About the CAT Institute

CAT class of 2006 

The Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is an innovative program centered on the belief that art has the power to be an agent for social change. Founded in 1997, the CAT Institute is a five-month curriculum fostering successful partnerships among artists of all disciplines, social workers, educators and community activists with the goal of creating relevant arts programs in community settings such as neighborhood organizations, community centers, social service agencies and after-school programs.

The Regional Arts Commission (RAC) grants significant funds to arts programs of all kinds in the St. Louis City and County. Always taking a dynamic role in the support of their grantees, RAC staff encourages arts organizations to actively seek partnerships in the greater community. With the notion to promote the power of art outside of the traditional concert halls, theaters and galleries, Regional Arts Commission staff, community advisors and William Cleveland of the Center for Study of Art and Community designed the core curriculum for training partners for sustainable community arts programs. The CAT Institute provides a means to prepare artists and arts organizations to be able to successfully collaborate with social service and community organizations.

The Community Arts Training Institute, now considered a national model, is designed as a professional level, comprehensive education for the sixteen CAT Institute fellows (eight artists of various disciplines and eight social service providers/community activists) who are selected each year through a nomination, application and interview process based on the professionalism, dedication and articulated goals of each candidate. CAT Institute fellows participate in more than 55 hours of training that occur during intensive two-day sessions once a month. In addition, the fellows are assigned readings, site visits to community arts programs and lab projects. This program provides skills as well as explores creative techniques in collaboration and community work. The curriculum includes guidance 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.

About 175 Community Arts Training Institute graduates are currently working in areas such as neighborhood organizations, at-risk schools, prisons, homeless shelters, hospices, labor unions, community centers, jobs programs, and daycare facilities. With dedication, creativity and resolute spirit, these artists, community activists, social service workers, educators and administrators are a force in the St. Louis area equipped with powerful tools to foster transformation in individuals and in our community.

Current CAT Institute faculty are Roseann Weiss, director, Jane Ellen Ibur, lead faculty, Renee Franklin, Sue Greenberg and Bill Cleveland along with CAT Institute alumni. For more information, contact Roseann Weiss at 314/863-5811 or roseann@stlrac.org