ARTSblog

In King County, WA, building roads and bridges gets us closer to understanding our region’s prehistoric time.

I found this out by taking a drive with Tom Minichillo who is the archaeologist for King County Road Services Division (which insiders just call “Roads”.)

As we were driving out to the active “dig” that Tom needed to check in on, he explained that whenever the county does road work in an area that could be an archaeological site, they dig a scattering of holes and sift through the dirt to see if anything comes up.

If they do find something, typically it’s little shards of rock that are the remnants of tool making.

These pieces can be very small, so they sift lots of dirt through ¼” screens to see what they can find. If they find enough of these shards in the test holes, then they dig a larger hole where they think they’ll find the most objects.   Read the rest of this entry »

Leo Berk

From Leo’s journal as mentioned in a previous post:

If you’ve driven around King County, WA, in the last five months, there’s a good chance you drove right over me.

I’m in the research phase of my project and have been underneath, as well as above and beside, many of the county’s inventory of bridges with a variety of Bridge Unit personnel.

I’ve been soaking up all the different perspectives—environmental, design, engineering, historical, maintenance—that I can about the many different kinds of bridges in the many different settings that we have here.

Last week, for example, King County Bridge Unit Engineer Jesse Jose took me out into the remote forest in eastern King County to visit the site where the Sunday Creek Bridge is being rebuilt, using funding from a federal grant.

Environmental Engineer Ron Melnikoff also joined us on the trip so that he could observe all of the environmental codes are being met concerning the creek during construction.   Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:17 — 1.6MB)

In 2009, Public Art 4culture commissioned artist Leo Berk to develop a public art ‘kit of parts’ for short span bridges in King County, WA.

Berk worked collaboratively with the King County Bridge Unit to understand the function of short span bridges and explore design possibilities for bridge elements.

His residency included an extended period of learning the culture of the Bridge Unit, work methods and safety conventions as well as time spent in the field with engineers, ecologists, and archeologists.

In design phase, Berk worked with Bridge Unit staff to identify materials and bridge elements that would be feasible to use and easy to install.   Read the rest of this entry »

Temporary promotional signage at Three-Way Piece Number 1: Points (1964), Henry Moore

Public art can be one of a city’s most overlooked and under-appreciated cultural assets; but it’s also an ideal introductory cultural experience because it’s accessible “on the street,” visible at any time, free to all, and diverse in content – no tickets, no barriers, no time limits.

We created the Fairmount Park Art Association’s Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO program in Philadelphia to call attention to these works of art – always on view, but often unobserved.

We wanted to appeal broadly to culture seekers as well as non-traditional arts audiences by making engagement with public art fascinating, informative, rewarding, and fun.

Reaching the “spontaneous user” – our defined target group – represents an extraordinary opportunity unique to public art. This person typically has not planned ahead, paid a museum admission, or signed up in advance for a cultural tour.

The program so far has 35 stops for 51 sculptures feature nearly 100 “voices” from all walks of life, including: artists, educators, curators, scientists, writers, historians, civic leaders, and family members – all with personal connections to the sculptures.

We developed an “authentic voice” model, which distinguishes our audio program from others that feature a single guide, narrator or interpreter. Listening is almost like eavesdropping into a fascinating conversation.    Read the rest of this entry »

A production of "Macbeth" at The Old Globe in San Diego.

Not only does San Diego provide a laid back attitude, beaches, and fantastic weather, but according to Mayor Jerry Sanders, its investment in the arts is paying off.

Last week, Mayor Sanders announced that the city’s $6.4 million investment of room tax dollars in the arts and culture of the city generated a return of $173 million spent by the organizations, including providing 7,000 jobs and $98.8 million in salaries. He also vowed to keep that funding dedicated to the arts in his next budget.

