As an arts administrator with responsibility for community arts education programs, it’s too easy to get caught up in the routine side of management: revenue, expenses, supervising staff, policies, procedures, publicity, and the rest. While necessary, these are merely tools to reach the more crucial and satisfying aspect of community arts education: improving people’s lives and helping them be happy.
In Mesa, AZ, our community arts education programs are fairly comprehensive, and growing.
In 2005, through a “Quality of Life” half-cent sales tax increase approved in 1998 by our citizens, Mesa completed a $99.8 million arts complex just a few blocks north of the original Arts Center site. Because our arts education classes had grown over the years and demand was high, the new Mesa Arts Center’s design included 14 fully-equipped visual and performing arts studios on two floors in two buildings, including an 8,000 square-foot ceramics studio and kiln courtyard.
Administering classes and outreach efforts is, of course, a challenge. We typically serve about 4,000 students each year through the 400 or so classes we offer, and thousands more through a variety of outreach to schools and other institutions. All of the components that go into serving these customers require constant dedication from our staff: marketing, registration, teaching, facility maintenance, safety and security, building relationships, overall management, and justifying our continued existence. This is the routine side of management.
Not surprisingly, my greatest pleasure comes not from the routine, but rather from observing and interacting with our students as the years go by.
The most important thing that we as staff do is create an environment where our students can pursue their art in a pleasant and invigorating social setting. Many of our surveys indicate that the social element of our classes is very important to participants. They look forward to their Tuesday morning watercolor painting class, or their Thursday evening fused glass class as an opportunity to see friends and laugh, create, and breathe together.
Ceramics students organize potluck lunches before or after their class session and eat outside next to our campus arroyo (river) and enjoy the soothing sound of running water and catch up on the latest news of former students, teachers, and family members. Some classes include parents with their young children learning and creating together as a family. And perhaps my favorite visual is seeing our four-and five-year-olds in beginning dance classes walking through the hallway in their colorful tutus, eyes wide with excitement and anticipation.
The students’ focus on creativity is vital. Their need to meet and interact with others who exhibit the same passion is equally vital. In fact, one former student who overcame cancer told me she was convinced that it was her arts class camaraderie that played the biggest role in her beating the disease. Nobody doubted her sincerity. I loved seeing her here, breathing life into a facility, a staff, and a routine.
Here are some questions to ponder and/or respond to in the comments below:
What kind of impact has your local community arts education program had on students and residents?
If you could program a community arts education program in your area, what would your ideal offerings include?
Do you think a half-cent sales tax increase to fund a new facility or program is possible in your community given today’s economic climate?
