For God's Sake! Let's talk about arts education.

Two things I try to avoid in my blog posts:

1) Serious stuff.

2) God stuff.

Allow me to deviate briefly from this policy.

In the latest edition of her weekly e-mail message, the Executive Director of the Theatre Communications Group, Teresa Eyring, raised questions about President Obama’s educational reform programs, noting growing concern about the Administration’s narrow focus on math, science, testing and accountability.

Ms. Eyring’s post included a link to a letter that the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA sent to the President. (The group claims to represent 36 Christian communions with a combined membership of 45 million persons in more than 100,000 congregations across the nation; i.e., a lot of Christians).

The letter began by stating the group's common conviction “that the church is called to speak for justice in public education.” It went on to affirm “that our society’s provision of public education—publicly funded, universally available, and accountable to the public—while imperfect, is essential for ensuring that all children are served.”

Despite the prevailing theological tone, these folks make damned good sense. God bless 'em. You can read the entire letter if you want, or you can save time by letting me excerpt the important sections. The first statement is what caught my attention and had me saying, "Yeah! Right on!"

We reject the language of business for discussing public education.

Not only has the language of the marketplace entered discussions of school governance and management, but we also notice that the language of business accountability is used to talk about education, a human endeavor of caring...We worry that our society has come to view what is good as what can be measured and compared... The relentless focus on testing basic skills has diminished our attention to the humanities, the social studies, the arts, and child and adolescent development.

We value public school educators.

Our biblical heritage and our theology teach us that we live in community, not solely in the marketplace. As we strive to move our imperfect world closer to the realm of God, we recognize that we are all responsible for making sure that public schools, as primary civic institutions, embody our love for one another. We are called to create institutions that serve families and children with hospitality. We are called to work as citizens for the resources that will support a climate of trust and community within each public school. We are also called to value those whose vocation is teaching... Wholesale scapegoating of public school teachers is an ugly and unfortunate development in federal policy.


Full Disclosure: I am the product of the public education system. I am also the product of parents who were educators in public schools. Also, my grandmother was an educator. My sister too. Oh, friends as well.

The turnaround king turns Portland around.

Yesterday morning, I joined a few hundred colleagues to hear Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center, give his “Arts In Crisis” talk – a sermon he’s been delivering on a nationwide tour over the past year. Portland was stop number 55 on the gospel circuit, with Portland Center Stage’s Gerding Theatre standing in for the big white tent.

The stop before Portland? Pierre, South Dakota, population 13,000. (Bonus Points for correct pronunciation of Pierre).

Kaiser has been hailed as “the turnaround king” and called a “transformational leader” based on his record of pulling the fat out of the fire for several struggling arts companies. In his talks, his books, and on his blog, he’s been urging arts leaders to keep investing in producing great, exciting art, rather than allowing the challenges of the recession turn us into boring cowards. We also need to continue investing in marketing (“institutional marketing” in particular). "You can't save your way to financial health," he argues.

One of the event's hosts, the Oregon Arts Commission, encouraged me to blog about it, recognizing my tremendous reach as a thought leader. They didn’t know that I would spend a full 45 minutes coming up with the following:

Michael Kaiser is recognized throughout the universe as the gold standard of gurus. He is both the real deal and the beau ideal—an exemplar of expertise and a paragon of perspicacity. There is no other way to describe him other than by using words like nonpareil, or words that mean the same thing. Some may disagree, but none will dispute that he is arguably the apotheosis of arts administration."

My point being that I don’t know what I’m doing.

Then I remember that I’m not a journalist. I’m an aggregator. My job is to point you in the direction of my betters. In this case (as is often the case) there’s none better than Lisa Radon, one of Portland’s finest arts journalists. Lisa tweeted throughout the talk with one hand while taking notes with another and waving to admirers with another. You can read her smart blog post summarizing Kaiser's talk here. Rumor has it that a video of the talk will be available, as will something they want me to believe is actually called a “podcast.”

Honestly, I went to the event with the stainless steel pump that is my heart primed with liquified natural gas. I prepared for the session by stretching my eye-rolling muscles and practicing my deep sigh technique. I jotted a few crib notes to remind me of choice interjections I might want to shout, such as:

"You wish!"
"In what parallel universe?"
"That's a smart observation. NOT!"
"Yeah...right."

