and
communicating ideas). The evaluation supported this goal by enabling participants to:
• Make truthful representations about their lived experiences of the mural process
• Engage in reflexive thinking and doing through dialogue in a safe space
• Record significant project events
• Capture experiences & memories often unrecorded in conventional evaluation
• Attach meaning to materials & creative processes
Skills: The artistic level of the hired youth artists was an important factor. There were a variety of skill
levels: some participants had been steadily involved in arts production for years while others claimed
not to have “done art” since elementary school. The evaluation process used art forms and processes that
accommodated the skills and interests of everyone.
Resources: The past work experiences of the lead artist, youth assistant artist & visiting artist were
important resources. They had all worked with this community before and had a sense of the context.
The lead artist and visiting artist also drew on their own personal arts specialties / practices (ceramics,
drawing & painting) to inform the processes and art forms that the evaluation would use. The choice of
art processes & materials also echoed those used to create the mural and left over mural supplies were
integrated into part of the evaluation process.
Relationships: The project’s collaborative nature (participants collectively designed and created one
large mural) supported the choice to use evaluative processes that had collaborative elements but that
also offered opportunity for individual expressions. The idea was to provide a space for personal
reflection and articulation that was sparked by or connected to collective discussions and dialogue.
Challenges: Hot or rainy weather made outdoor work difficult on various days, some neighbourhood
rivalries and violence disrupted the process at different points, the need for safe space was paramount.
Timeline: The timeline of the project (22 days) offered a more extended development of dialogue and
trust between participants but it also required activities that could sustain interest and respond to the
different stages of the project over time. The production of such a large mural (150 feet) required a lot of
time and effort; so the evaluation was integrated using quick activities over a longer period and then a
culminating activity towards the end (once the mural itself was complete). Photographic documentation
was used throughout the process and time was set aside for video documentation as part of the
culminating evaluative activity (Journey Tiles).

30. 30
Paint Chip Conversations
Key Elements:
• Paint chips used as colour “tiled” surfaces on which youth / artists could record daily comments
• Implemented at the beginning and continued throughout the program
• Youth and artists wrote and drew their feelings, ideas and needs (allowed for anonymity)
• Paint chips were posted everyday on a designated wall space within the shared workroom
• Youth and artists wrote responses to each other’s chips
• Facilitating artists responded to or supported group dialogue about issues / questions that emerged
The Paint Chip Conversations activity was directly linked to the mural project through both form and
process. Participants’ writings or drawings on paint chips created a literal mosaic of daily commentary
and reflection. Sometimes participants were asked to respond to specific questions posed during the
mural creation process (for example: What motivates you? What do you feel inspired by? What is
important to you? What do you feel most proud of? What is your greatest accomplishment?). The rest of
the time participants were encouraged to put whatever comments or reflections they wanted on the paint
chips. The casual nature of the activity reduced performance pressure and appealed to a diversity of skill
levels.
A box of blank cards was always left at the table in the meeting room and the youth were able to write
things down or draw imagery and either post it immediately or leave it in a confidential collection box at
the beginning and end of each day so that it could be posted anonymously. Strong themes and
underlying sentiments / opinions would come out and be a starting point for deeper conversations within
the group such as: "Loyalty is Everything," "Money Motivates Mind Over Matter," and "I Heard You
Dissin". The facilitating artists also anonymously posted messages and responses to daily conversations
to deepen discussion or provoke further reflection: "Decide For Yourself" or “What Makes A
Community". Sometimes participants’ paint chips offered playful comments on conditions or
experiences: images of a Popsicle melting in the summer heat or a bandage for scraped fingers.
The Paint Chip Conversations enabled on-going feedback and reflection about group dynamics, social
values, the mural process, feelings, concerns, and ideas. It created safety through the possibility of
anonymity and, at the same, a shared space for thoughts that might not normally be heard. Making these
comments visible facilitated more dialogue and insight into participants’ motivations, learning and
goals. This process increased trust and connection amongst group members supporting the mural process
itself, the culminating Journey Tile activity, and participants’ technical, professional, and social skill
development.
