Beyond “My Own Backyard”
Like so many weeks over the past 8 months since I took this position, this past week, I was once again struck by the incredible range of home-grown, world-class, authentic, diverse cultural experiences available to us in this great state. Although I am someone who naturally and eagerly seeks out new experiences and learning opportunities …
in many ways, the nature of my new role with ArtServe affords me an additional opportunity to see beyond “my own backyard” to the broader statewide cultural scene. Case in point – over the course of this past week, I found myself:
- Speaking at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids to a group of over 150 women professionals eager to learn about the role and impact of arts, culture and creativity on the economy, healthcare and education.
- Attending a reception at the Governor’s residence in Lansing to recognize the artists whose work is on display there in an exhibit put together by the Dennos Museum in Traverse City.
- Participating in a think-tank at Wayne State University exploring with university and community leaders the idea of an arts-focused creative industries innovation center as part of the Tech Town initiative in downtown Detroit.
- Taking part in two community conversations (Dearborn and Ann Arbor) among arts and cultural leaders in those communities convened by The Center for Michigan’s Michigan Defining Moment public engagement campaign. The focus of the conversation was a discussion of the role arts and culture plays in shaping Michigan’s future.
- Writing a letter that was read to the Ann Arbor City Council congratulating them for passing a percent for arts ordinance, an initiative led by the Ann Arbor Commission on Art in Public Places.
The week ended on a celebratory note last night as my husband and I joined thousands of arts supporters who got the first peek at the newly renovated Detroit Institute of Arts at the first of several festivities designed to reintroduce the public to the new DIA experience. It was truly an incredible, magical evening that couldn’t help but make you proud. It was also very clear that this world-class Michigan institution takes very seriously its commitment to providing experiences that are exciting, engaging, educational, accessible and relevant to the broad and diverse public it serves.
I share these snippets of my past week for a couple reasons. First, to give you some insight into why I have such a positive and inclusive perspective on Michigan’s arts and cultural sector. Secondly, to bring to light a common theme that was woven throughout the conversations that animated all of these experiences. The theme was basically a recounting, again and again and again, of all the arts and cultural offerings that make Michigan so special, followed by the same question again and again and again – “Why don’t we do a better job of marketing these arts and cultural strengths?”
I’d like to use that question as point of departure for some related thoughts . . .
First of all, I do agree that we can do a much better of marketing what we have. For instance, for all its beauty and powerful emotional appeal, the Pure Michigan campaign launched by Travel Michigan focuses almost exclusively on woods and water, those characteristics of our natural environment that differentiates us as a state. This promotional campaign, which is the best I’ve seen in years, still fails to capitalize on the characteristics of our cultural environment that differentiate us – yes, once again, the home-grown, world-class, authentic and diverse nature of Michigan’s cultural scene. This is something I’d like to say more about in the future. Back to the question of better marketing. . .
I think there is a more fundamental challenge than better marketing . . .
The challenge? Quite simply, most of us know very little about the cultural offerings that exist outside of our own community or region. Or if we do have some knowledge of these offerings, we haven’t experienced them ourselves or lately. Add to that the fact that you can still feel a number of regional divides – regions that don’t seem to care about or support one another in any meaningful way. For example, it’s no secret that there is no love lost between Detroit and Grand Rapids, a situation that in subtle and not so subtle ways works against our collective ability to promote the arts, cultural and creative strengths of the state as a whole. Even this type of divide, however, can be overcome by a heightened awareness and better understanding of the respective strengths of given cities and regions and how when combined they can help position our state in a positive light.
A couple years ago when board members of both the Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies (MACAA) and ArtServe were engaged in merger negotiations, we held one of our meetings at the Flint Institute of Arts. A couple board members from the Detroit area had never been to the Flint Cultural Center and were totally blown away by what they found there. I can also say with confidence that several other board members who were from smaller and/or rural communities around the state who had not been to Detroit in decades would be shocked to find the richness of cultural offerings there. This lack of awareness cuts in all directions – urban/rural, East/West, Upper Peninsula, Lower Peninsula, etc. and is understandable. After all, we’re all caught up in the significant challenges of our own work and our resources of time, energy and dollars are limited. There are certainly plenty of legitimate excuses. I really believe, however, that if we are to make any progress in getting the word out about Michigan’s cultural richness, the work has to begin with us. We are the ones who can create the buzz. It’s no different than the smart companies that understand that looking at their employees like internal customers is the best way to build a powerful base of passionate advocates and marketers of the company.
