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INTERNATIONAL ENCAUSTIC ARTISTS NEWSLETTER
President's Message for July
by Gail Steinberg
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I think we all feel good about the idea of IEA as a work-in-progress which has enjoyed an encouraging start-up
but I wonder if you share my sense that a significant transition is evolving in our organization at the moment,
a movement from leadership dominated by a small group to a more collaborative model of community build? Perhaps
I’m being especially sensitive to it because much of my reading this summer has been about ways communities create
shared priorities and a member centered approach to development. I like. Here are a few excerpts from many different
sources that have quickened my thinking on the subject. Hopefully some of it will jumpstart your thinking as well and
we can talk:
What Makes Member-Centered Organizations Distinct?
- They focus primarily on culture change, rather than short-term outcomes, issues, or victories.
Instead of asking what kind of services do we want, we should be asking ‘what kind of community do we want and then
how do we create the kinds of services that will help us create that kind of community?
- They focus on collective decision making through deliberation
If people are actually going to get engaged and stay engaged, one thing has to happen first – they must have more
chances to connect with one another (including those they might disagree with) and figure out how to talk about what
concerns them, decide which are priorities, and then take action together to address them. How we talk about our goals
allows us to feel our way forward into the future, and to locate where we are right now. Articulating our goals helps
to make a kind of map, clarifying and deepening our priorities by revealing their relationship to the priorities of
others Advancing member-centered approaches requires a shift in focus from “What we are going to do to encourage
engagement, how, with whom, where and for how long?” to: What opportunities can we provide for members to come together,
deliberate, and take action collectively to address goals that members themselves define as important and in ways that
members themselves decide are appropriate and/or needed—
- They are open to “learning from a wide array of approaches.
Member’s individual perspectives become part of a larger deliberative process through which people with various beliefs
convene to determine how best to address what is best for their organization. A "member-centered" approach represents a
subtle, yet powerful, shift from asking people to simply join programs whose goals, agendas, and outcomes have already
been identified by others. Instead it encourages people to create new spaces where they can come together, become
connected to each other, and make a difference as a community working toward the common good. This isn't a "bottom-up"
or "top-down" approach. It's a combination of both.
- They are open to Asset Based Community Development
This means starting with resources and strengths rather than needs and deficiencies, and connecting the capacities of
members with compelling visions for the future. The question becomes what do we each bring to the table?
- They think small.
The process succeeds because it encourages everyone to think small. Starting at the scale of an individual goal allows a
broad range of members to become involved and make meaningful contributions. A small-scale emphasis naturally leads to
collaboration and community involvement. Breaking down the mission into manageable chunks enables members to become
engaged without feeling overwhelmed. The inertia common to large-scale projects is overcome first by implementing small
yet visible changes that can be accomplished without great expense, like the successful creation of exhibition
opportunities for members in Carmel, San Francisco and Novato. Strategically carried out, these short-term success stories
create credibility and enthusiasm for a broad range of marketing opportunities to come.
- They offer support to each member individually.
We all know the competition and demands of the marketplace, and how it can flatten both spirit and creativity, how it can
work to make most artists invisible. IEA developed to support the idea that full development of each artists gift is an
urgent, exciting, and necessary task, for self as well as for community. Will that remain a collaborative goal?
This is a time when the honey that passes between us is bringing new fragrance and stickiness to IEA, and I mean sticky in a
good way. Best Wishes for inclusive collaboration. I so welcome your comments.
Gail
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