Instead, I was transformed. Well, “transformed” is a little strong. Inspired and a motivated may be better adjectives. When I have the time, I might think about writing more on the topic.

The colleagues with whom I spoke afterwards shared the warm glow. One well-respected arts leader (fictional) went so far as to say, "The only thing that would have made the event more inspiring is if Kaiser were Justin Bieber and we were 12 year old girls."

Here are pictures of Michael Kaiser and Justin Bieber making secret hand gestures to their respective fans.

Talking regional arts funding

Yesterday afternoon, I participated in a discussion of a regional arts funding plan. Here's a video synopsis of what I heard.



I'm kidding, of course, and promise to write about it in a more serious tone soon.

Happy Arts Advocacy Day

Today is National Arts Advocacy Day. Let's practice our march chants:

Now's the time to advocate

If you think the arts are great!

Hey Hey, Ho Ho!

We love the arts, and we want mo!

What would we do in these here parts,

If we didn't have the arts?

We love music, we love dance

Why can't we give art a chance!

Now, because that exercise has exhausted my creative potential, go read my brilliant blog post from last year, Growing the Pie, in which I argue that we need new messages to advocate for the arts. Also, I used the phrase "the chafing makes its presence known" which I have added to my growing list of prospective band names.

If that's not enough for you, go to RACC's advocacy page and learn how to write letters to your "electeds" (to adopt the nomenclature of the Industro-Politico-Lobby folks).

Trivia: If you stick toothpicks in an advocate and suspend it in water, it will grow a vine. Or am I thinking of avocados?

The Fundred Comes to PDX

Super-talented artist and political activist Mel Chin is bringing his Fundred Dollar Bill Project to Portland this Friday, May 12 at 12:30pm.

The Fundred Dollar Bill is a national project that is engaging 3 million kids across the country. Kids draw original interpretations of the US $100 bill, and a veggie-oil powered armored truck arrives to pick them up. The truck will drive across the country and end in Washington DC, where Mel will request that Congress exchange the Fundreds for real funding to detoxify lead polluted soil in New Orleans.

How cool is that?

Free and Open to All Ages
St Mary's Academy
1615 Southwest 5th Avenue in Portland
Friday, May 12 at 12:30pm.
www.stmaryspdx.org

The Governor's Speech

As promised:

REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
In accepting the Americans for the Arts Public Leadership Award
Thursday, January 21, 2010

Thank you Senator Merkley for your introduction – and for the outstanding job you are doing in Washington for the people of Oregon. These are difficult times for our state – but they would be a lot more difficult without your voice and vote in the United States Senate. I also want to thank Bob Lynch and Americans for the Arts for selecting me to receive your Public Leadership in the Arts award.

Oregon – like most other states – is facing painful budget choices. I frequently remind people that 90-percent of our state’s budget goes to just three things: Schools, public safety, and human services.

Where does that leave public funding for art and culture? For the shortsighted, it leaves them on the cutting room floor. But I believe passionately that art and culture are not luxuries to be supported in good times – and frills to be discarded in difficult times. They are essential at all times.

By the standards of many states – Oregon is not the most financially prosperous. But we would never trade financial wealth for our wonderful quality of life. It is who we are as a people – and why we work so hard to protect our natural beauty. Art and culture are part of that beauty and are equally important to Oregon’s quality of life. This is as it should be. In creativity – we find hope. In artistry – we find our shared humanity. And what is too often overlooked – by investing in our cultural assets, we invest in jobs and economic renewal.

I often compare the human mind without art – to a room without furniture. The room exists – but it is empty of joy and inspiration. This is why I created CHAMP – to reinvest in culture, history, art, movies, preservation and public broadcasting, and in doing so to enrich the human mind.

I’m very proud to receive this award. And I think it is a credit not just to me – but to Oregon’s entire creative community, from practicing artists and cultural institutions, to business leaders, to legislators from both parties.

But I have a confession: When I was a young man growing up, I didn’t know much about the arts – and didn’t see them as relevant to my life. When I came home from overseas after serving in the Marines, I went to work in a steel mill. I thought that would be my life. But I met a woman who was in college – and she told me that as a condition of our marriage I would have to go to college too.

I enrolled at the University of Missouri on the GI Bill, and for reasons I don’t fully remember or understand – I took an art class. Then a second art class. And then a third art class. I didn’t just learn to appreciate the arts – I learned I needed the arts. The arts made me a more open and curious person – with greater promise and hope for the future.