It was fascinating
to see the interplay of
participants’ daily
thoughts and imagery
and how many of them
became attached to each
other’s comments.
— Visiting Artist

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Journey Tiles
Key Elements:
• Square plywood “tiles” were used as a base for collage materials gathered from the project site
• Took place at the end of the project as a culminating activity
• Questions asked to draw out memories, ideas, feelings
• Each participant drew a journey line and used collage to represent events, symbols, and learning
• Artwork was created in work circles that included collective discussion and mutual support
• Video was used to capture each individual’s explanation of their journey story
The Journey Tiles activity focused on engaging participants in a more in-depth assessment of the mural
project. Participants reflected on their experiences of the project from beginning to end. The aim was to
recall feelings and tap into memories of the project as well as current impressions — exploring each
person’s journey. We used materials that possessed meanings and relationships to the community and
the mural process. Small squares or “tiles” of plywood were used as the surface (echoing the shape of
many of the ceramic tiles in the mosaic) for a combination of drawing / painting and collage. This form
allowed for the creation of personalized mark making as well as the integration of found elements and
symbols, similar to the kind of creative negotiation in the mural. Materials applied to the wooden tiles
included found objects from the community and leftover mural ingredients.
The process took place on the last day of the project as a culminating activity that built on and added to
the dialogue generated by the paint chip conversations. All the youth participants, the lead artist, youth
assistant artist, and visiting artist gathered around a table in the mural workroom adjacent to the wall of
paint chips. Collage materials were placed in the centre of the table. The visiting artist began by asking
everyone to recall and discuss some of the initial paint chip comments. We explored how the comments
shifted in spirit or energy as the project advanced, and as different challenges were faced. Questions
were then fielded to reawaken participants’ experiences: “Did your experience make a difference to your
community?” “What key words would you use to express how you felt about the project and your
experiences?” “What value or purpose did you contribute?” “If you were to change one thing about the
project what would that be?” “If this project had not taken place what difference would that have made
to you or to your community?”
Everyone drew a line on their tile representing their journey through the project.ii
Then they selected one
or more objects and / or pieces of tile left from the mural that had particular meaning for them. These
objects and their other collage elements represented specific moments, learning, and feelings. Working
in talking circles during the evaluation, we openly discussed our art making, the project details and our
efforts to capture the different meanings of the project. As a concluding activity each participant gave a
spoken explanation of their journey tile that was recorded using video.

32. 32
One Journey:
An excerpt from the lead artist’s
explanation of her Journey Tile
demonstrates how the activity was able to
capture key moments from the mural
process as well as offer participants the
opportunity to reflect on the feelings,
relationships, and greater symbolism
connected to their experiences of these
moments:
The word "Struggle" had double meaning for me. Not only did it reflect the
struggles of the project itself but also the struggles of the youth participants
and the children and families who became involved in the project. As I
befriended the people in the community I began to learn their stories. Some
had come from war torn countries and had experienced violence firsthand.
Others struggled as immigrants to "make it" in this new country with hard
working families.
The ceramic face incorporated into my journey tile was originally included in
the outdoor mosaic. I chose it because it represented a significant moment in
the project for me. One day I was outside at the mural working with a young
boy. He pointed to this particular face and asked, “Miss is that supposed to
be blood on the face?” I told him I wasn't sure but asked him if it bothered
him. He replied that it did. I asked did he want me to take it out? He said
“Yes.” We removed it and replaced it with another. That moment left quite
an impression on me. It made me reflect on what his experiences might be
and also on what might have motivated the youth participants who glazed the
face red.
The water drips that I put on my journey tile have eyes inside them. They are
another strong symbol that also appears in the mural. The youth who
designed this mural element (at first they look like regular raindrops until
one moves in closer) described it as representing the tears of the people in
the community and the eyes of those watching around them.

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AFCY Workshops: How would You do Arts-Informed Evaluation?
An important prelude to the development of this handbook was a series of four AFCY professional
development workshops for community artists and outreach workers. During the first half of each
workshop we presented our flexible framework for Arts-Informed Evaluation while asking for and
responding to questions and comments from participants. Their feedback has informed our thinking and
our shaping of this resource.
