How to create community

I saw this today, and remembered where I was yesterday; at the Mayo Clinic for an appointment for my daughter.  (she is doing great, by the way)  Why so?

Well, given that it's a 90 minute drive to Rochester, we decided to spend most of the day there and take the Mayo art tour.  What we learned--beside the hilarious fact that William Worrall Mayo came to Minnesota to escape mosquitoes (we grow some of the best, we think)--is that most of the art in the center was given to the clinic by grateful patients and benefactors, including quite a bit of good modern art and glass sculpture.  In the exhibits you'll find the jacket of a Turkish sultan, an original by Rodin (one of the early concepts from Burghers of Calais), and  one of the St. John's Bibles.  Unlike most art museums, they don't mind if you touch the sculptures--our guide reminded us that "this is made of brass, you won't hurt it" when my four year old handled one exhibit.

Walking through the clinic, it's hard to ignore the culture of people great and small contributing there, and it creates a mood where people do--without committees or other incentives--contribute to the overall aesthetic.  My daughters contributed by taking a turn at the Boesendorfer in the subway level of the Gonda building--built by a donation from a benefactor as well.  You don't need to be as good as the Cowans to make the place a little bit nicer, we learned.

In short, civic participation occurs not when government gets involved, but rather when government gets out of the way.

On a related note, when at Mayo, check out Chico's Burritos in the subway between the hotels and the Mayo/Gonda buildings.  Good food and excellent service.