I realized that the arts are a path to opportunity. This is my greatest motivation for supporting cultural re-investment – to give children in Oregon the same opportunities I had. That means giving them the chance to enjoy, practice and learn about art.

Andre Malraux, the French writer and essayist, once said, “Art is a revolt against fate.” To which I would add: So is investing in art. For children – public investment in the arts will open doors. Change lives. Raise sights. And hand to them an even better future than was handed to us. For those of us in positions of public leadership, there is no greater responsibility – or achievement – than that.

Thank you.

Report from Washington

As many of you have seen, Governor Ted Kulongoski received an Arts Leadership award yesterday morning at a joint gathering of the US Conference of Mayors and Americans for the Arts. I’ll post a copy of his speech as soon as I can get my virtual fingers on it, but suffice it to say that our governor charmed and impressed the crowd -- a room that included such luminaries as NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, one of my favorite arts advocates Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and former NBA Star Kevin Johnson. I mean Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

My boss Eloise and I were lucky to attend the breakfast in our roles with Americans for the Arts, she with the US Urban Arts Federation and me with AFTA’s Private Sector Council. And being the fine Oregonians that we are, the governor’s people seated us right up front… which means that you, dear reader, get some up-close-and-personal photographs.

Ever since rumors started percolating a few weeks ago that Gov. Kulongoski would receive this prestigious award – one goes to a Governor and one goes to a Mayor every year – many in the arts community were surprised and perhaps underwhelmed at the suggestion that Oregon was doing something better than 49 other states. Better when a desperate legislature stole $1.8 million from the Oregon Cultural Trust to help balance the state’s budget? Better when the state’s overall investment in the arts translates to relative pittance for the average arts organization?

But I can say, with both my skepticism and my professional responsibilities in check, that Oregon has fared much better than many states over the past 7 years, and that Gov. Kulongoski did in fact outperform most if not all of his peers during this Great Recession. The bar, as they say, is low, but Oregon somehow managed to jump over it while many states grappled whether to limbo clumsily beneath, or knock it to the ground entirely. The governor quietly ensured that the arts were not “left on the cutting room floor,” even in this god-awful economy, and although most people thought that his pet program CHAMP had no chance of being renewed this biennium, $5 million in new funds (in 2009!) was indeed secured for culture, heritage, arts, movies and preservation. Also worth noting, the Tax Credit for Culture, scheduled to sunset in 2010, was quietly renewed for another four years. (Perhaps the citizen outrage and media attention surrounding the aforementioned theft had something to do with everyone’s willingness to give this little present to the Trust.)

Nationally, state funding for the arts has fallen 19% over the last 6 years, and some state arts councils have been stripped down to nothing. Neither the governor nor Senator Jeff Merkley (who introduced the governor this morning) mentioned this in his remarks, but Oregon has managed to move in the other direction, clawing its way up from last place to 33rd in state funding for the arts per capita during the governor’s tenure.

Of course only those of us with perennial loser syndrome would even think of celebrating that we’re #33 (hooya!). We can and must do better. So I appreciated the Governor’s self-deprecation when he quoted Israeili politician Golda Meir in accepting the award: “Don’t be humble, you’re not that great.” But no matter how unimpressive as our situation may be right now, there probably isn’t a governor in Oregon’s 150-history who has done as much for the arts.

So: my sincere congratulations and appreciation to Governor Kulongoski. Now, who’s next? And will he or she be able to take it to the next level?

Bike Bust goes Ballistic. Arts Advocate Activity Adds Alliteration Angle!

This post qualifies as a report on life and culture in Portland because it involves both an arts advocate and a bicycle.

This morning, Jessica Jarratt, the new Executive Director of Portland’s Creative Advocacy Network and a friend of Culture Shock, was commuting by bike to her job in the Pearl District. She pedaled her way right into a sting operation by riding through a red light at the corner of NE Broadway and Flint.

Quite rightfully, Ms. Jarratt was pulled over by the cops. What should have been a routine citation escalated when she was asked to produce an identification card. When she questioned whether she was legally required to carry such, the police officer decided she was causing trouble and slapped the handcuffs on her. She reports that the cuffing was painful and left red marks on her wrist.