The second half of every workshop was dedicated to an exploratory exercise. Participants were asked to
form small groups and each group was given a randomly selected scenario representing a potential
community arts program / project. The group members were asked to work together to come up with a
proposal for an arts-informed evaluation process that would suit their scenario. The groups then
presented their proposals to the entire workshop for sharing and discussion. This exercise generated
many interesting ideas as well as important questions and observations. It allowed participants to think
about the kinds of possibilities as well as the kinds of considerations that Arts-Informed Evaluation
might entail within a diversity of contexts.
We invite you to try out this exercise as well. Below we share the guidelines for the activity and a
selection of some of the scenarios that were used in the workshops. Try these out on your own or in
collaboration with other people. You can use the Big Picture Planning worksheet (p. 26) and the Activity
Design worksheet (p.34) to support your planning process. For inspiration and examples of evaluative
arts activities refer to the Example Activities and Resource sections of this handbook.
How Would You Do it? — An activity for exploring Arts-Informed Evaluation
Step 1: Choose a scenario.
Step 2: Make a plan for an arts-informed evaluation process that is appropriate for your scenario.
Step 3: Take note of any questions or challenges that emerge as you work.
Do you have concerns about implementing your plan?
Step 4: Share and discuss your ideas (with co-workers, community members, or others who could provide feedback)
Scenario 1 – You are teaching in an African drumming program in a special needs Grade 9 high school class. 10 – 15 youth are
involved with a cooperative and engaged teacher present. Workshops are half day experiences, and are spread sporadically over a
three-month period – 14 half-day workshops in total. The program takes place in a classroom. Students are aiming to perform at a
large school assembly in the spring.
Scenario 2 – The program takes place in a public daycare facility - a drop in centre for new immigrants mothers/caregivers and
their toddlers. It is a full year (Sept – June) weekly – one-hour program, which features integrated arts experiences in drama,
dance, visual arts, and music. 16 people are involved (8 children and 8 caregivers), as well as one early childhood educator who
supports you every week. Sessions operate in an open classroom environment.
Scenario 3 – This is a six-full day school program, which involves 2 different classes one a Grade 6, the other a Grade 7 class. This
is a multi-disciplinary program which includes beat boxing (voice percussion) and dub poetry/spoken word. The teachers are not
supportive or prepared for the program. There are 28 youth in grade 6 and 25 students in grade 7. You are using the library as the
workshop area. The classes visit the program in set intervals with each class receiving 3 full days.
Scenario 4 – Program takes place in a Community Centre. The program is supported by a partnership with Parks and Recreation.
You are working with 6-9 yr olds, in a hip-hop dance program that takes place in the centre’s gym. Workshops are on Saturday
mornings. The program runs for 10 consecutive weeks with 1-hour workshops
Also try devising your own scenarios. You can create examples that may be more relevant for you.

34. 34
Try this worksheet as a resource for planning arts-informed evaluative activities
Name of Activity:
Art form(s):
Participants (Who is taking part?):
Rationale (Why this activity?):
Objectives (What do you hope to achieve?):
•
•
•
Making a plan:
Use the following table to map out the different aspects of an activity over time. When will it take place?
What are the different steps involved? How much time will you need for different steps? What materials,
equipment, space or other resources will you need? Who will be responsible for different aspects of the
activity (organizing, facilitating, participating, documenting, etc.)? Who is the evaluation for and how
will you share it (community, funders, media, artists, participants, agencies)?
Activity Design
When
&
Amount
of
Time
Steps
Resources
&
Materials
Responsibilities

35. 35
Example Activities
The following examples are meant to simulate and inspire; feel free to borrow, adapt, or completely
revise these activities for your own contexts. Remember that with evaluative activities it is important to
consider who the audience(s) of the evaluation will be. In addition to the implementation plan how will
you document or share your findings. Will you be sharing original works and will participant consent be
needed or will participants keep the work? How will you ensure that the meaning and significance of the
arts-informed evaluation is effectively communicated?
