Social Mobility and the Arts

I have recently been involved in a number of discussions centered around social mobility, particularly in rural communities. The conversations have been engaging, disheartening, and hopeful all at the same time. The idea that children will do better than their parents in terms of economic security is part of the fabric of the American Dream. In many communities, not only is this dream far from reality, but the momentum is moving in the opposite direction — gutting communities of their talent, infrastructure, and economic foundations. The result is often hollowed out communities with little or no options for youth to improve their situations.

In this paper by Mark McKeag, Mike Soskis, Luis Ramos, and Bill Breen of The Bridgespan Group, in collaboration with National 4-H Council and the Cooperative Extension System of our nation’s lang-grant universities, they have helped identify key factors that are supporting communities in creating opportunities for youth. Through qualitative interviews and observations and quantitative analysis, they've identified the following six (6) factors that seem to support young people’s economic advancement:

• High expectation that youth will “Opt In”
• Strong, informal support systems
• Early focus on career pathways
• Opportunity for youth to build life skills
• Creative solutions for accessing opportunities
• Sense of shared fate. Commitment to sustaining the community

All of these factors are discussed in detail and offer a well-crafted framework for building solutions. And while the arts are, by no means, able to fix or even address all of our society’s social issues, I do feel that arts and culture can play a pivotal role in at least one of these key factors.

Strong, informal support systems

To quote the article, their findings show that in many rural communities with successful upward social mobility,

“Aside from churches, there are few formal supports, such as direct service nonprofits and institutional funders. Instead, there are informal, virtuous networks of neighbors helping neighbors.”

The arts provide similar levels of informal support. Dance, music, and visual arts programs are often built around strong institutions and informal networks of parents, students, patrons, donors, and community leaders that center on the art, but deliver results far beyond the work that is being produced.

I remember speaking at a film festival that focused on the LGBTQ community and I highlighted that while we at Oregon Ballet Theatre acknowledge many of the gendered norms innate in classical ballet, ballet schools and communities offer a safe space for young people that lack support systems in their own communities and provide mentors and leaders that look and feel like them. Those comments were met with an unexpected level of applause. Something about the idea of arts serving as a community bond resonated with that group and I think it resonates with many.

The paper goes on to point out the presence of self-esteem building networks within rural communities that were experiencing upward mobility. They reference the power of highlighting local youth in media and the benefits of community support at youth sporting events. Arts provide the exact same self-esteem building opportunities for youth and communities. Arts programs give young people the tools needed to produce a finished product that they can have ownership in and they give the community an opportunity to recognize those youth for that achievement. That recognition can take place by attending a local school play or musical, or donating to an arts project, ensuring that the program has the funding it needs to be successful. In both examples, the arts offer an outlet for communities to acknowledge the hard work and success of their youth and support their achievements. This is identified as a key factor in successfully upward mobile communities.

This blog post can, in no way, address all of the complex issues and interactions associated with social mobility. That said, in all of my recent conversation on the topic, the role of the arts has not been present in the discussions about possible solutions. Arts has a history of building community and providing safe, empathetic, and nurturing spaces for the young and old alike. As we look deeply at the factors that allow communities to be successful in giving opportunities to their citizens, we should include arts and culture in those conversations. As an arts leader, I am proud of the product we create, the discussions we encourage, and the beauty we bring into the world; but I am equally as proud of the spaces we create and the environment of support, empathy, creativity, and success we embody. These are qualities that both qualitatively and quantitatively improve communities. The next time you are at a city council meeting, an economic development forum, or just around the dinner table discussing the state of your community, think about the role of arts and culture and its power to help make the change you are looking to see.