I challenge each of us to make a personal commitment to learn more about the cultural offerings that are sometimes right in our own backyard, but more often beyond our own backyard. We then need to support what we find. This can mean anything from something as informal as spreading the word among friends and colleagues about a unique festival or heritage site to celebrating one another’s strengths and successes by writing about them in a newsletter or blog, etc.
I’ve toyed with the idea of establishing some type of statewide sister city program that could be used to launch cultural exchanges between communities right here within our state. I’m convinced that not enough of this goes on and I’m also convinced that it doesn’t always take more dollars to make it happen. It just takes thinking about it and extending yourself to do it.
On November 29th, we will all have a chance to celebrate and support arts, culture and creativity in Michigan and to learn more about the cultural scene beyond our own backyard by attending the 22nd Annual Governors Awards for Arts & Culture Gala. The theme of this year’s gala is “Let the Arts Serve Michigan!” The event serves two basic purposes: 1) to raise the visibility of Michigan’s arts and cultural sector and the critical role it plays in shaping Michigan’s future and 2) to raise much needed funding to support the work of ArtServe Michigan on behalf of the sector.
While ArtServe has hosted the awards for the past ten years, in keeping with the direction of the NEW ArtServe, we have added a few twists we hope will increase and broaden the base of attendees and supporters from across the state.
You can read all about the event, award winners and finalists, discounted hotel rooms, etc. and register on-line by going to www.artservemichigan.org. The bottom line is that we would love to see you there. I can think of nothing more encouraging and powerful than to have Governor Granholm witness first-hand, the numbers of people from all over Michigan that truly understand that Michigan’s competitive edge lies in 1) its extraordinary natural resources, 2) the home-grown, world-class, authentic and diverse nature of its cultural resources and 3) its legacy of creativity, innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. The arts and cultural sector is the key to two of the three and deeply tied to the third! I’d say the sector is critical to Michigan’s future!
The awards will be held at the newly reopened DIA in Detroit which provides the added opportunity to see first-hand this reinvented world-class Michigan institution of which we can all be proud. Despite the fact that the event is ArtServe’s major fund raiser and extremely critical to our financial livelihood, we have maintained an affordable $50 ticket level, lined up discounted hotel rooms, incorporated more and more diverse entertainment throughout the evening, all to make the event more enticing and accessible to a broader range of folks. In other words, both the dollars and numbers and range of supporters are important to us.
Look through the list of award winners and finalists on our website and you’ll see that they hail from all corners of the state, so whether you are there to show your support for those from your region who are being honored, or to show your support for those being honored from your profession, or to show your support for the entire sector and/or to show your support for ArtServe’s work on your behalf, or just to learn more about the statewide cultural scene, we hope you’ll make it a priority to join us!
And don’t forget to pass the word to schools and school districts in your area about the Governor’s Awards for Arts & Culture Student Event the following day – it’s a great way to show our commitment to furthering and supporting arts education in Michigan.
on November 13th, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Welcom to Michigan. Your blog seems warm. I have not been to the DIA, so I am curious about whether ther is a place for Michigan artists to sell? Years ago there was; it seems that little by little it was gone. I love the Art Museum in Toledo with that wonderful gift shop and the room dedicated to Ohio artisans. Is there anything of that nature in th newly remodeled DIA? If not, there should be.
Thanks for hearing me out.
on November 13th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
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on November 14th, 2007 at 10:45 am
After reading so many truly eloquent statements in support of the arts
on this blog, I would love to get the chance to meet you all and to get
a chance to talk in person about these interesting arts topics. It is
always educational and fun to discuss those issues that make us
connected and passionate about the arts.