Jarratt says that she has no intention of disputing the citation and $240 fine, but she has filed a complaint about the way she was treated. A more complete report of the incident can be found at the Bike Portland blog.

I understand that the police have a tough job and that the underlying goal here is to prevent tragic accidents. I also know that Portland is full of bike riders who routinely flout the rules. But really? Is this the way we want Portland Police to be handling traffic violations? I'll be interested in how this incident plays out over the next few days.

On Facebook, where Ms. Jarratt first reported the incident to friends, she later posted this video of how police in Denmark handle biking violations, suggesting that it might serve as a training video for Portland cops:



Speaking of bikes, Powell’s Books is bringing David Byrne to the Bagdad Theatre on September 30th to talk about his book “Bicycle Diaries.”

Fall.ART.Live ... Beer.DONUTS.Barbeque

This Saturday, Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is hosting a free arts shindig “Fall-ART-Live” in its studio and out in the parking lot of its home base at 818 SE Sixth Avenue (between Belmont and Morrison).

The event will include short performances and studio workshops for both kids and adults. Most of the performances will be dance oriented (OBT, Polaris Dance, Linda Austin Dance, Josie Mosely Dance and Northwest Dance Project), though the Portland Opera is also on the roster. The workshops cover dance and theater. Do Jump! is in the mix, as is one of my favorites, Philip Cuomo (Portland Actors Conservatory and Third Rail) teaching “Body Imagination: An Intro to Physical Theatre.”

OBT has offered space and tables for other arts organizations to promote themselves and answer questions. Look for some of Culture Shock’s friends from Miracle Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Oregon Cultural Trust., Live Wire!, Mississippi Studios, White Bird and others. If you drop by in the afternoon between 2-3:30, I’ll be pulling a shift at the Oregon Children’s Theatre table. And if that’s not enough, you’ll find a beer garden (Bridgeport) and food from purveyors such as Bunk Sandwiches, Koi Fusion BBQ and the ubiquitous Voodoo Donuts.

OBT threw the event together quickly in the aftermath of its wildly successful Gala fundraiser and emergency appeal earlier this summer. The event is inspired by the organization’s new-found commitment to engaging the community, and is also intended to partially fill the gap created when it cancelled this year’s “OBT Exposed” which has been putting a rehearsal stage smack-dab in the middle of Portland’s Park Blocks for the past decade or more.

Over at the Mercury’s Blogtown site, Stephen Marc Beaudoin posted a jaded take on the event. Under the classy headline, “Fall.Art.(Dead?),” Mr. Beaudoin yawns and smirks at the whole thing. He seems to have gotten the impression that the OBT-initiated event is supposed to be a “new city-wide arts fest.” While OBT does call Fall-ART-Live a “festival,” nobody is seriously pretending that it’s anything more than a day-long arts fair and it's unfair to prejudge it as anything else.

In a follow-up comment Mr. Beaudoin points out that “many of the organizations hawking tickets at the event opted out of providing performers.” (In his post, these organizations are there to “pimp their wares”). Makes those organizations sound kind of sleazy and cheap, doesn’t it? Where do they get off not performing anyway?

How about if we try phrasing it this way: “Many of the organizations that were unable to perform are happy to have a chance to distribute information, meet the public and advocate for the arts.”

Dear readers, there’s a fine line between good-natured acerbic wit and just plain dickishness. Do me a favor and remind me when I step over that line. Which I will. Except that I'll claim it's just my world-weariness showing.

The Writing on the Wall

My phones were ringing off the hook this morning with a major art incident going down at the corner of NE Broadway and MLK. My first art emergency! Even the mayor was called in to survey the scene: apparently the mural at the former site of Rhythm Traders was about to be painted over by the building's new tenant, and several artists came to protest.



The whitewashing isn't as imminent as some had feared, and the new occupant isn't even finalized yet, but it's entirely possible that the mural's days are numbered for economic reasons described by Willamette Week about an hour ago. When that new tenant does sign their rental contract, you can bet that lots of folks will be lobbying them to leave the mural -- a tribute to our sister City of Mutare -- where it is. But a giant cell phone company isn't likely going to keep an artwork like this on their corporate facade, so RACC is also looking at the possibility of simply covering up the mural with plywood, to be painted over temporarily and hopefully uncovered again years from now when a more funky tenant occupies the space once again.

