Tag: Arts Funding

More from D.C.’s Creative Economy Study

I attended another Creative Economy event yesterday afternoon at the D.C. Economic Partnership. The Partnership works to build business in D.C., and they seem to have a mature vision. They are a major partner in the District’s ongoing Creative Economy study, which is assessing the existing creative economy (artists, performers, graphic designers, chefs, film-makers, web-designers, etc.) and will conclude with a set of guidelines or recommendations for future development.

At this point they’ve gathered the data, and are now figuring out what to do about it/do with it. In motivating both private investment and government spending the Creative Economy study could have a real impact on the city for years to come. The event yesterday included presentations by five panelists, including the Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and residents of Sunderland, England (one of the Districts Sister Cities.) Sunderland apparently has a vibrant arts sector, and several members of that community offered their thoughts on why/how that is. The Creative Economy study is gathering facts, but it is also gathering ideas. Yesterday was an idea session.

Here (un-attributed – sorry I forgot my notebook) are some of the ideas that grabbed my attention, in no particular order, and without any endorsement.

  •   Development aiming for lots of middle class returns, middle class jobs, v. development aiming for the big score
  •   Government instigating small business/arts business development instead of funding or creating
  •   Creation of a Sponsors Club for the Arts connecting business to local artists
  •   Creation of  visual artist/poet in residence programs inside the offices of larger businesses. Providing some stipend, office space, value-added to office culture
  •   Is export of goods/services from arts community the right measure of success?
  •   Creation of a Creatives Office Park, including non-creative, creatives, and artists work space — Innovation Lab
  •    Arts as part of Small Business community, period, and the bet on creatives as a sector for investment/support
  •   Creative sector aligning with educational and community missions – example of Gallaudet and the creation of a floor that produces sound everyone could experience. Were in the same world

Off Bourgeon – III

Original Post Title: You hit what you aim at, posted on Bourgeon March 4, 2008:

If you’re lucky, and work hard, you sometimes hit what you aim for. I’m having to aim for being more of an administrator so that I can be more of an artist.

Somewhat unconnectedly, I heard a great interview two years ago with a country music star. The interviewer said: ‘to do what you’ve done, you must have come up against a lot of opposition.’ Dolly Parton said: ‘well, yes I did. And while I was tempted to run people over when I could, I decided early on to go around. I had to go around a lot of people!’ (laughed)

I know I’m not like Dolly Parton (even in dim light) but I like her thought there.

Stimulating Arts

As many, I was so pleased to see that in the 600 Billion dollar stimulus that the Congress passed last week, 200 million goes to the arts. 200 million of 600 Billion. Not bad?

Of course, $150 million of that is for building repairs/upgrades at the Smithsonian. I love the Smithsonian. I’m a fan of the Smithsonian on Facebook. Love em. But we have to recognize the difference between supporting the arts, and supporting buildings, or organizations related to the arts.

Garth BrooksI happened across an article recently about Garth Brooks. The top-selling recording artist in history is donating to the Smithsonian:

his first gold record and cassette he received for the 1989 album “Garth Brooks”; handwritten lyric sheets for the song, “Beaches of Cheyenne” showing his revisions, a Takamine brand guitar, which Brooks smashed during his first NBC television special, “This Is Garth Brooks,” filmed in the Dallas in September1991; elements of a typical stage outfit, consisting of a Mo’ Betta shirt, black Wrangler jeans, black elephant-skin cowboy boots, a belt and a black Stetson Tyler cowboy hat with a label on the interior brim reading “made especially for Garth Brooks.”

This reminds me of the difference between the for-profit and the not-for-profit arts economies. Without judging Mr. Brooks, can’t we all admit that a new pavilion for his stuff is not really supporting the arts?

The stimulus money is in no way directly or in-directly related to the donations by Mr. Brooks. And as part of this country’s history I’m fine that Brooks’ stuff is at the Smithsonian. But I’d be fine if they were at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Vegas, or the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Arts need support. $150 million for buildings out of $200 for the arts sucks, period. Not uncommonly, that 50 million – out of 600 Billion – has been particularly in the news as a sign of Democrats run amok. Artists and supporters of the arts need to give politicians their support as this goes to the senate. Supporting the Arts in the stimulus IS supporting the economy. NPR noted:

Arts groups large and small are hurting, just like every other industry: The Sacramento Ballet has canceled performances; the administrative staff of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra took a 20 percent pay cut; the Austin Museum of Art is postponing plans for a new museum downtown.

Some art institutions are shutting down altogether: The Milwaukee Shakespeare Theater Company is one example. The company closed its doors in October when its main supporter – the Argosy Foundation – cut its funding.

Michael KaiserThe NPR piece continues, quoting Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser who stated:

“The arts as a totality in this country employs 5.7 million people,” Kaiser says, “so we’re not a small sector of this economy. Our employment levels are important to this economy.”

Garth Brooks and the for-profit arts center will be fine through this time. But for the existing arts sector not to go down we need more public arts funding, because private funding is down. Stimulating arts, and the arts economy, requires funding. This should be in the stimulus, not apologetically, but because it makes economic, and art, sense.