Example #1 Choreography of the Moment
Art form(s): Drawing, Dance, Music
Why use it?: Sometimes it is easier to express feelings about social dynamics though
images or gestures rather than words. This activity combines physical and
intellectual engagement; supports independent and collaborative expression;
and identifies aspects of larger project that participants feel are important.
Number of people: 6-30
Age level: 10 - Adult (can also be adapted to suit younger children)
Time: Minimum of 3.5 hours (total)
What you need: Drawing materials, space large enough for the group to dance, music and audio
equipment (optional), equipment for documentation (camera or video recorder)
How to do it:
Depending on the timeline the different parts of this activity can be done together or at different stages.
1. (20-30 minutes) Participants visualize memorable moments / elements from the project and draw a picture that represents
the most important moments / elements from their memory.
2. (1 hour) They then choose three moments / elements to express and create meaningful movements for each. Allow all
participants to combine the 3 movements to build their own movement story. Ask them to vary the movements in several
different ways: change the tempo, dynamics, etc. Do a brief performance of the pieces with no music.
Option: Participants / facilitator can document each person’s movements using a digital camera. This is especially useful if
you are doing the different steps of this activity at different times – it can act as a reminder to participants if they forget their
movements.
3. (1 hour) After the individual pieces have been created, place participants in small groups and let them choreograph short
dance pieces using movements from each of their initial pieces as a basis for the dance. Encourage them to vary their
movement using repetition, stillness, change of order, etc. The pieces should be no longer than three minutes in length. Each
participant’s original movements must be integrated into the final dance.
4. (1 hour) Each small group performs their dance. Afterwards include a discussion of what the dances mean / represent to
the dancers and to the audience. Dances and discussion can be recorded using video (especially useful if participants want to
perform the dances again for another audience).
Option(s): The participants may incorporate music or sound with the final dance by choosing or creating an accompanying
composition that echoes or adds to the feelings expressed in the movement. Dances can be performed for the community.
Variations: Age – To accommodate younger children you can simplify the exercise and provide them with extra supervision
and support.
Thoughts and Reminders: Not everyone is comfortable using movement right away; integrating movement-based warm up
exercises during different stages can help to build comfort. Check out ArtsWork’s on-line dance resources or Augusto Boal’s
Games for Actors and Non-Actors for warm up ideas.

36. 36
Example #2 Transformational Self-Portraits
Art form(s): Visual Art
Why use it?: Useful for projects or programs where goals focus on participants’ personal development.
Participants are able to reflect on their sense of identity and their role within a project. They are
also encouraged to identify how / if what they have learned can be applied to their current and
future life experiences (project / program relevancy). The variation discussed below is also good
for encouraging empathy, collaboration and recognition of other participants’ contributions.
Number of people: Flexible
Age level: All Ages
Time: Adjust according to time available and age levels (younger participants may be less inhibited and
require less time and fewer warm-up activities)
What you need: Drawing & painting supplies (pencils, brushes, markers, pastels, ink, paint, paper, canvas or other
drawing/painting surfaces, etc), scissors, collage materials, glue, equipment for documentation
(camera or video recorder)
How to do it:
Participants create a series of self-portraits at the beginning, middle, and end of the project. This can be painting, drawing,
collage, or a combination of materials. Date or file the portraits as you go so that each participant can follow their
progression. Try creating individual folders or portfolios with the participants to keep their work organized. This is especially
useful for larger groups and younger age levels.
1. The 1st
stage depicts how participants see themselves, things that have influenced their sense of self and their motivation
for participating in the project.
2. In the 2nd
stage participants represent themselves in what they see as their role or contribution to the project.
3. For the 3rd
stage they create a portrait of how they have changed as a result of the project and /or how they imagine taking
what they have learned to shape their future selves.
