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Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 942
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 12:20 pm: | 
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In the past I have served as a member or on the boards of Art Groups. What do you think about these institutions?
I'm not talking about publishing co ops or workshops or any other group put together to promote or foster the talents and works of the members.
I'm talking about those groups that ostensibly are to function to promote "The Arts" and wind up being little more than clubs.
Are they a waste of time? A few months ago I was sitting around at a meeting of such a group I was invited to and listening to them talk about acquiring facilities, giving functions, securing grants and nowhere in the conversation was anything said about getting our work done and out there.
I listened and nodded and smiled and did not go back. It seems to me that if you get stuck serving on all these boards and panels you don't have time to do work.
What do you think? |
Mahoganyanais
Newbie Poster
Username: Mahoganyanais
Post Number: 8
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 22, 2005 - 02:48 pm: |
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Chris,
In a nutshell, my view is that such conversations ultimately have to be a dialogue between the community of artists *and* the donor community.
Last year, I was asked to participate in a focus group/roundtable of local artists from all disciplines. The discussion was organized by consultants hired by a local (big $) foundation which supports the arts. The consultants were proposing a new hybrid type organizaton to this Big $ Foundation, and they needed the focus group to get feedback on their idea.
The hybrid org they proposed would address precisely the issue you have raised--how to get the work done and out there. If artists are spending time doing leg/grunt work to support their art (or chatting about the problem), when do they have time to create?
The proposed hybrid org would serve as an umbrella organization, providing leg/grunt work for the artists (facilities, performance and exhibition space, grant-writing support, pr, events planning, fund-raising, insurance, etc.)--freeing the artists up to just do their thing.
The consensus seemed to be that many artists had neither the resources, the time, nor the skills ("We are ARTISTES, not admin assistants!") required to effectively run the day-to-day operations of an organization. And those with the resources ($) and organizational skills--executive directors and donors, e.g.--often lacked vision, artistic sensibility or appreciation for what the artists are trying to do.
Hence, a new, hybrid type of organization to address this disconnect. But three big problems with the hybrid were identified in our focus group:
1) How to find executive directors and other organizational leaders who can serve as effective liaisons between the artist and donor communities? Folks who can speak both languages and be responsive to the needs of both constituencies.
2) How to get artists to "pay" for the services the hybrid provides? After all, if they were rolling in dough, they wouldn't need the support. In the focus group, some complained that they were too busy to "give back" or that when they volunteered, it was for something related to social justice. Personally, I didn't really get why this was an issue. It seemed simple enough to me that if you want the benefit of the hybrid's services, you only have two choices. Pay in money, or pay in services/volunteering your time supporting other artists. Can't get something for nothing. Well, you can, but that's called charity.
3) How to keep the hybrid from eventually looking like every other arts organization in town? That is, the initial vision would be to offer serious artists money and artistic freedom, but over time, the reality of grants rears its ugly head. Grants, understandably, are often for very specific types of work which by definition limits artistic freedom to some degree.
I have no idea how this project ultimately turned out. Never heard another word about it.
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