But, if a mayor that supports the arts isn’t reason enough (although it should be) to come to our 2011 Annual Convention in San Diego, here are some reasons provided to us by locals in the know:

• Great Theater – The Old Globe’s outdoor festival stage ranks as one of NTC Foundation Executive Director Alan Ziter’s favorite arts experiences, while San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture Public Relations and Communications Consultant Toni Robin loves to see shows before they reach Broadway, often during trials there and at the excellent La Jolla Playhouse.
• Fantastic Food – Las Cuatros Milpas is real San Diego. In Barrio Logan, very close to the convention hotel, you can stand in line to buy the most authentic Mexican food in the city, and then eat at the nearby picnic tables.   Read the rest of this entry »

Liesel Fenner

Welcome to the Public Art Network (PAN) Blog Salon!

Blazing and buzzing all this week, join us as public art professionals from across the country discuss all-things public art.

In particular, we will be highlighting topics of the upcoming Public Art Preconference, “Innovations in Infrastucture,” June 15-16, in San Diego.

Feel free to forward the blog posts to others, comment, and/or Tweet – Let’s broaden the network of conversation and community.

We hear a lot about the term ‘infrastructure’ these days. The Preconference will be discussing how public art is incorporated in a myriad of types of infrastructure, including not only our built environment, but also media, the changes in how public art is reviewed and critiqued; social, the community involvement that informs the art itself.   Read the rest of this entry »

Valerie Beaman

It’s National Volunteer Week and time to celebrate all those volunteers who help keep the doors open and the wheels turning in nonprofit arts organizations across the country.

With funding cutbacks and staff layoffs, volunteers are more important than ever.

Pro bono volunteers are filling in the gaps providing CEO coaching, marketing, financial services, and legal services among others.

On-call volunteers are ushering, painting sets, making costumes, helping with mailings, copying scripts, and sweeping stages.

And let’s not forget our board members who volunteer their expertise, funds, and influence in the community. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you that aren’t aware, one of Americans for the Arts’ original incarnations was as the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, and as the Director of Local Arts Agency Relations, it’s my job to keep tabs on our members who fall into that core constituency of the organization.

Yesterday I decided to check in with our members in Fargo, ND, because I wanted to find out how the arts community was preparing for the pending flooding in that area.

If you remember, Fargo sits on the Red River and in 2009 it reached 40.82 feet and the town sustained massive damage because of it.

So this time around, the citizens have been working to fill three million sandbags so they can be ready for the flooding.

However, instead of the typical burlap or mesh sandbags, there is an artistic spin to the program. Read the rest of this entry »

Tim Robbins

In 1976, when I was 17 years old, I received a check for 50 dollars from the National Endowment for the Arts.

I was a member of a touring theater company that performed free shows in low-income neighborhoods throughout New York City. We rehearsed for five weeks and performed for eight so my per hour income was paltry if not pathetic but I remember a great sense of pride when I cashed that check.

I was being paid by my government for entertaining people. I was proud to live in a country where that could happen. It also gave me great confidence in my talent. I continued to pursue this profession.

Within ten years the investment by my government of fifty dollars in 1976 was returning hundreds of thousands of dollars back to them in taxes.

Within the next decade the government received an even sweeter bounty on their fifty-dollar investment. And I was proud to pay these taxes. As I have been proud to invest back into the arts with The Actors’ Gang, a 30-year-old organization that provides free educational programs to public school children and at risk teens and offers affordable and accessible theatrical and musical events to the citizens of Los Angeles.    Read the rest of this entry »

Stephanie Evans

On Sunday, April 3, I was excited to participate in the 4th Annual Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium hosted by American University.

This event is timed each year to correspond with Arts Advocacy Day, and it’s a fantastic way for emerging arts leaders across the country to come together, network, and participate in professional development prior to the advocacy activities taking place.

This year, I spoke on the What Makes a Good Arts Leader panel, along with Ian David Moss (Fractured Atlas and Createquity.com), Jamie Bennett (National Endowment for the Arts), and Michael Bobbitt (Adventure Theatre in Glen Echo, MD), and moderated by Michael Wilkerson (American University).

