Forging Equity in a Citywide Creative Learning Ecosystem: Responding to Funding Shifts as Natural Disturbance

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Equity in Out-of-School Time Access and Outcomes

Abstract

How do we support the development and management of resilient, equitable citywide creative learning ecosystems? How do we address disparities in funding and distribution of other types of capital (e.g. social, human) between larger, older arts organizations that center European arts and younger, smaller organizations that center Africana and African American arts traditions? To help address these challenges, university-based education researchers and regional foundation leaders are working on a research-philanthropy partnership. We apply a learning ecosystem framework and use multiple methods to develop a case study of the creative learning ecosystem in a mid-sized post-industrial city. We describe the distribution of creative learning opportunities, the nature of collaborations, and actors’ perceptions of the tensions around equity within this learning ecosystem.

Authors

• Marijke Hecht, Penn State Greater Allegheny

• Thomas Akiva, University of Pittsburgh

• Esohe Osai, University of Pittsburgh