Update 7/26: Jennifer Yocom, the Mayor's Arts and Culture Director, reported on KGW last night that the new tenant, T Mobile, has enthusiastically agreed to leave the mural intact and on display. Congratulations to all who intervened as advocates for this beloved community mural.

More From the Arts Front

Has Culture Shock given you more arts advocacy than you need or want? Are your gullets glutted with our pro-arts sentiments?

Perhaps you're already sold on the notion that arts and culture are societal salves --balms to cure economic catastrophe, reverse rampant underachievement, and assuage the anomie of the aimless. If so, our relentless advocacy may smack of beating a horse that already drank the Kool-Aid.

Or, heavens forfend, some of you may not be buying it at all. You've heard all the arguments in favor of the arts and all you can say is "pish posh" and "pizzletwist." For you, the arts are nothing more than a shiny charm bracelet--a little gris-gris stuffed in a juju sack to make us feel better. Or you think the arts are elitist and unable to survive in the rustle-tussle of the marketplace. "The fat lady has sung, " you declare. Enough said. Period. End of story.

To every one of our dear readers, it's my duty to tell you that we're duty bound to be hidebound on this issue. What would you have us do? Throw up our hands and throw in the towel?

Every once in a while, somebody famous says smart things about the arts that are ... well ... more eloquent than anything we can say. Rachel Maddow, for instance. That MSNBC pundit says smart things all the time--about all kinds of issues. She recently spoke at Jacob's Pillow, the annual contemporary dance festival in the Berkshires, and shared this brilliance with the audience:

Sometimes we choose to serve our country in uniform, in war. Sometimes in elected office. And those are the ways of serving our country that I think we are trained to easily call heroic.

It’s also a service to your country, I think, to teach poetry in the prisons, to be an incredibly dedicated student of dance, to fight for funding music and arts education in the schools. A country without an expectation of minimal artistic literacy, without a basic structure by which the artists among us can be awakened and given the choice of following their talents and a way to get to be great at what they do, is a country that is not actually as great as it could be.

And a country without the capacity to nurture artistic greatness is not being a great country. It is a service to our country, and sometimes it is heroic service to our country, to fight for the United States of America to have the capacity to nurture artistic greatness.

Not just in wartime but especially in wartime, and not just in hard economic times but especially in hard economic times, the arts get dismissed as ‘sissy’. Dance gets dismissed as craft, creativity gets dismissed as inessential, to the detriment of our country. And so when we fight for dance, when we buy art that’s made by living American artists, when we say that even when you cut education to the bone, you do not cut arts and music education, because arts and music education IS bone, it is structural, it is essential; you are--in [Jacob’s Pillow founder] Ted Shawn’s words--you are preserving the way of life that we are supposedly fighting for
and it’s worth being proud of.”

Though Maddow's statement is spreading on the interwebs, I credit the website Dancing Perfectly Free as the first place I spotted it. The photo is by Christopher Duggan.

Straight Talk from a Guy Named Rocco

Surely you've heard that Rocco Landesman has been confirmed as the new chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Folks are expecting (and hoping) that Mr. Landesman will shake things up after his predecessor, Dana Gioia, made the political calculation that we ought to treat the arts as a warm glass of milk: comfortable, familiar and soothing. That may have been the appropriate response for the times, but Mr. Landesman is making noises like he's ready to kick out the jams. A successful businessman and theatre entrepreneur, he steps into the position at the NEA with a reputation for candor and for possessing "sharp elbows."

The following are a few select quotes from a profile of Mr. Landesman which recently ran in the New York Times.

Regarding the place of the arts in American politics, he said, “The arts are a little bit of a target. The subtext is that it is elitist, left wing, maybe even a little gay.”

I'm sure the folks in Peoria weren't too happy to read this statement about artistic merit vs. geographic representation in awarding NEA grants: “I don’t know if there’s a theater in Peoria, but I would bet that it’s not as good as Steppenwolf or the Goodman. There is going to be some push-back from me about democratizing arts grants to the point where you really have to answer some questions about artistic merit.”

Then there's his goal of making sure the arts are included in economic recovery planning: “We need to have a seat at the big table with the grown-ups.”

As for the former agency slogan, “A Great Nation Deserves Great Art,” Mr. Landesman had this to say: “We might as well just apologize right off the bat.”

Let's wish him luck.

