Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute – An Ongoing Legacy

For almost three decades, artists, cultural workers, community activists, educators, and social service professionals have been a driving force in the movement for positive social change in St. Louis. RAC’s Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is proud to count many of those changemakers as part of its vast alumni network.

The CAT Institute provides a comprehensive training program, preparing artists and their community partners to collaborate in creating and sustaining transformative arts programs, often in under-resourced settings, such as neighborhood organizations, social service agencies, and as part of educational programs. The fellows grapple with program planning and adaptability, partnership development, and hands-on projects–some of which may be designed during their fellowships.

CAT fellows come from a wide range of artistic and cultural practices, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, and identities. After completing the program, many go on to establish arts and community-based programs, on their own or as part of a larger entity or network. Others become changemakers in social justice movements or help shape public policy. Some guide youth through teaching artistry or elevate their social and community arts practices using the CAT “with not for” approach, ever striving for a more just and equitable society.

To date since 1997, more than 350 social workers, educators, community activists, and artists of all disciplines have completed this cross-sector training and use the tools gained through their CAT experience in communities around the world. The CAT Institute is the oldest sustained training program of its kind in the country.