As a 2008 graduate of American University’s Arts Management program, and the staff liaison at Americans for the Arts to the national Emerging Leaders Network and Council, I was excited to be part of this conversation.

At the beginning of the panel, I spoke very briefly on what I’ve learned about leadership since I graduated from American University, and I wanted to expand a bit on those ideas in this blog post.   Read the rest of this entry »

Back on February 11th, I posted a “Call to Bloggers” as a way to drum up discussion around the topics being discussed at the 4th Annual Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium (EALS) at American University.  Every week since then, we have heard from unique and varied perspectives on issues concerning leadership in the arts, global arts management, and how exactly one bridges the gap between academia and the “real world” of arts management.

Throughout this series of posts we learned quite a few things.  Brieahn DeMeo pointed out that U.S. arts managers don’t always have all the answers, and reminded us of the importance of being open to learning from other culture’s styles of management.  Laura Patterson explored the challenges of presenting foreign artists and foreign cultures in a globalized world.  Michael Wilkerson asked the question, “What is Leadership?”, and gave an insightful explanation reminding us that leadership is not something that simply blooms forth out of someone, as a butterfly would from a cocoon, but is something that everyone must continually learn it as they go.  Read the rest of this entry »

For almost a decade, I smelled bad. After years in the food service industry, there was no amount of scrubbing that could erase the stench of grease and questionable meat product from my clothing. Maybe it was the fear that I’d die stinky and alone that led me to seek employment elsewhere.  The problem was, I had a college degree and the passion to be creative in my profession, but no practical knowledge in the big-girl office world. How could I trick an arts organization into employing an expert burger flipper?

Let me let you in on a little secret. There’s no secret knock for getting into arts management. It’s as simple as this: All industries, especially the arts, are downright thirsty – nay, parched – for the right kind of employee. If you’re considering an occupation shift into the arts, the first step is discarding the belief that the “right” kind of employee necessarily means someone with extensive knowledge in the arts or arts administration. Quite the contrary, successful arts organizations employ diverse candidates who bring different – and critically important – experiences or viewpoints. Read the rest of this entry »

Munira Khapra

According to a survey conducted by MetLife, American students (grades 6–12) believe that studying the arts – in addition to history, government, and politics – is important to understanding other nations and cultures and international issues.

This is in contrast to their teachers, who view other languages and the arts to be less essential in the understanding of other nations.

“The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Preparing Students for College and Careers” examines education priorities for high school students; what being college- and career-ready entails; and the implications of this goal for teaching.

The results are based on a national survey conducted in the fall of 2010 of public school teachers, public school students, parents of public school students, and Fortune 1000 business executives.    Read the rest of this entry »

Every country, society, and culture places a different value on the arts.

It’s no secret that Americans love pop culture.  Meanwhile, our symphonies, orchestras, and ballets are struggling to stay in business.

In Holland, social workers are trained in the arts for the purpose of improving communities and everyday quality of life through arts learning and participation.

Meanwhile, in Bali, gamelan concerts can last for hours and sometimes days.

In Lima, Peru, concerts often start two hours later than scheduled.

No matter where you go, there may be subtle or obvious cultural differences from the way we do things in the United States.

Working in the realm of international arts management means learning to understand and work with those cultural differences.   Read the rest of this entry »

Katherine Damkohler

If we took math out of the school curriculum, and replaced it with a six-week outreach program from an external organization, should we expect our children to develop a knowledge of math?

Of course not.

Then, why do we do this with the arts?

Many schools have responded to cuts in arts education funding by relying on temporary arts programs in place of investing in an arts teacher for their school.

These part-time programs often cherry-pick only a handful of students to participate, and do not fully engage the students they do serve.

Many refer to these programs as arts enrichment. However, I have to ask: without the foundation of arts instruction in our schools, what are they enriching?    Read the rest of this entry »