Revised mission statement

[Chris Cabay]

Here is a draft of a mission statement ready for dissection. Sorry for the delay - hopefully you will all have a chance to glance at it so we can discuss at the meeting tomorrow. The DIY Chi Collective was established to build community by encouraging creativity. Through the use of various arts including, but not limited to, music, visual arts, spoken word, and literature, we aim to facilitate positive expression and highlight voices that are marginalized in a culture that treats art as a product. We believe that by operating as a collective we can strengthen the bonds within the artists' community as well as the larger communities in which we live.  We seek to be inclusive and reflect our commitment to the DIY ethos in everything we do. Our ultimate goal is to create and maintain a safe and welcoming space where we can promote the creation and exhibition of art and music. However, our entire existence does not depend on a specific space; while we work towards that objective, we will fulfill our mission by collectively organizing a variety of events at venues throughout Chicago.

[Todd Nief]

How about just consolidating those first two sentences a bit:

The DIY Chi Collective was established to build community and
encourage creativity by supporting arts including, but not limited to,
music, visual arts, spoken word, and literature.

[bonnie.zuckerman]

I find it to be a bit bland. I don't think it would be bad to have a
social agenda as long as we keep it positive and don't take random
stabs at mainstream culture.


The DIY Chi Collective strives to build community through the
encouragement of creativity and thought. Through the use of various

arts including, but not limited to, music, visual arts, spoken word,
and literature, we aim to facilitate positive expression and highlight

voices that are marginalized in our culture. We oppose all forms of
oppression including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, classism,
homophobia, ageism, and ableism. We understand the importance of an
atmosphere that works outside of these constructs and are committed to
their abolition from society and our own collective. We seek to be

inclusive and reflect our commitment to the DIY ethos in everything we

do. We believe that by operating as a non-hierarchical collective we

can strengthen the bonds within the artists' community as well as the
larger communities in which we live.

We fulfill our mission by collectively organizing a variety of events
at venues throughout Chicago. In the future we hope to create and
maintain a safe and welcoming space of our own where we can continue
to promote the creation and exhibition of art and music.

[Ramsey Beyer]

That might be a little too aggressive, in my opinion. 

The DIY Chi Collective was established to build community and

encourage creativity by supporting arts including, but not limited to,
music, visual arts, spoken word, and literature.

We aim to facilitate positive expression and highlight

voices that are marginalized in our culture. We oppose all forms of
oppression including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, classism,
homophobia, ageism, and ableism. We understand the importance of an
atmosphere that works outside of these constructs and are committed to

creating a safe and open environment for the arts. We seek to be

inclusive and reflect our commitment to the DIY ethos in everything we

do. We believe that by operating as a non-hierarchical collective we

can strengthen the bonds within the artists' community as well as the
larger communities in which we live.

We fulfill our mission by collectively organizing a variety of events
at venues throughout Chicago. In the future we hope to create and
maintain a safe and welcoming space of our own where we can continue
to promote the creation and exhibition of art and music.

Maybe like that? I only really took out one line. Haha. 

[Will Jarrott]

I like everything that is being said and think it important to be included, but the statement still comes off as very wordy. While a mission statement should be as long as it needs to be to convey everything that is vital to a group's goals, keeping it concise is also important. If things are too convoluted, a mission statement can lose it's punch. I switched a few things around... obviously just an opinion.

 

The DIY Chi Collective was established to build community and

encourage creativity by supporting arts including, but not limited to,
music, visual arts, spoken word, and literature.

We aim to facilitate positive expression and highlight

voices that are marginalized in our culture. We understand the importance of an
atmosphere that works outside of the established and oppressing constructs of society, and are committed to creating

a safe and open environment for the arts free of these "standards."

 

We seek to be

inclusive and reflect our commitment to the DIY ethos in everything we

do. We believe that by operating as a non-hierarchical collective we

can strengthen the bonds within the artistic community as well as the

larger communities in which we live.

We fulfill our mission by collectively organizing a variety of events
at venues throughout Chicago. In the future we hope to create and
maintain a safe and welcoming space of our own where we can continue
to promote the creation and exhibition of art and music.

[Chris Cabay]

I like. --- On Fri, 12/3/10, Will Jarrott <willj...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Chris Cabay]

We also have a thread on the private group about this. We should probably try to keep it all in the other group. I screwed up initially by posting it to this group. But I do like it.

--- On Fri, 12/3/10, Will Jarrott <willj...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Will Jarrott <willj...@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Revised mission statement To: diych...@googlegroups.com Date: Friday, December 3, 2010, 3:58 PM