I’ve been a guest blogger for Americans for the Arts’ “Private Sector” blog week, March 8-12 (www.blog.artsusa.org).  Below is my final post for the week.  Enjoy!

THE STORY IS ALL ABOUT THE ARTS AND COMMUNITY

One of the themes of the blog posts this week has been about “telling our stories” in ways that resonate with corporate partners for the 21^st century.   I want to tell the story of a small town Wisconsin arts organization that to me, defines the story that we should be telling about the arts to our corporate partners and everyone else.  The Northern Lakes Center for the Arts in Amery, population 2,777, located in beautiful northwestern Wisconsin about 65 miles from St. Paul, MN, is one of the most vibrant arts centers in Wisconsin, or anywhere.  The Center is a nationally recognized hub for the arts that truly involves its community in arts experiences on so many levels.

The Northern Lakes Center receives funding from plenty of public and private sources, but it earns income in ways that should serve as a model and inspiration for the future.   The Northern Lakes Center is the publisher for the weekly community paper in Clayton, WI (a smaller town about ten miles from Amery), a service which satisfies Clayton’s need for a community-based newspaper and, which brings in a good chunk of change for the Center each month from advertising and subscriptions.

Who ever heard of a nonprofit arts organization producing a community newspaper?  But why not?    The community needs a newspaper, and the Northern Lakes Center has the expertise, energy and interest to make it happen.  And, it turns a profit in the bargain.   And, it turns out that producing a community newspaper fits right into the Center’s mission as “a comprehensive cultural center organized and designed to provide local residents with the opportunity to develop and share their creative talents and abilities with one another and with the general public.”

The paper features the usual community news – graduations, births, deaths, weddings, festivals, public meetings, business dealings – and a healthy dose of news and information about the arts.  You can imagine that the Northern Lakes Center is pre-disposed to emphasize the arts, of course, but what jumps out at me every time I read the paper is how natural it seems for a community-based newspaper to feature arts involvement by the residents of the community.    What’s even more interesting and fabulous is that the arts news is not just information or listings related to performances, exhibits and programs. The paper often features stories that show how very fundamental the arts are in the lives of community members.

This week, for example, the paper’s front page spotlights Arts Wisconsin’s annual Arts Day on March 3, which took place in Madison, 250 miles south.  The attendees from the Amery/Clayton area are pictured smiling with public officials and arts colleagues, and the accompanying story is all about grassroots advocacy, connections, relationships, and the public value of the arts locally and statewide.  The small town newspaper puts the arts front and center as it highlights its residents’ connections with issues, colleagues and decision-makers from around the state.

You may be wondering how this is relevant to our week’s discussion about private sector giving.  The Center is making the case for the intrinsic connections between the arts and community-a case that must be made for private sector investment, and, for that matter, for investment on all levels.   And, at the same time, the people in this corner of Wisconsin are living what the arts are all about – true creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.  That’s a story we can all learn from.

Over 200 Wisconsinites from the worlds of the arts, business, education, civic issues, politics, and government rallied at Arts Day 2010, on Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center and the State Capitol in downtown Madison.

If there ever was a time that Wisconsin needed the arts, it’s now. This is an important moment for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship – all qualities inherent to the arts – as the qualities needed to move the state’s economy, educational systems, and civic infrastructure forward.  The evidence is clear: participation and involvement in the arts and arts education are important to the people of Wisconsin, and critical to the long-term economic, educational and civic health and well-being of Wisconsin’s communities. The arts are essential to Wisconsin’s cultural and spiritual quality of life, to our economic development, and to the education of our children. Investment in Wisconsin’s arts sector is all about investment in good jobs, good education, and livable communities, and is directly tied to helping the state and all of its communities thrive.

Arts Day 2010 featured:

• Laura Heisler, Director of Programming for the new Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery at UW-Madison, and the Institutes’ connections between the sciences, arts and humanities, community and education, at the Arts Day Legislative Breakfast.
• Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton announcing the Wisconsin Arts Board’s New Economy Funding Initiative, a plan of action to creatively advance and invest in Wisconsin’s economy, educational system and civic infrastructure
• Students from Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Milwaukee proudly demonstrating an interactive educational art project
• Young arts leaders from UW-Green Bay, UW-Whitewater, and UW-Milwaukee enthusiastically advocating for increased arts investment in the future
• Discussions about the critical role of the arts in education for all Wisconsin students
• Peter Thomas, the “Live Bard,” providing narrative literature readings throughout the day
• A free public concert in the Capitol Rotunda, featuring the Parkview High School Symphonic Band of Orfordville, 12 noon, sponsored by the Wisconsin Music Educators Association.