However, as an artist, arts educator, arts fundraiser, and patron of
the arts, I feel that an organization with the name “ArtServe” has
unfortunately bought into the idea that Art must Serve. Art really
doesn’t have to serve. Art just needs to be made. Sometimes it gets
nurtured, and sometimes it doesn’t. But it gets made all the same. And
when all of the ArtServes of the world are dead and gone, the art and
the ideas that the creators have birthed, live on. Don’t get me wrong,
given the choice, I think the arts should be nurtured –but not by
first thinking that our job is to educate the adult populace as to the
educational value of what art is and what art can accomplish. A great
deal of resources end up going into the justification of art, with the result
being that very little trickle down ends up where it should be–in the
hands of artists. It’s a wonderful, utopian, idea to relate the arts
‘movement’ to the environmental movement, however, art is fundamentally
more faith based than scientifically driven. Either you inherently
think the arts are important, or not, and no amount of ‘data’ is going to
convince you otherwise.
In this state, in my opinion, the only people who should have access to
the meager amount of current arts funding allotted should be pre-K-12
school children. We’ve already squandered and lost any money, or access to significant money, that could have directly supported artists in Michigan. Compare ourselves to the Ohio Arts Council,(http://www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/guidelines/guide_intro.asp),for instance, and you’ll see how a vibrant state arts organization functions. To end up rating last in the country to receive state funding for the arts is deplorable. That didn’t happen to us overnight, that took years to accomplish. It’s a good sign that the people who live here have predominantly elected leaders who do not actually support the arts in this state, primarily because the voters themselves weigh other issues more heavily. There’s not enough money in the barrel to change those minds. Given that, we should be obligated to spend what little we do have inspiring the FUTURE of Michgan’s creative sector.
I can understand how it seems to make sense that we could educate and
sway the right politician and then get a boatload of cash for our
cause, but that’s just a temporary band-aid on the issue of what it means to have and appreciate a creative society. With money being the predominant
fixture overriding everything we do, both personally and publicly, we
can’t help but fall into the trap of trying to please those with money,
by trying to educate those who hold the purse-strings to cultural
enrichment, even though down deep we know, that short of having a
papal arrangement the likes of Michelangelo, all art really just comes
from people who have the burning desire to create art, regardless of financing.
Artists will falter or flourish, The public will support the arts, or
not. Arts bureaucracies will support certain artists or arts
organizations, and not others, but ultimately, it is each one of us who will
decide as individuals what it means to be creative, and whether or not
we will create, and what those creations will ultimately be.
As artists we should band together to make art, not art policies. So please, ArtServe, if you really want to leverage what little money we have in this state to go towards the arts, please distribute the money, wholly, now, to our state’s children–so that they will have the resources to learn about art, through the hands-on process of MAKING art. ArtServe could really be the national model for innovative arts funding by simply giving all of the funds recently allotted to the organization to fully support our state’s school arts programs to be the best in the country. And then, in a relatively short time we ALL will reap the benefits of a truly arts educated populace. And hopefully, we could stop the endless energy and time consuming cycle of trying to justify ourselves to others. What better way to serve the arts.
on November 14th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Neeta,
Thanks Again Neeta….I appreciate your well thought and eloquently written blog. I am disappointed that I will not be able to attend the Awards Gala, the DIA sounds like a wonderful place to host the event! I have noticed over the last several years that Detroit has a growing vibrant cultural scene. Frankly, being a rural Michigander all my life I never thought that I would have desire to visit Detoit. However, I am actually thinking about taking a small vacation there. Way to go Detroit thanks for getting the word out!
The sister city idea is great. However, I would like to see the sisters as Urban and Rural. It seems we both need better understanding of each other’s cultural scenes. A perfect example of this is my own personal experience at my studio. For the last 4 years I have had groups of Downtown Chicago students come to my studio/farm for a workshop. It is probably one of the best cultural exchange experiences for both of us.
I appreciate your comments about “Beyond my own backyard”. Many times we are so busy within our own lives that we fail to seek what is around us.
We expect others to do our publicity for us, because we feel small in the overall cultural world…especially if we are rural. However, I have discovered that many small things within a community that have collaborated together makes for something big!
Three years ago I started creating an e-newsletter for my studio, it has already grown to almost 800 subscribers.
The following is a portion from the newsletter. I thought is fit your thoughts about “Beyond my backyard” as well as getting the word out.