Yes We CAN

When Mayor Sam Adams and other elected officials unveiled ACT FOR ART: A Creative Action Plan for the Portland Metropolitan Region last spring, it signaled that the arts community might finally be ready to identify and implement a dedicated funding mechanism for arts and culture that would generate some $15 to $20 million annually. It all seemed so doable based on some polling that had been conducted a long, long time ago, in the spring of 2008 before the Second Greatest Depression struck. But how, people have been asking, do the voters feel now?

Pretty much the same, it turns out. If anything, a new poll reveals, the voters are even more aware of the need for sustainable funding of arts and culture. Makes sense given the increased attention that arts organizations have been getting in the media lately.

You can read a summary of the new poll, commissioned by the Creative Advocacy Network, here. (It's not on their website yet but I did get permission to share it with the world.) And join other arts enthusiasts for a CAN information gathering tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 5th, from 4:30 to 6:30 in the The Gerding Theater at the Armory. Their new Executive Director, Jessica Jarratt, will be on hand to answer all of your burning questions.

Closing the Books on Another Year

For all nonprofit organizations with fiscal years ending at midnight tonight, congratulations on making it through a tough year.

Now that you’ve managed to stanch the hemorrhaging, drain the festering wounds, and stabilize your vital signs, we can go ahead and take a look at that broken bone. This won’t hurt a bit.

We all know that there’s really nothing magical about the start of a new fiscal year. Our accountants just need to place a marker to signal that one period is done and another is beginning. Art organizations will not wake up tomorrow morning to find that their bank accounts have been replenished by the Funding Fairy*. We just start up all over again in the unending struggle to meet budget goals.

*Note: The Funding Fairy unwisely invested funds with Bernie Madoff, ending up in the condition seen below.

In a recent article, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that nonprofits are feeling the “stress” of the recession. According to recent studies, the hurt has been felt most in small organizations; 70% of those with revenue under $1-million reported that finances had worsened in the past six months (compared with fewer than half of larger organizations).

More troubling is the finding that nonprofit leaders working at theaters and orchestras are sweating the economy the most. Whereas only 13% of all respondents said they were worried about organizational survival, the percentage of pessimists among orchestra leaders was 24%, and among theater managers a whopping 33%. Let me repeat that last figure: One-third of leaders of nonprofit theaters surveyed said they were worried about survival.

(More troubling is that 97% of artistic directors reported being "Very Concerned" when asked "Are you concerned that there won't be enough affordable one-person shows available to fill your season?").**

The co-author of one of the reports, William Foster, looked for the silver lining in all this: “The economic tightness is forcing nonprofits to do things that would be healthy habits in any economic time. If we’re going to come out of recession smarter than we came in, it will only be if tough decisions and thoughtful economizing has taken place.”

Tomorrow morning, tune in to OPB (91.5 fm) at 9:00 when the “Think Out Loud” topic will be “World Class Arts?” The question mark at the end of the title implies that there is debate about Portland's ability to sustain the number of top-notch arts institutions we now enjoy. Barry Johnson wrote about this at Portland Arts Watch a week ago, reporting that Doug Stamm, Executive Director of the Meyer Memorial Trust, had posed the question as to whether Portland can support all five of our top arts groups ... or even try. (The top five are the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony and Portland Center Stage).

It’s a legitimate question, though I find it troubling that the head of one of the region’s major foundations would ask it in a way that implies the answer might be “No.” How about if we rephrase the question to give it a more positive spin: “What do we have to do to sustain the arts at a level that Portland deserves?”

Barry followed his original post with an interesting thesis about the role of true democracy in how we run arts organizations. It’s a thoughtful post packed with arguments and contentions worthy of lively debate. It’s long, but not “Infinite Jest” long if you're one of those people who are participating in "Infinite Summer" and have committed to read the David Foster Wallace opus in its entirety between June 21st and September 22nd.

** This part isn't true.

Poor Man's Conference #3

I’m sorry to report that I missed this morning’s plenary session of the Virtual Arts Advocacy Conference. I'm not sure whether it was last night's alcohol consumption or the tasering that stranded me in bed with a wicked headache this morning. But I’m getting ahead of myself and need to post my notes from yesterday afternoon’s sessions.

