By JOHN NEGRAU of Arts Central
I no longer feel compelled to defend the arts. 2011 has taught me that, while we live in one of the most magnificent playgrounds in the world, the fabric of this community is resilient because of the rich and diverse arts, culture, humanities and heritage opportunities. Too often, I am in a position where I need to justify why the arts should be valued, and to respond to questions such as why are they more worthy of support over a critical needs organization, why do they only benefit the elite?
I recently read an article titled Why Give to the Arts When People Are Starving in the Gutter? by Tony Poderis. He posed some interesting questions: “Would the community be a place that draws the successful people able to support other needs, if there were not an orchestra, art museum, ballet, opera, theatre, etc.? Without the draw of arts and culture organizations, how many individuals of affluence would there be in the community? Would as many new enterprises choose to make the community their home?”
Poderis asserts, “Without the arts, without cultural institutions, the people who make up the strong backbone of support for civic and social needs would be far fewer in number.”
I wholeheartedly agree.
Taking this a step further, the perception of recognized paradigms such as ‘sports promote teamwork’ and ‘math and science promote analytical thinking’ are taken as gospel. Consider an accepted new paradigm: industry and the business world covet creativity and innovation and actively seek these qualities in potential employees. Shouldn’t it be celebrated that kids have outlets to explore their creativity and develop the right sides of their brains to complement their left analytic sides? These kids are those future employees.
Instead of defending, join me in celebrating the arts and proclaiming the important role that the arts play to provide the foundation for a thriving community and the necessary tools for our future leaders. I am honored to be a part of Arts Central, the regional arts and culture council for Central Oregon, and 2011 brought many milestones. For us, arts education and advocacy are critical components of our mission. These were our focus areas in 2011.
In 2011, we celebrated our ten year anniversary at the Art Station, the region’s only non-profit art school, reaching students of all ages, skill levels and economic means every year. Since beginning our arts education programs (Art Station, Artist in Schools Residencies and VanGo) in 2001, we have had the privilege of serving over 80,000 students. Let’s celebrate the fact that these 80,000 students learned important everyday life skills such as creative problem solving, self-discovery, self-assurance, conflict resolution, and greater awareness of the world around them.
We also launched the Children’s Art Academy. This innovative art program offers in-depth, sequential art classes designed to deepen a child’s appreciation of art, develop artistic thinking, strengthen art-making skills, and cultivate personal expression.
With the serious diminishing of arts education opportunities in the public schools, Arts Central launched the Artists in Schools Pilot Learning Project to further enhance our residency program. This initiative will provide a new opportunity for artist and school partnerships with arts learning training to four schools in our service region grades K-8. Teachers will be given the skills and experience to integrate arts into their classrooms.
ARTS & CULTURE ALLIANCE
The other side of our mission is advocacy. We are delighted and proud that the Arts & Culture Alliance is now a reality. It started as a simple concept: that more could be accomplished collectively than individually. It has grown into a collaboration of twenty seven member organizations standing side by side, with one voice, championing the elevation of arts and culture for our region.
Why did Arts Central spearhead the creation of this alliance? Cultural organizations have shrinking budgets, limited resources, and decreasing private sector funding. Nationwide the answer is collaborations with initiatives being launched to increase the public’s personal interest and investment in culture and to address changing trends in arts and cultural attendance and consumption. Together we can affect change.
In a simple exercise, we conducted an informal internal survey of expense budgets of the member organizations. The result was staggering. As a result of these organizations, over $21 million gets reinvested into our community to pay for teachers, vendors, facilities, utilities, trades people, advertising, etc. We are an industry and it is clear that we are an economic driver and contribute to the vitality of our community.
Arts Central is proud to stand with the members of the Arts & Culture Alliance: Art in Public Places, Atelier 6000, Bend Dance Project, Bend Experimental Art Theater, BendFilm, Cascade Arts & Entertainment, Cascade School of Music, Cascades Theatrical Company, Central Oregon Symphony Association, Des Chutes Historical Museum, Deschutes Public Library, High Desert Chamber Music, High Desert Journal, Innovation Theatre Works, Les Schwab Amphitheater, Lubbesmeyer Studio & Gallery, Mockingbird Gallery, The Museum at Warm Springs, The Nature of Words, Redmond Chamber of Commerce, Redmond School of Dance, Sisters Folk Festival, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, Sunriver Music Festival, Terpsichorean Dance Studio and Tower Theatre Foundation.
Arts Central also celebrated another milestone in 2011: we turned 35 years young! We are grateful for the continued support of this community and ask that that each of you continue to celebrate the role of cultural organizations. Whatever your passions are; art, music, dance, theater, etc. we ask that you continue to support the ‘backbone’ of our community.
Arts Central is just one of many incredible cultural organizations in Central Oregon that have celebrated tremendous accomplishments in 2011. We ask you to explore all of our programs and initiatives, how we contribute to our community, how we impact our economy, and how we help shape the lives of our future leaders.
Let’s move forward no longer being defensive about the arts, but embracing the important role they play in our lives.
John Negrau, Arts Central, Development & Marketing Manager, 541-633-7242