Looking for an alternative to crowded shopping malls this holiday weekend?
Getaway and meet the people who created or produced the things you give this Christmas.
Take a scenic drive through the countryside between South Haven and Saugatuck this Thanksgiving weekend and see what festive holiday treats this area has to offer. The Blue Coast region is rich with history and offers fun, affordable and relaxing ways to enjoy the holiday weekend.
The annual Blue Coast Artists Holiday Tour runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am-5pm. There is something for everyone during this annual Holiday Tour. Enjoy complimentary seasonal treats while browsing for unusual handmade holiday gifts at the many working artists’ studios and galleries. Each studio will offer handmade gifts that were made on-site, including jewelry, pottery, wood working, blown glass, oil paintings and more.
Your holiday shopping isn’t finished with the handmade items created by the local artisans. You will also find the locally grown including wines from McIntosh Orchards, Cider Mill & WInery and award-winning Fenn Valley Vineyards. Then stop by the history filled restuarant of Crane’s Orchards and Pie Pantry enjoy cider, sandwiches and bring home their famous pies for your family holiday get together.
If you need a little refreshment try one of the area’s restaurants. Fennville has three restaurants that have received rave reviews by the Chicago Tribune - Su Casa offering authentic Mexican cuisine in a family atmosphere, the journeyman café’ offering artisan foods created from locally grown food, served in an upscale atmosphere and finally the What Not Inn, which will offer live music during the evening on Saturday and Sunday.
Celebrate small town life with big time fun during the “Circle of Lights” tree lighting ceremony in downtown Glenn at 6pm on Friday (www.glennmichigan.com for more information). During the celebration you can tour the town’s quaint shops including At Last, which is located in an historic building and specializes in unique gifts.
Before heading home, be sure to stop by one of the area’s many choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms and select that perfect tree or holiday greenery. Santa will be on hand at Stantall Trees for the weekend, along with cocoa, hot cider, and cookies for warming up after searching for that “just right” Douglas, Frasier, and Balsam fir tree.
Take a break from the hustle and bustle this holiday weekend and getaway from the shop-’till-you-drop world of the Mall . You’ll be glad you did.
Visit www.bluecoastartists.com for more information and to download a tour map.
Your Blog Is Appreciated,
Dawn Soltysiak
www.khnemustudio.com
www.bluecoastartists.com
on November 15th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Thank you Mark for your passionate and a bit misguided assumptions on the arts within the state. I totally disagree that we can not change legislature or citizen attitudes. It doesn’t take a lot of money to change opinions, it takes actions and commitment. My small rural community was very anti-arts…it was a struggling and dying agriculture and thought that arts did not have a place.
Well Mark…it has taken a lot of effort and collaboration but we are changing minds and seeing that arts do have a place within our community. In fact we are finding ways to merge the efforts together. If fact it is starting to have a positive effect economically as well as culturally.
The other exciting thing is that the local schools are using us as a resource for educating the children. Local schools are giving extra credit to students who visit the local artists.
I can not see a better use of grant dollars than by creating collaborations between cultural, educational and community sectors. If there is not Unique things for school children to see, experience and believe they can achieve. Then Art Education becomes more of a “history” class, something that only great people of the past were able to achieve.
The best education is seeing, feeling and experiencing what arts and culture really is and believing it is something people do as a career! It is also understanding that arts and culture create positive economic impact within communities.
We can not give up on society and expect the children to be our saving grace. I am a pet lover and I do know that you can teach old dogs new tricks….you don’t put a dog down just because you want a puppy.
Regards,
Dawn
on November 15th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Hi Dawn,
The question I really meant to raise isn’t really “Can we change government minds”, but at what cost. How much has ArtServe received from the state and how do they allocate those funds? If you think that it’s worth lobbying for what amounts to less than a dollar per citizen, per year, to go towards the arts then you’re right, you probably can change the minds of legislators to agree to that low level of funding. The only people who have ever made a living off of state arts funding are the employees of the arts organization that were funded. The rest of us artists are supposed to be happy to live in a culture that doesn’t naturally support the arts and we should be happy when we spend hours crafting a grant proposal to receive a token grant that does little to lift the average artist above the poverty line. And what are the arts organizers supposed to be doing for us? Check out the artserve website and find me the page where artists can apply for this newly reinstated state funding? Find me the pdf. outlining their proposed budget. Find me anything other than a bunch of patting ourselves on the backs with self-serving awards…find me the meat, and I’d be glad to look at the world through your eyes.