Day 1 Afternoon:

The afternoon sessions of our fictional arts conference were packed with lively discussions of timely issues and ideas. Here’s a sampling of the workshop choices conference attendees faced:

Twittering to Arts Sustainability: A guide to social networking in which participants learn to tell a compelling story in 140 characters or

Panic Management during a Recession: Exploring the creative dimensions of freaking out.

Show Me the Money: Participants will be presented with a list of grants that similar organizations have recently received. Opportunities to express resentments will follow.

Small is Better: A case study of how a chamber music quartet became a trio and discovered that they didn’t really miss the viola. Applicability to theater productions will be considered.

Building Audiences through Beer: Considering the role of alcohol in Fostering participation in the performing arts. [Sponsored by Fosters Beer].

The Safety Net and You: A hands-on workshop for artists and arts administrators who are considering novel approaches to securing food and shelter.

Words Matter: Saving the arts through creative sloganeering, catch phrases and talking points.

Enter the Scapegoat: How does an arts organization decide who gets thrown under the bus during a financial crisis?

I chose instead to attend a presentation by Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. In a lecture that is equally entertaining and moving, Zander talks about finding the passion in classical music but his ideas can be applied to any art form. He uses a simple prelude by Chopin to illustrate his points and to create a small wedge into appreciation for classical music, making the case that classical music can be for everyone. The topic seems even more relevant after reading this morning's Oregonian article about the Oregon Symphony's grim financial condition. Although the video is twenty minutes long, I think it's worth the time. (You’re reading Culture Shock, so I know you don’t have anything better to do right now).



If that video is too long, perhaps this one will fit your attention span better (13 million viewers can't be wrong):



If this is your first time visiting, my earlier posts on the topic can be found here and here.

More serious posts on a real arts conference from Culture Jock, including his drive to Seattle can be found here, here and here.

For even more serious posts, visit the Americans for the Arts blogsite to which Culture Jock has also been posting during the real conference.

Poor Man's Conference #2

While my colleague Culture Jock is in Seattle reporting on the Americans For The Arts Conference, I’m at home live-blogging a virtual poor man’s version for those who can't afford to attend the real thing. (Which raises the question: Is there virtue in poverty?) I posted my first report on this imagined convention this morning, before things really heated up. Here's my next installment:

Day 1 (Continued):

Wow! I am stoked after an inspiring day of conference activities. I’ve filled my notebook with quotes from speakers. When I have more time, I'll expand on them, but here's a quick sampling:

“The art of living is learning to live the art that you art living.”

“Art is like a strip of bacon on a Voodoo Donut maple bar: It may not seem necessary, but it does make life richer and more interesting.”

“Then they came for the artists and I did not speak up because I wasn’t an artist. And by that time it was too late and there were no more artists. Sure, there were craftspeople and cultural creatives, but artists? I’m just saying.”

“Happiness, like culture, is a warm puppy--no disrespect to the cat people in the audience.”

“You need to ask yourself whether the art you create is good enough to do enough good.”

After our warm-up exercise, we gathered in a plenary session focused on arts education. The first speaker provided an inspiring counterpoint to the dismal news about the region’s public schools reported in this morning’s Oregonian.

You may have already seen teacher and slam poet Taylor Mali reciting his “What Teachers Make” on YouTube. Even though the poem has circulated through the internets for several years, its hard-hitting message is still powerful and moving. Imagine the delight of 3,500 imaginary arts and cultural leaders when Mr. Mali appeared to deliver his message in person this morning.



After that session, we broke into cohort cadres, convening as collaborators to co-create cultural vision statements. A brief fist fight broke out at my table as we debated whether we are “committed to the arts” or “deeply committed to the arts.” One wag suggested that we should "strive to achieve an abiding commitment to the arts” before being shouted down. I shared several cogent insights with the group. Our facilitator agreed that my ideas were “interesting” and “useful,” though I noticed he wasn't writing them down and didn’t include them when he gave a summary of our discussion to the whole group.

Several new acquaintances and I agreed that we’d get together for lunch at a local restaurant to share more thinking about the arts. I must have misunderstood where we were to meet because I missed the connection and haven’t seen them since. Perhaps we'll meet up on the “Urban Sustainability and Livability Tour” scheduled for tomorrow morning. I hear it’s just a ride on the streetcar, but it should be interesting."

