Mission:
 The Community Arts Network (CAN) project promotes information exchange, research, and critical dialogue within the field of community-based arts. The organization defines community arts as a voice and a force within a specific community of place, spirit, or tradition. Community arts also include art for social change, public art that intersects with daily life, and public arts policy.

Purpose of Site:
 CAN's Web site is stocked with resources that focus on the work of artists and their community partners and the projects and programs that actively promote the arts as part of education, political life, community regeneration, and more. The site, whose redesign was launched just before 2002, includes three main areas: the Reading Room (articles, essays, links, and other resources), APInews (community arts newsletter published by Art in the Public Interest), and Conversations (a forum and discussion board).

Background:
 CAN was conceived at a 1998 gathering of community-based theater practitioners that was hosted by the Department of Theatre Arts at Virginia Tech. The group, which included artists and scholars from many community arts organizations, developed the CAN Web site and the CAN archive. The project is designed and managed by a partnership between Art in the Public Interest, a national nonprofit organization, and the Virginia Tech Department of Theatre Arts' Consortium for the Study of Theatre and Community.

 In addition to the CAN Web site, the CAN project oversees the CAN Archive at Virginia Tech. The archive is a repository of historic documents from the field of community-based arts, housed in the Special Collections Division of the institution's Newman Library. The library preserves and provides access to the growing collection of physical materials from artists and arts organizations across the United States. It also provides an online inventory of archived materials and a summary of holdings.

Home Page:
 The top of the CAN home page displays links to major areas of the site: Reading Room, APInews, Conversations, Search, Contact Us, the Welcome Page, About CAN, and CAN FAQs. The rest of the page is filled with content, headlines, summaries, and teasers leading to more in-depth articles and resources.

Outstanding Feature:
 CAN's Reading Room is an excellent resource for artists, arts administrators, or anyone interested in art and its function in the community. The main page of the Reading Room includes headlines and introductions to articles recently posted on the site, including titles such as First We Make Music: An Introduction to Music In Communities. A sidebar on the left side of the Reading Room home page is a search box that allows users to perform keyword searches of Reading Room materials and the site's APInews section. On the right-side sidebar, users can browse Reading Room materials by subject (examples include arts in the context of urban communities, corrections, disabilities, and health care) or discipline (dance, literature, visual art, etc.).

Honorable Mention:
 The CAN Web site's APInews is a frequent newsletter reporting on items of interest in the field of community-based arts. It is available online and through a free e-mail subscription. The news page also includes listings of conferences, workshops, and special events nationwide.

 CAN's Conversations discussion forum helps connect people involved in the community arts field. It features discussions with invited guests as well as open conversations and announcements.