Who we are and why we hang out together

This guide is a collaborative effort of Fifth House Ensemble and the Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago.

Fifth House’s “artistic, educational, and civic programs engage theater groups, video game designers, corporate innovators, and folk bands to share stories as diverse as the communities it serves.” Given the ensemble’s work with community groups of various types, it was natural to partner with CURL who seeks to do transformative research, evaluation, and education by building collaborative partnerships with community groups. “These partnerships connect Loyola faculty and students with community and nonprofit organizations, civic groups, and government agencies.”

5HE had been doing basic evaluation of their programming – pre- and post-test surveys for example. And, as professional musicians with years of experience building arts-integrated programming in public school classrooms, they were well-versed in more traditional evaluation work that examines improvements in core academic and arts-based skills. They had gathered anecdotal evidence that would suggest that the effects of their programs went far deeper than skills-based accomplishments, and that these transformations that were previously seen as a by-product of the main objectives of a residency might in fact be of equal or greater importance, but lacked an evaluation framework to measure data on these outcomes. When the ensemble had the opportunity to shift its education work into social service settings, they wished to explore this new territory with an outside evaluator, with personal transformation as a central focus.

Namely, 5HE sought to measure impact of their work in non-traditional settings – homeless shelters, schools in juvenile detention centers, other types of social service agencies, etc. – that seek to provide opportunities to make and experience music that leads to personal transformation. Through deep listening and other activities, they seek to show the power of making art wherever we might find ourselves. Together, we sought to evaluate and understand that work.

Come join us as we sketch out a toolkit and roadmap for this work based on lessons learned from our own journey together!