Wisconsin Eye, Wisconsin’s political and civic media channel, recorded the Arts Day proceedings for future broadcast.  Arts Day was presented by a strong statewide coalition of arts, business, educational, government and civic partner organizations and others:

Sponsoring Partners

Supporters:

• Footlights.com
• Wisconsin Counties Association
• Wisconsin Eye

Donors:

• Arts @ Large, Milwaukee
• Arts Wisconsin
• Broadjam, Inc.
• PortalWisconsin.org
• The Widget Source, Middleton
• Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC)
• Wisconsin Presenters Network
• Wisconsin Visual Artists

Sponsors:

• AIA Wisconsin: A Society of The American Institute of Architects
• Association of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestras
• Big Shoes Network, Milwaukee
• Ward-Brodt Music Company, Madison
• Wis. Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
• Wisconsin Federation of Museums
• Wisconsin Music Educators Association
• Wisconsin Regional Writers Association
• Wisconsin School Music Association

Endorsing Partners

• AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) Wisconsin
• Leadership Wisconsin
• Theatre Wisconsin
• Tourism Federation of Wisconsin
• Wis. Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
• Wisconsin Advocates for Music Education
• Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education
• Wisconsin Alliance of Artists and Craftspeople
• Wisconsin Alliance of Cities
• Wisconsin Art Education Association
• Wis. Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus
• Wisconsin Downtown Action Council
• Wisconsin Economic Development Association
• Wisconsin Foundation for the Arts
• Wisconsin Main Street Program
• Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum

“Wisconsin’s diverse, multi-layered, fantastic arts industry came together on Arts Day to show what a strong, vital arts community we have statewide,” says Peter Crawford, Arts Wisconsin Board President. “Arts Day and ongoing advocacy statewide lead to greater understanding by decision-makers of the power of the arts to transform Wisconsin’s communities. Strong state investment in the arts, for economic vitality, educational advancement, and civic engagement, is the right course of action for Wisconsin, now and into the future. The ongoing, unified voice of the arts community is critical to this success.”

Securing private funding for the arts and arts education is more competitive than ever given the ongoing recession. So, how do we make the case for supporting the arts and how do we maintain a vital relationship with the private sector in spite of the funding downturn? How do we define the relevance of the arts to business in the face of urgent and basic social needs?

Americans for the Arts is planning a blog salon for the week of March 8, 2010, focusing on building awareness about why and how the private sector supports the arts. I’m one of the bloggers, joining a distinguished group of arts, business and education leaders from this country and beyod.  Check in during the week at http://blog.artsusa.org/ and read, learn and respond.

Every bit of visibility helps, in the nonprofit world, so we’re giving this new social media strategy a shot.  If you appreciate the service, advocacy and development work that Arts Wisconsin does, then tell the world!

You have an exciting opportunity to help Arts Wisconsin make even more of a difference across Wisconsin. The website GreatNonprofits – a site like Yelp – has launched a campaign to find the top-rated nonprofits enriching our communities through the arts.

Won’t you help us participate in the campaign by posting a review of your experience with us? All reviews will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and takes less than 5 minutes!

Go to www.greatnonprofits.org/reviews/arts-wisconsin-inc to write your review today! Be sure to choose “Arts Appreciation Campaign” from the drop-down list of campaigns when posting your review.

If Arts Wisconsin has at least 10 positive reviews (4 or 5 stars) by February 28, 2010, we’ll receive exposure to potential donors via the GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Arts Nonprofits list, and via Guidestar, the premier site for philanthropic research on the web. With your help, we can gain greater visibility locally and globally, and continue to do our work on behalf of the creative people, organizations and communities throughout our great state.

Thank you for all you do, and for your support of Arts Wisconsin!

My colleague and friend Barry Hessenius, former director of both the California Arts Council and the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies, now a blogger and consultant on arts policy issues, has posted five New Year’s resolutions that every nonprofit arts organization and arts endeavor should pledge to accomplish in 2010.  Barry is a practical and smart guy.  As his blog title indicates, these resolutions aren’t difficult to accomplish, and they are mostly all about looking at the big picture and using some common sense.  I am up for that in 2010!

Read Barry’s resolutions here.

