ART, WATER, AND CIRCLES: IN WHAT WAYS DO STUDY CIRCLES EMPOWER ARTISTS TO BECOME COMMUNITY LEADERS AROUND WATER ISSUES JILL BETH JACOBY A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December, 2009 Gaia By artist “MP” (reproduced with permission) WaterWorks Art Exhibition, Duluth, MN July 2009 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: ART, WATER, AND CIRCLES: IN WHAT WAYS DO STUDY CIRCLES EMPOWER ARTISTS TO BECOME COMMUNITY LEADERS AROUND WATER ISSUES prepared by Jill Beth Jacoby is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Jon Wergin, Chair Date ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Laurien Alexandre, Committee Member Date ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Steve Chase, Committee Member Date ________________________________________________________________________ Dr. David Attyah, External Reader Date Copyright 2009 Jill B. Jacoby All rights reserved Acknowledgements I am grateful to many people for their help and guidance along this journey. I wish to acknowledge the huge impact that ecological artist Betsy Damon has had on me through her work in community building and public art projects focused on enhancing water awareness. Had it not been for her mentoring and kind spirit, I would not have found myself on this path. I wish to thank my mother Jeane for teaching me about the natural world and for encouraging me every Sunday to “get that paper done!” Likewise, my brother Jay provided his loving support as I progressed one step at a time. My gratitude also goes out to my friend RT who took me seriously when I asked her to help me graduate. RT taught me how to release my stress through meditation, helped get the word out about my research project to the artist community, curated the art exhibition related to this research and read through the entire dissertation. I also thank my friends Adriana and Fran for maintaining our friendship despite all of the times I said “I can’t play, I have to work on my paper.” My research would not have been possible without the seventeen artists who agreed to participate in study circles focused on raising water awareness, and to them I am eternally indebted. I extend my appreciation to Dr. Richard Couto who first recognized that action research was a compatible research method for my activism and environmental interests. Dr. Couto exemplified leadership through his teaching style and took the time to share scholarly writings, encouraged me to think deeply, and kept me laughing with his humor. His own work with social change has helped to shape me as a scholar and a practitioner. i A thank you goes out to my committee members: Dr. Jon Wergin (Antioch University’s Leadership and Change program) for chairing my committee and taking time away from his sabbatical to gently guide me through the dissertation writing process; my advisor Dr. Laurien Alexandre (Antioch University’s Leadership and Change program), for her patience, guidance, and for alerting me to the publication of Lohan’s book Water Consciousness (2008), which became the text for the study circle participants; Dr. Steven Chase (Antioch New England) for his sincere interest in my work and for serving on my committee; and Dr. David Attyah (Glendale College) for providing expertise in the art components of this dissertation and serving on my committee as an outside reader. Finally, a heart felt thank you to Deb Baldwin (Antioch University) for expertly steering me through a myriad of databases in search of literature related to my research topic. It truly takes a village to make a doctorial graduate. I also wish to acknowledge the Coastal Zone Management Act and NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, in cooperation with Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program, along with the Royal Bank of Canada’s Blue Water Project for providing funds for the study circles related to this research. Finally, my acknowledgement page would not be complete if I did not say something about the enduring love of my dog friend. For the past five years of this educational endeavor Nikki has been by my side. She has sat with me as I read, nuzzled my hand while I was deep in thought, and laid patiently on my office floor as I crafted papers, developed my research proposal, and put the final touches on my dissertation. By taking me on long walks on the beaches of Lake Superior she has helped me to remember that what is most important in life is clean water to swim in, an ability to run free and ii fast, and unrelenting love. She is my best girl and has been my constant companion on this journey. iii Abstract This research explored the use of study circles as a means of engaging artists in dialogue with their peers about water related concerns. The question driving this research was, “In what ways do study circles empower artists to become community leaders around water issues?” Secondary questions focused on emerging environmental, water, and social justice themes as well as examples of increased water awareness and behavior change occurring as a result of individual participation in the study circles. Artists have a unique way of commanding attention and communicating about environmental concerns while functioning as catalysts for activism on a variety of social topics. Barndt (2004, 2006, 2008) has written extensively about the nexus between community-based art, activism and action research, as well as identifying the important differences in participation and intent behind community-based art versus art as commodity. This research incorporated the use of study circles (also known as dialogue groups, dialogue circles, or talking circles) with artists to learn how study circles empower artists to become community leaders. Literature focusing on civic engagement and the arts has looked at the process of utilizing the arts to engage the public in dialogue about a social concern. This research differs in that it focused on how a dialogue process impacts artists. Seventeen artists participated in four study circle sessions that encouraged in-depth dialogue on water quality concerns. Lohan’s (2008) Water Consciousness: How we all Have to Change to Protect our Most Critical Resources was used as a study guide and to focus the dialogue sessions. The artists participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews to help clarify the relationship between the study circles and their own water awareness as well as community building, collaboration, and/or leadership among the artists. A focus group iv was used to obtain feedback on the value of study circles for social change. Key findings from this research conclude that the study circles brought about new methods for problem identification and solving, individual behavior changes, a deeper understanding for others, and the dialogue provided a powerful catalyst for collaboration, leadership and relationship building. The electronic version of this dissertation is available in the open access OhioLink EDT Center, www.ohiolink.edu/edt v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract iv Table of Contents vi List of Illustrations ix Chapter I: Introduction 1 Positioning the Researcher 2 Statement of Issue 5 Purpose of Study 6 Research Questions 6 Gap in the Literature 6 Study Design 8 Research Statement Summary 9 Structure of the Dissertation 9 Chapter II: Literature Review Introduction 11 A Lack of Water Consciousness: The Problem 11 A Lack of Water Consciousness: The Threats 13 Artists as Transformative Leaders 26 Art as Activism 29 Examples of Activist Art 30 The AIDS Quilt 30 Rebel Clowning 31 Activist Theater 32 Agitprop 33 The Yes Men 34 Group Material 35 Environmental Art 37 Land Art 37 Sustainable Art and Design 39 Ecological Art 40 Art and Climate Change 42 Collaborative Leadership 42 The Role of Facilitators in Collaborative Efforts 44 Using the Arts to Foster Dialogue 45 Conclusion 46 Chapter III: Methodology Introduction 47 Study Circle Beginnings and Background 47 Contemporary Use of Study Circles 50 Study Circle Attributes and Procedures 52 Study Circle Summary 53 vi Research Design and Procedures 54 Statement of Issue and Research Questions 54 Purpose of Study 55 Research Questions 55 Recruitment and Selection of Participants 55 The Study Circle Participants 57 Study Circle Format 58 The Study Circle Duration and Learning Materials 59 Study Circle Syllabi 60 Session One 60 Session Two 61 Session Three 62 Session Four 62 Data Streams 63 Making Meaning of the Project 64 The Ethical Challenges 65 Position Statement 66 Funding 67 Chapter IV: Results Purpose and Objectives 68 The Setting for Dialogue 68 Study Circle Session One: April 6, 2009 69 Study Circle Session Two: April 13, 2009 72 Study Circle Session Three: April 20, 2009 90 Study Circle Session Four: April 27, 2009 98 One-on-One Semi-structured Interviews 102 Interview Questions 104 Themes from Interviews 105 Focus Group – May 11, 2009 122 Journal Passages From the Focus Group Session 126 Chapter V: Interpretation of Results Introduction 128 Summary of Results 129 The Importance of Involving Artists in a Study Circle Process Focused on Water 133 Leadership and Empowerment 134 Filling a Void and the Contributions of this Research 140 Implications of this Research