Detailed Instructions for LAST ASSIGNMENT: CO-EXPERIENCE

388 End-of-Term Project INSTRUCTIONS 25 Points in value

1. OBJECTIVE – engage in LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR: you are to interview an ARTS SCENE leader, then collaborate with them to improve the economic viability of the Las Cruces & Mesilla Valley Arts Scene.
2. EXAMPLES:

• Organize and lead a sculpture show on dowtown Mall or local park - pattern it after Loveland - http://www.lovelandsculpturegroup.org/
• Conduct a marketing campaign using 'inspirational leader' skills to bring students (youth target market age 19 to 20) from campus to the Mesilla or the Downtown Las Cruces Arts Scene
• Las Cruces 360 needs a new owner/manager/tech support http://lascruces360.com/ that maintains Arts Scene (& real estate) accounts, sells ads, and has Arts Scene calendar - get local artists and arts orgs to use it, to sign up for free acccount.
• Negotiate the negative dynamics of resistance to change among power holders in the Arts Scene see 2008 report at http://talkingstick.info
• Become a leader in the movement
• Implement an 'antenarrative' (a bet on the future potentiality) Arts Scene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antenarrative
• Develop a deomcratic governance structure among one of these domains: visual, literary, performing, museums, galleries, performance-theateres (where they elect their own governance chair, vice-chair, secretary-treasurer and make recommendations to Dona Ana Arts Council, and put on their own events).
• Develop an member association of galleries (public, private, & grassroots) that develops a bus tour and Bed & Breakfast schedule of week end events - pattern it on Silver City Galleries Association model http://www.silvercitygalleries.com/
• Develop a Music Scene - such as HipHop or Jazz or Rock -- etc that has a Music Festival - and make it sustainable so after you are done, someone else takes it over
• Build a collaboration between public, private, and grassroots organizations, recognizing their differences and ways to support one another - develop some common event that they undertake (e.g. museums are in public, private & grassroots, as are galleries, and theatres).
• Adopt an artist and increase their arts business over next several months by 50%.
• Develop a festival event this term, that brings people into the Arts Scene
• Make interlinks between University, Mesilla, and Las Cruces 'Arts Scene' sectors (their leaders), and do a co-generative event.

3. PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT – The purpose of ARTS SCENE INTERNENTION is to enter the experience of the Arts Scene leadersins, and form a collaborative, participation with them, that results in a measurable change in the Arts Economy (more customers, more revenues, more coordinated events, etc.)
4. HOW – Apply your leadership training in 388G. Develop as a team ) an ARTS SCENE INTERVENTION project, one that lets you enter the life of the other, to experience some of what they experience. Not doing it as an observer, as an outsider, but as someone who steps into their experience, to improve the economics of Arts Scene.
5 . EVAUTION METHOD: Presentations & 10-PAGE REPORT by teams documenting to the class their Arts Scene Intervention. Welcome to the real FORUM theatre, to the manifestation of INVISIBLE theatre, to getting into IMAGE theatre as a spect-actor (not observing spectator, but stepping into actor role).

6. MIKHAIL BAKHTIN - is the author of "co-experience" in his book (1990: 285, 286, 289) Art and Answerability. Bakhtin makes the point that the bystander may have empathy, but cannot co-experience the other's experience unless they actually experience that very same oppression. We can enter the acting consciousness of the other "by way of -coexperiencing" and "NOT by means of theoretical understanding and interpretations which can only provide a means of empathizing" (Bakhtin, 1985: 285). Your answerability is to hear and experience their living story, then to make it have a better ending.