At the end of the year, it’s my job (and my pleasure) as Executive Director of Arts Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s independent voice for the arts, to look back on the year in the arts across the state, and review and preview the exciting advocacy, service and development work we’ve done this year and are looking forward to doing next year. Here’s a quick review of 2009 and a look ahead to 2010:

There’s no denying that it’s been a difficult year for all of us in the arts sector and beyond. Undoubtedly, most, if not all, of us have fewer resources personally and professionally, and if you are like me, you feel plenty of anxiety about keeping all of those balls juggling in the air. Our world has been been fragile, under-resourced, and stressed-out this year.

Even so, Wisconsin’s arts sector has faced its challenges head on and for the most part, seems to have made it through the year with sheer determination, smarts, hard work and of course, creativity. You are surviving to do great work to make the arts happen in your communities. I see hard-working, committed managers, volunteers and supporters, everywhere in the state, persevering to do what they are so very passionate about. Kudos to all of you. Arts Wisconsin does its work on your behalf, and we are in constant admiration of what you do every day.

I don’t have to tell you that in 2009, local and global financial woes affected public and private support for and involvement in the arts – you have lived it. The dismal state of the economy was evident as state elected officials deliberated a 2009-2011 state budget with a $6.7 billion deficit. The Wisconsin Arts Board did not see much change in its funding, a positive achievement in a year which saw cuts of up to 46% to state arts agency budgets in states such as Ohio, Illinois and New York. However, a budget cut for Wisconsin’s emerging film incentives program, despite heroic statewide advocacy efforts and support from many legislators, meant that the state’s blossoming film industry was pretty much halted in its tracks before it had a real chance to show its stuff. There will be opportunities to revisit the film industry infrastructure in the future and hopefully, grow that important 21st century industry.

Throughout this difficult year, Arts Wisconsin’s work ensured that:

• Arts and cultural organizations around the state had access to critical training and technical assistance, information resources, peer mentoring, and capacity building opportuniti
• Government officials and political leaders heard a strong, clear voice speaking up for the arts and creativity in an important budget year;
• Business and community leaders began to see the arts differently: as essential economic, educational and civic assets for Wisconsin;
• Wisconsin residents continued to enjoy the artistic, cultural and creative endeavors at the heart of their communities.

We look forward to expanded advocacy, service and development action in 2010, and a year of great opportunities. If there ever was a time that we needed the arts, it’s now. This is our moment, because creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship – all qualities inherent to the arts – are what we need to move our economy, educational systems, and civic infrastructure forward. These are some of the issues to watch and be involved with in 2010:

• 2010 will be a major political year in Wisconsin. We face our first gubernatorial election without an incumbent since 1982; all of the State Assembly and half of the State Senate seats, all 8 Congressional seats, and one of our U.S. Senate seats, are up for election as well. It is essential that the candidates know that the arts are “part of the solution” as they campaign. Arts Wisconsin will provide statewide support, information and resources throughout the political season for local advocates to fully demonstrate the critical importance of a strong arts and arts education sector for Wisconsin’s future. Campaign season begins in earnest after the New Year. The State Legislature is back in session as of January 19, 2010. Arts Day 2010 is March 3, 2010, in Madison – mark your calendar to attend this important day for the arts!

• Community cultural development is an idea whose time has come for Wisconsin. The creative economy is becoming a real force for change in our state. Communities of all sizes throughout Wisconsin are finding ways to strengthen the economy and support civic engagement from the ground up. Creative economy and cultural planning efforts in Madison and the Milwaukee region, regional economic development based on quality of life around the state, collaborations between the arts and business, education, political and governmental worlds…show me a map of Wisconsin and I’ll show you the many places where these efforts are really taking root. Political, business, education, and civic leaders, and the general public, are showing enthusiastic interest and involvement in sustainability, capacity-building and investment in the authentic and unique assets that Wisconsin possesses in abundance.

• Educating our children for the 21st century workforce and world will be a major issue in 2010, and the arts are an important part of that conversation. 2008’s Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education, co-chaired by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and former State Superintendent for Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster, called for increased investment in the arts and creativity as part of a quality education for all Wisconsin students. Task Force efforts and more research on the state of the arts in education in Wisconsin will continue and grow in 2010.

• Nationally, President and Mrs. Obama have demonstrated in this first year in office that they are actively engaged in and recognize the importance of the arts, arts education, and community engagement for all Americans. The new Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, is a pro-active advocate who brings great energy and enthusiasm to the job and is already starting to shake things up in Washington and across the country. A few weeks ago, the Endowment released a report on the agency’s 2008 survey of public participation in the arts showing that the ways in which people participate in the arts are changing dramatically, and confirming the need for creative thinking and action about local and national arts and cultural infrastructure, programming and partnerships. There will be a lot of discussion around the report and how Americans have participated and will participate in the arts, in the year ahead. Arts Wisconsin will keep you up to date on and involved with that important conversation.

