Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute

Since 1997, the Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute at the Regional Arts Commission continues to be an innovative program built on the belief that art can be an agent of social change. The CAT Institute, a national model, is designed to provide professional level, comprehensive training for artists of all disciplines and for social service providers/community workers to develop and implement partnerships. With about 120 CAT Institute alumni working in the greater St. Louis area, there are many successful community based art programs impacting our community at large, particularly underserved communities.

Each year, 16 CAT Institute fellows (eight artists and eight community workers /social service providers) are selected through a nomination, application and interview process. CAT Institute fellows are provided with more than 50 hours of training, which occurs during intensive, two-day sessions for 10 hours a month. The rigorous five-month curriculum includes training on partnership and survival strategies, mediation and conflict resolution, learning styles, teaching strategies, public relations, identifying funding sources, legal and liability issues in the arts and social services, assessment techniques and advocacy.

Core faculty for the CAT Institute include Roseann Weiss, Director, Jane Ellen Ibur, Lead Faculty, Renee Franklin, Shari LeKane-Yentumi, Sue Greenberg and CAT Institute Alumni.

For more information call Roseann Weiss at 314-863-5811 or use our Contact Us page.

• CAT Nomination Form
• CAT Fact Sheet

• Session #1

  Introductions and Overview. What is Community and building community? A brief history of Community Arts. Public Art & and Community Art.

• Session #2

  The journey is as important as the destination. Panel of CAT Institute Alumni discuss the field. Lab Assignments, RAC Grant & Site Visits.

• Session #3

  Community Arts. Partnerships and power. Group assets inventory and the hard questions.

• Session #4

  Cultural competency, diversity and identity issues in program design. The characteristics of oppression. Our roles. How does this impact our work and our leadership?

• Session #5

  Research - Evaluation - Process. What are we trying to accomplish and how do we know we've succeeded? Assessment tools. Social services and arts evaluations.

• Session #6

  Program design and legal and financial issues.

• Session #7

  Art based education programs. Missouri Standards. Multiple Intelligences in program design.

• Session #8

  The Creative process in program design.

• Session #9

  Partnerships, true collaboration and conflict resolution.

• Session #10

  Marketing & PR. Funding Panel with foundation and agency guest faculty. Graduation.