Translation/Questions

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Questions for Finding Arts

This document provides ideas for:

  • People you can ask (#1)
  • Places and occasions you can visit (#2)
  • The kinds of topics that are often productive (#3) to find artists and artistry in a community.

The final pages contain space for you to record your ideas as you brainstorm.

This list is not comprehensive but is simply meant to provide a starting place that can be adapted for your specific context. Please also note that in some contexts, asking direct questions may not be appropriate, in which case these prompts can be used to design indirect conversation starters.

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1. WHOM to ask

a. Artists themselves
  • Storytellers
  • Musicians
  • Craftsmen/women
  • Poets
  • Singers
  • Designers (metalwork, clothes, other)
  • Worship leaders
  • Sculptors
  • Other experts in the artistic elements you’re researching
b. Other possibilities
  1. Community leaders
  2. Grassroots leaders
  3. Networkers (people you observe who do a lot of visiting/receiving visitors, or are connected to many others in the community)
  4. People who talk about their culture a lot
  5. Quiet people who observe, know, or reflect a lot
  6. High school teachers (often tuned in to multi-generational dynamics)
  7. Women who do domestic work (inside-the-home and women-focused arts)
  8. Members of the oldest generation (for older traditions)
  9. High school kids (if appropriate, for current practices)
  10. Others you identify
c. Consider
  • Question 1 on the accompanying worksheet (below)

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2. WHEN and WHERE to ask

a. Public events
  • Holidays
  • Celebrations
  • Other gatherings

(see also list in 3.a.1 below)

b. Other places/occasions
  • Where men gather (work or social)
  • Where women gather (work or social)
  • Where the whole community gathers
  • In homes, within families (as possible)
  • In rural settings (often retain traditions longer)
  • In urban settings
  • Social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, forums, etc.)
  • Others you identify
c. Consider
  • Question 2 on the accompanying worksheet (below)

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3. WHAT to ask

a. Finding more genres

  1. Ask what kind of arts happen in different contexts:
i. Calendar events
  • National holidays
  • Ethnic commemorative events
  • Religious occasions
  • Other holidays
ii. Life-cycle events
  • Birth/baby celebrations
  • Coming-of-age ceremonies
  • Betrothal/engagement
  • Weddings
  • Funerals
  • Other rituals
iii. Situational/other contexts
  • Public ceremonies
  • Speeches
  • With children: songs/sayings for sleep, obedience, play
  • For women, men, children, families, elderly, and other groups:
    • When do they spend time together?
    • Do they have common songs, sayings, or speech types?
    • What do they enjoy doing together?
    • Do they create or tell stories together?
  • What do women create in homes or other places? What do men create?
  • How do people reprimand, criticize, or argue publicly?
  • What do people find funny? How is humor expressed?
  • What kinds of things do people share with friends or give as gifts?
  • What do people display (homes/public)? What do they value most (e.g., in a crisis)?

See also Schrag’s Manual, p. 6

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b. Artistic elements

Ask about elements that give clues toward genres:

  • How do people create sounds (voice, instruments, other)?
  • When do people sing/chant?
  • Tell stories?
  • Move their bodies?
  • Act as another character?
  • Play games?
  • Choose colors carefully?
  • Care about materials used in certain contexts?
  • Use voices differently (intonation, rhythm)?
  • Modify rhythms of speech?
  • Use gestures?
  • Modify facial expressions?
  • Use special/archaic words more often?
  • Use linguistic features (rhyme, alliteration)?

Schrag’s Manual, pp. 7–9, also gives clues through special features of artistic events. Examples:

  • “Where is everybody going?” (arts may have a distinctive performance context)
  • “I understand all the words of the joke, but I don’t understand what’s so funny!” (arts may assume special knowledge)
  • “Why is everybody so excited/upset?” (arts may elicit unusual responses)

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c. Learning more details about a genre

  1. Genre name(s): alternate or dialect names; broader terms; translations for reference.
  2. Where performed/used: specific vs. general places; appropriate vs. inappropriate settings (rural/urban, digital, etc.).
  3. When performed/used: event, season, time of year/day; appropriate vs. inappropriate times; digital sharing.
  4. Content/messages: what kinds of themes/messages it conveys.
  5. Materials: instruments, props, required/optional equipment.
  6. Popularity/vitality: attachment to genre, use in future, new works, general/common vs. reserved for shows. Rough scale (e.g., 1–10, weak–strong).
  7. People: who produces this genre? (gender, class, creator, performer, choreographer, behind-the-scenes).
  8. Associations:
    1. General: What does it make you think of?
    2. Spiritual: Religious/spiritual connections?
    3. Social: Events, people?
    4. Material: Objects, food, places?
    5. With other genres: overlaps, shared instruments, shared contexts.
  9. Other associations to investigate.

Record findings with “Characteristics of Artistic Genres” worksheet.

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Cited Reference

Schrag, Brian. 2013. Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach Their Kingdom Goals. Pasadena: William Carey Library.

Please note: This “Questions for Finding Arts” document is a draft version (December 10, 2023). Contact: katie_frost@diu.edu

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Worksheet: Questions for Finding Arts

1. People

Who are at least 5 people I can ask questions about the arts? Look at Section 1 above; identify people you know or the type of person to seek.

Person (name, identity) Rationale
1
2
3
4
5
2. Times/Places

What are 5 times/places I can find helpful people to ask questions?

Place/Time Rationale
1
2
3
4
5
3. Priority Questions

What 5 questions will you prioritize to find more genres in your context?

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Characteristics of Artistic Genres

Reference Section 3b above for guidance.

Genre name(s) & brief description Where performed/used When performed/used Purpose/Content, message types Materials (instruments, props, equipment) Popularity/Vitality People involved Associations (spiritual, social, material, with other genres) Other notes
Limerick (short, rhymed poem) Parties, with schoolchildren Any time Humorous General Acceptable for most Often children Not serious; crude, not for religious
Mourning songs
Work/teaching songs

Name of Community: ________________________