Socially relevant arts organizations: Forming an alliance

Socially relevant arts organizations are ones whose mission includes both the use of an art discipline and the involvement of a particular at-risk sector of the community. These organizations use the arts as one solution to society's many social problems. This thesis is based on the work of American University arts management graduate, BeaJaye Whittaker who, after examination of socially relevant arts groups in the Washington, D.C. area, concluded that there was a need for these organizations to work together. This thesis examines whether it is possible to form an alliance of socially relevant organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. Two existing alliances, The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, and the African American Theatre Coalition, are examined to seek to discover how other alliances have formed, determine whether such an alliance would work for socially relevant arts organizations and explore the potential for forming such an alliance.