Americans for the Arts

Angela Harris

Prior to starting my company, I worked at a couple of places, which will remain nameless, where leadership meant ruling the company through one set of eyes.

On one occasion, I was told by the board president that I couldn’t come to meetings because of my youth and (assumed) inexperience. There was another time where I was reprimanded by a boss for suggesting alternative ways to market, because she thought I was putting her ways down.

I have always said that I am thankful for all of my work experiences, especially the dysfunctional ones, because I have learned exactly what NOT to do. Now, leading my own company, I often take the time to reflect on my past experiences, and this week, I had the chance to observe 20 incredibly talented youth demonstrate the power that creativity has on transforming and developing leadership capabilities.

As a leader, sometimes being part of the team is just as important as delegating. Building up other members of the team to feel confident in their leadership abilities should enhance the company, not serve as grounds for a power struggle. Working as a cohesive unit sometimes requires leaving your tenure at the door, and being open to hearing, learning, and communicating with everyone in your organization, without letting your status trump that of someone younger or less experienced.

June Rogers

It’s a cold snowy morning in Fairbanks, AK. Volunteer ushers are gathered in the lobby of Hering Auditorium, anticipating the arrival of 1300 students who will be attending a performance.

One of the volunteers, local artist Carol Hilgemann, knowing that I would be interested, brought a copy of an article dealing with considerations that art auctions create for artists. A lively discussion about the value of art auctions occupied the group until interrupted by the arrival of our audience.

Fairbanks Arts Association began the movement of the auctioning of art in our community – and the event was successful. Success begets success. Other organizations began to auction art at fundraisers. Art auctions were everywhere.

After reading the article and hearing Carol’s thoughts, I contacted other artists about their feelings on the subject. Reactions to auctions are as varied as there are artists. Some events are better at giving exposure to artists, but a good number of artists have told me they feel they’re making a poor decision when donating to an auction.

Art Really Can Change Your Life! from The Pink Line Project on Vimeo.

"For one week, artist Agnes Bolt moved into the home of the very sociable and curious Philippa Hughes to playfully explore the dynamics between an artist and an art collector. With a naive optimism and subtle social critique the project manifested itself with a large obtrusive structure situated within Philippa’s home in which the artist lived.

The presence of the artist was impossible to ignore. A series of rules, exercises, communication systems, and bonding experiences dictated the interactions between the two and video cameras were given to both parties. Both were required to follow the rules but mischief and expectations of an open spirited dynamic was highly encouraged.

Shelby Morrison

All in all, our "Door 2 Door" program was a success.

There are some hilarious failures to talk about, which include a prospect calling the police after suspicions of terrorism and the group dancing on the lawn of a prospect that had security cameras - all of the types of mishaps you can imagine when showing up at a strangers doorstep.

The project gained us a significant donor and our current board chair, which is exciting.

When our organization looks at new projects or considers some type of change or innovation, whether it be development or program related, we always consider the following:

Ebony McKinney

“We are witnessing new practices and challenges to old assumptions.” ~ Ben Cameron during the closing keynote at this year’s Americans for the Arts Annual Convention.

A sector transformation is underway. Today’s arts administrators, activists, and cultural entrepreneurs are fashioning new routes to mission fulfillment, while contending with diminishing grant funds, demographic and technological shifts, and audience erosion. The relevance of institutions is being challenged as much of the sector experiments with new opportunities for practice and participation. The expanding definition of ‘the who, how, and where’ is evident.

The role of enterprise in this shift is of great interest to me. This fall I’ll begin a graduate program focused on how to create the infrastructure and environment needed for cultural and creative enterprise to flourish. I know for some arts and enterprise are conflicting ideas - enterprise represents the commercial, the shallow, the crude and calculated manipulation and manufacture of cultural, creative, or artistic product, but I think that enterprise can encourage resilience, flexibility, and empowerment inside and outside of institutions.

Naomi Natale

One of the greatest challenges of creating work at the intersection of art and social justice is finding the resources — read funding — to produce it.

The reality seems to be that art funders don’t seem to have much interest in this type of work and social justice funders are looking for measureable impacts by which to gauge their investment. Those of us doing this work know that our impacts are often immeasurable and that even when they are measurable it may not be possible to see them immediately. At the same time, the impacts are undeniable. So how do we even open the door to funders without becoming professional stalkers or finding a socially conscious, art appreciating angel willing to invest?

The way I see it, the funding challenge affects this work in two key ways.