Variations: Mutual Portraits - Have participants do portraits of each other as a means of encouraging empathy. At the
beginning they must interview the person they are representing and be attentive to that person’s experience and contribution
throughout the project. This requires a fair amount of trust so only use this variation if the group dynamic can sustain a safe
space. Emphasize that the portraits have to be discussed both with the person they are representing and the rest of the group
so that they must account for their interpretation. Acetate Renderings – Use letter size, clear acetate sheets and markers (black
shows up the best) to trace faces. Pair up participants so that they trace their partner’s face. Encourage creativity and ask
participants to try to represent the mood, personality or emotions of their partner. To extend the exercise consider using the
resulting portrait as a mask, a collage component or photographing each individual wearing their portrait as a mask and using
body gestures to complement the effect.
Thoughts and Reminders: Many people have reservations about drawing / painting especially when it comes to
representing themselves or someone else. There is often a tendency to aim for a very literal realism and to critique any
distortion. Try to do warm-up exercises during each stage: get people to make as many different kinds of marks as they can
with one drawing / painting material or tool, have people draw /paint with their eyes closed, do drawings / paintings with the
non-dominant hand. Be sure to look at and discuss their drawings or paintings and their experiences of the exercises. Also
emphasize that drawn / painted / collaged portraits aren’t necessarily meant to be like photographs. They can be abstract or
interpretive.
A warm-up exercise well suited to younger children involves the use of touch and visualization to engage tactile learning. In
pairs have the participants study their partners’ faces. Then ask them to take turns using their finger to trace from memory an
image of the face they studied on their partner’s back. You can also have the partners simultaneously draw onto a piece of
paper the lines and shapes that they feel being drawn on their backs.

37. 37
Example #3 Video & Voice Collage
Art form(s): Video and Spoken Word (recorded)
Why use it?: Helps participants move away from literal to more poetic forms of expression. Develops a sense
of visual composition within moving images. The use of video works well for participants who are
visual learners and it captures some of the spatial and embodied dynamics of a process / project.
Writing reflections in small increments and using spoken word (that they can record and practice
rather than perform live) is less intimidating and more inclusive for participants with language or
literacy barriers and it is also time efficient. Keeps track of significant moments throughout the
project from the perspective of the participants.
Number of people: Flexible (may depend on equipment access)
Age level: 12 - Adult
Time: Depends on number of participants and amount of equipment available. Provide extra time at the
beginning (1 hour for training and process orientation). Then approximately 5-20 minutes per
person per day for collecting visual and audio recordings (depending on skill levels and timeline).
Provide a few opportunities for discussion during the process and a longer amount of time at the
end for putting the collages together and sharing / discussing the results.
What you need: Video and audio recording and editing equipment (in a pinch you can have participants use
video capture on cellphones or IPods)
How to do it:
1. Participants create a series of silent video segments throughout the project. Each segment is a maximum of 10 seconds
long and does not use sound. The video documents what the participants see as the most significant moments or parts of the
project at that point.
2.The video segments can be reviewed at different stages and discussed or kept private depending on the context. At the end
of the project the participants combine the segments to create a video collage (individual collages or a collective collage).
3. Participants also record a word or a sentence during each stage/session that represents how they feel or what they are
thinking about the project at that moment. At the end of the project they use this writing to help compose a spoken-word
voice-over for their video collage.
Variations: Teams – Have participants work in pairs or teams to record the video segments and combine their audio
reflections into one shared voice over. Exquisite Corpse – Use an exquisite corpse technique when combining the video and
voice segments so that each contribution is from a different individual who does not know the content of the segments that
come before or after theirs. This approach can make for surprising compositions, adding a bit of suspense, and it takes some
of the pressure off so that participants do not worry about getting their collage to be “perfect” or competing / being judged in
comparison to other participants. Found Poetry – Using a series of thematic texts that have meaning for the participants
(could be curricular content, songs, zines, or stories connected to the project) ask participants to use highlighters, markers, or
pencils to select a series of words that respond to evaluative questions. These can then be used to create found poems.
Thoughts and Reminders: You may need to provide some basic training on moving image and / or sound composition and
the use of some equipment / software at the beginning of the process and at the end when participants create their collage.
Try layering, looping or repeating audio tracks so that they develop more depth or rhythm. Consider complementing the
video / voice collages with a spoken or written artist statement.