Promoting Community Engagement and Integration: Strategies of Collaboration Used in Socially Inclusive Art Centers Across the United States

The socially inclusive Art Center model established in the 1970s by Florence and Elias Katz, addressed the growing need for community that resulted from the national push for deinstitutionalization of many intellectually and developmentally disabled citizens. Today, the sixty-three Art Centers identified across the country continue to promote integration and inclusion for their artists. This research explores nonprofit strategies of collaboration as a method of integration and community engagement which will protect the structure of Art Center model and its unique benefits. Data was collected from 25 Art Centers through an explanatory sequential mixed method design, defining 54 collaborations. The collaborations were analyzed through James E. Austin’s Collaboration Continuum and reviewed in tandem with popular theories of motivation, such as resource dependency theory. This thesis defines the current landscape of collaborative strategies utilized in Art Centers across the country, highlighting key characteristics of successful collaborations and a path forward.