In closing: 2010 has got to be better than 2009, and indeed, most analysts are (cautiously) predicting a better financial picture for the year ahead. Let’s all do our part to make it a better year in the arts. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get to work with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm. Decision-makers and the people in your community are ready to become involved with our strong message, unified efforts, and collaborative spirit. In 2010, it’s in your best interest to be informed and involved because the success of these efforts means more resources (i.e., more money and visibility) for you, your work and your community. Please keep Arts Wisconsin up to date on what’s happening in your world, and we will keep you engaged in statewide and global news, issues, trends and actions. Please make sure that your colleagues and friends are signed on to our Legislative Action Center, to keep up to date and in touch!

Have a wonderful and happy new year. Thanks for all you do. We look forward to working with you and for you in 2010.

The National Endowment for the Arts hosted a very interesting forum on the Cultural Workforce on November 20.  The archive version is now available on the NEA’s Art Works site.

Click here for the archive.  The video and PowerPoint slides for each presentation can be viewed in the same format as the live webcast. Links are provided to each individual presentation.

I was able to listen to and view parts of the Forum on the 20th, and have to spend more time with the information to really be able to comment comprehensively, but I did take away from the conversation the understanding that the whole idea of quantifying the number and scope of “arts workers” in this country is complex, to say the least.  Most people working in the arts have more than one job, whether they are “self-employed” or work for another organization or business, and/or, make money through a combination of both.  It’s hard to make generalities or really see the scope based on the current business data system we have in this country.  Luckily, there seem to be a lot of smart people thinking about how to change/adapt the system to make the info  more clear and credible so that it will help make the case that the arts are a viable industry worth of investment and support.

Lots more to follow on the topic, for sure.

The UW Madison Arts Institute brought former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, and recent transition team leader in Arts and Humanities for the Obama administration, Bill Ivey to Madison last week to talk about arts policy. Bill Ivey was the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998 through 2001, was director of the Country Music Foundation from 1971 to 1998, and was twice elected Chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Bill Ivey

Bill is now director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University, where he’s connecting the dots between the public sector, nonprofits, commercial entertainment, and community arts. And his recent book, Arts, Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed our Cultural Rights, challenges our traditional approach to the arts in American life.

In Madison, Bill noted that President Obama was the first Presidential candidate to develop an arts policy, aided by national arts leaders and organizations such as Americans for the Arts. After the election, the arts became a policy issue for the new administration. He described his exciting involvement in the Obama transition process as the leader of the arts team, which involved analyzing the work of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and, making recommendations for the new directors of those agencies. He noted that the new NEA Chair, Rocco Landesman, a former Broadway producer, was a “non-mainstream” choice who should start to shake up things at the agency and in the arts – a good thing. He also noted that President Obama made an “Artist Corps” part of his campaign platform, and that the new Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act includes an Artist Corps among other provisions aimed at expanding national service. The Act took effect on October 1, 2009, with many details to be determined, but there is great promise in the idea.

Bill is working to reframe the conversation about arts, culture, heritage, creativity, and policy, and reconnect them to the daily issues of “expressive life.” He called for a new investment in arts, artistry, and cultural heritage—the expressive life of America, as he calls it.  He challenged many long-standing assumptions and traditions about the image of the arts in America, and asked that we not be afraid to make cultural vibrancy a cornerstone of public policy. These traditions support the idea that the arts are an amenity, something that is separate from the rest of “real” life. This is reinforced through much of the language we use to describe the arts. Terms such as “fine arts” create an atmosphere of elitism and exclusivity that only serves to separate the arts from the rest of life.

Our stale assumptions are especially evident in the policy arena. The accepted infrastructure for the past 50 years has included artists, nonprofit arts organizations, state/regional/local agencies, National Endowment for the Arts, K-12 school systems. Bill challenged us to think and work in a bigger policy playing field and add to that existing framework.  Doing so would expand opportunities for the arts sector and its audiences, including ways to access our cultural heritage, integration of the nonprofit and for-profit arts worlds, and a more entrepreneurial mindset. Bill also envisions a “cultural portfolio” for the national scene, which would bring together the arts and cultural agencies, including the NEA, NEH, IMLS, FCC and the Smithsonian Museums.