September/October 1984 RAIN Page 15 the future. The animateur, or worker facilitating the community change, believes that the answers to community problems lie within the community. Bringing people together through participatory research, planning, and direct cultural expression will allow solutions to surface. The animateur works much like the artist— encouraging creativity and expression; much like the social worker—helping people identify and meet social needs; much like the organizer—mobilizing the social and political forces of people. Animation originated in the lifeless environment of the European "new towns" (post-World War II planned communities). The following Council of Europe quotation describes one such planned community in France, seven years after its development: "There are towns that look like architects' models. There are men and women who live there, children going to school, painted benches in the market square. Yet the town is lifeless. Nothing throbs, nothing happens; nothing ever will happen. Walking through the streets, the passer-by will not be caught in a dream, there will be nothing to attract his gaze, and no surprise encounter." Animation developed to bring back the lost sense of common bonds or collectivity, the "sense of community" found in premodern society. This lack of cultural vitality is not limited to the European new towns. Many American communities clearly display the symptoms of a society advancing technologically while leaving behind its history, traditions, and unique human strengths. In the last ten years, there has been increased interest in cultural animation in the U.S., especially among community artists. Cultural animation is a process by which people initiate and carry out purposeful change, change geared toward improving their individual and collective way of life. Animation challenges existing standards and mechanisms for maintaining social welfare, encouraging the development of stronger communities. Animation places high value on the fulfillment of individuals and groups via cultural participation and is rooted in the assumption that no one culture is inherently better than another. Many American communities clearly display the symptoms of a society advancing technologically while leaving behind its history, traditions, and unique human strengths. Animation in Germany In 1974,1 spent the summer working with children and their parents in Ludwigsburg, West Germany, at the Ludwigsburg Jugendverein (youth farm). Parents had cooperatively bought a piece of property on the edge of town so their children could play in a relatively safe environment, their play unstructured by adults. Children came in the afternoons to build huts, take care of the animals in the "zoo," play in the sand, or talk. The children established their own democratic political system to handle everyday issues on the farm—electing a mayor and zookeeper, for example. They dealt cooperatively with problems. It served not only as a time and place for children to relax and play as they wanted, but also as an early experience in participatory democracy. Animation in England In 1974, Elizabeth Leyh was hired as a town artist in the new town of Milton Keynes. The Development Corporation of Milton Keynes supported a sculpture studio in a house designated for community use. The studio was open to any individual or group in the community. The local Hospital Action Group used the studio to build a 12-foot question mark, the symbol of the group. For publicity, the group placed the sculpture on a proposed hospital site. Leyh participated in the design of public-housing play areas. She saw public participation in the design process as a first step to people becoming actively involved in the planning and design of their community. The work included a giraffe lying on the ground with a neck extending 33 meters up a hill—designed by a 14- year-old girl living adjacent to the play area, and built by community residents. Leyh said, "The giraffe we are building on the estate is the work of many people, whose skills and creativity will make it that much more valuable. It's a sculpture piece being built by more than one person, and it incorporates the individual skills of the residents of the city, the architects who are working in the city, and myself." Animation in Montana In 1982, the Montana Arts Council sponsored a team of artists in two communities in Montana. Artists worked with local elderly residents to make artistic statements about the effects of economic changes in their community on their lives. Communities selected for the project represented extreme cases of "boom" and "bust," that is, sudden economic growth or decline. Artists were well-received in the "bust" community, and indeed, facilitated cultural participation and expression. The "boom" community rejected the artists, who were unable to establish enough rapport to work with residents. Perhaps the "bust" economy perpetuated a "sense of community" in residents, which made them eager to participate with others in cultural expression. The "boom" economy, much like the early European new towns, perpetuated the lack of communal spirit. (The new towns, unlike the Montana "boom" town, called for the animation process.) Animation in Illinois In June and July 1984, the Bushnell Community Recreation and Cultural Center, Two Rivers Arts Council, and Illinois Arts Council sponsored a cultural animation project for Bushnell, Illinois. The community center was built in 1975, yet cultural activities have remained one-time activities, unrelated to the lives of community residents. For the most part, citizens have not been
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