By the way, I love the dog analogy. I’m not saying put down the dog for want of puppies. I’m saying it doesn’t take as long, or as many resources to teach a new dog tricks, as it does an old one. And with so few bones to go around, if we don’t recognize that what we’re fighting for are really scraps, we’ll sadly be spending most of our time digging for bones rather than making our art.
It takes some people a long time to figure out that some organizations are set up as fences to keep us from getting at the real goods. Even people who run organizations often fall prey to this fact. Governing bodies love organizations that serve to essentially protect themselves from the population at large. This may sound pessimistic, but I prefer to think of it as looking at the issue straight on. You can put whatever spin you want on the public arts funding provided for by this state, but you cannot go “Hooray!, we got some of our funding back” and lose sight of the fact that the funding was at a woefully subsistent level to begin with and with little indication that it’s going to get markedly better any time soon.
I’m willing to have discussions about major fund-raising, but we’ve got to accept that it’s not going to be coming from the state goverment. Nor should it. As long as there are strings attached to the money alloted (i.e. the attempt to try to censor the kinds of art the state would support) as artists, we have to unilaterally reject those tainted funds. The censorship issue just made it crystal clear that future funding will have to come from private corporate dollars, and it’s going to be most attractive for most of them to give to pre-K-12 programs, and rightfully so. The Universities already have their own develpment and endowments for arts beyond High School. So, the real issue is, where should the state sanctioned organizations, like artserve, spend their money? Where will it do the most good over the longest period of time?
By the way, I applaud you on your efforts to take the dog by the leash, and to make the situation on your side of the state better. It sets a great example for the rest of us.
on November 18th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Neeta, your discussion this week reminds me of how very fortunate we are to be part of the art community in Michigan. I am fortunate to have an active involvement in art organizations on both sides of the state from the DIA to the Saugatuck Center for the Arts and it is clear to me that our arts organizations are a gem for our state. We need to hold out our superior organizations as a strenght for the state and figure out how to make a real contribution for our state’s recovery. Perhaps we should launch an active and sustained letter writing campaign to the press which highlights our many organizations. We could write until we get the recognition we deserve and more importantly add a increased sense of pride for the residents of our state. There is so much negative news in our state, which human nature gravitates too. But we are not on that negative plain. We are the future. We need to continue to elevate our jewels and give us all hope and a greater sense of pride.
on December 7th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Neeta- I want to thank you on behalf of the sixty students from the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy who were able to attend the DIA Governor’s Arts Awards Student Event Day on November 30. They had a blast!!! They dragged home at 9:00 p.m. grinning and spinning about careers as filmmakers, actors, artists, songwriters, scriptwritiers and musicians following the superb presentation by Sam Raimi of SPIDERMAN fame and the workshops all over the Detroit Area that ARTSERVE MICHIGAN made possible. I cannot even imagine all of the effort coordination of so many workshops, shuttles, meals, registration, parking, assembly and arrangement must have taken for over 1,500 youth to attend such a one-day whirlwind event. And what is MOST REMARKABLE is that you and your great staff managed to pull it off beautifully even after a completing a near-perfection gala celebration at The DIA for us grownups the night before — at the 2007 “GUVVY” awards!! We had a GREAT TIME and were so pleased to be able to attend, even if was a whirlwind to get there from work in Saginaw before everything began at 6:00 p.m.My husband and I so enjoyed seeing Mike Brush and BRUSH STREET perform, and the 22 young people from Flint’s TAPOLOGY dance troupe were truly amazing. It is such a JOY to have resources such as you and your organization provide to support our schools and our students in ways we could never pull together on our own with so little to allocate from our educational foundation allowances in the Saginaw area public districts. Thank you and all your staff (especially Donna Edwards who is one of our mentors) so very much for being there at ArtServe, and thank you to ArtServe Michigan for being there for our kids!