A Poor Man's Arts Advocacy Conference

As loyal readers know, Culture Jock is in Seattle this week, attending the Americans for the Arts conference. He's already posted a few reports. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in Portland, missing out on the inspiring keynote speeches, enlightening work sessions, and a myriad of opportunities to meet colleagues from around the country.

As an alternative, I’ve decided to create a virtual arts advocacy conference—a poor man’s convention, so to speak. Over the next few days, I’ll be live-blogging about my experience, sharing my observations and findings.

Day 1:

When I checked into my accommodations last night, I told the desk clerk, “I’ll need a wake-up call.”

She responded, “Your lifestyle choices are going to cut a decade from your life expectancy.” I’ve already found that the residents of this city are both friendly and outspoken.

After a good night’s sleep, the inn’s resident dog—advertised as one of the hotel’s “unique amenities”--woke me by placing a heavy paw next to my pillow and woofing, a signal that a walk was needed. Whenever I’m visiting another city for business or pleasure, I seek out chances to get a genuine sense of the place. Get me away from the hotel lobby, the souvenir shops, the steakhouses and the strip clubs, and let me walk the neighborhood streets where I can meet town folks. If I can tour a new city accompanied by a butt-sniffing dog, all the better.

Upon returning from the morning stroll, I opted for a room service breakfast. Knowing that my head would be filled with ideas and conversations over the next few days, I decided to skip the breakfast buffet, where I’d have to either pretend to be engrossed in a complimentary copy of USA Today, or engage in idle chitchat over scrambled eggs and mini sausages from the steam table. A simple bowl of granola and a cup of coffee while reading the Oregonian set me up for the day nicely. I was delighted to read that my host city’s arts supporters had donated over $800,000 to save its charming ballet company. Now that’s a great way to start an arts advocacy conference!

I rode the convenient hotel shuttle to the conference center across the river that bisects this city. The shuttle must have picked up conferees from other hotels because it was already full when I boarded. I perched carefully on the edge of my seat after asking a visiting tourist (I presume he was a tourist since he wasn’t wearing a name tag) if he would please move his open bag of Doritos from the empty seat. He glared at me with eyes that were, quite honestly, dancing with a little too much crazy energy. But he did afford me 8-10 inches of space. I opted not to read the guidebook I’d brought along, wanting to stay alert in case my seatmate pulled a knife.

Before stopping at the registration table to secure my conference credentials, I bought a steaming mug of coffee at a local café called Starbucks. I’d been told that this is a literary town, but was still surprised to find a coffee outlet named after a character from Moby Dick!

Already this morning I’ve bumped into several colleagues who work in the arts field. We greet each other as if it was only yesterday afternoon that we said goodbye. Our first conference session was designed to break the ice and get us warmed up for a day of sharing and learning. Here’s a video I shot with my cell phone:



Now I'm off to a work session titled: "Arts Support: Why Can't We Be Like France?" I’ll be sure to post more as the conference progresses.

Seattle Report #2

After lunch, AFTA recognized excellence in arts leadership with its six annual awards, and there are some noteworthy Portland connections.

Buster Simpson won the Public Art Network Award. Buster is the artist who created HOST ANALOG that sits outside of the Oregon Convention Center.

Big Thought received the Arts Education Award. Big Thought is the transformative arts education collaboration and delivery model upon which The Right Brain Initiative is based.

The other awardees are listed here.

Seattle Report #1

My apologies for some of the manufactured statements in my earlier post. I mean, some of the things I said were just not as funny as they could have been.

But now that I'm here in Seattle I am prepared to share some glimpses of what is being discussed here. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a pre-conference workshop for local arts agency administrators who are also engaged in private sector initiatives (like RACC is doing with Work for Art). AFTA datahead and amateur comic Randy Cohen presented an overview of arts giving in America, supported by three recently released reports that are, I’ll just say it, discouraging.

A study conducted every 4 years by the National Endowment for the Arts tells us that the percentage of Americans attending live arts events decreased in 2008. It had been fairly steady at 40% in the 80s, 90s, and earlier part of this decade, but now stands at 35%. Now because the study tracks “benchmark” activities – theater, opera, professional dance, classical music, jazz, and art museums – it’s possible that some of the decline is simply attributable to the fact that many Americans are consuming art in different ways -- poetry slams, participatory arts, contemporary music festivals and the like. We also discussed our theories on the extent to which technology is playing a role. Randy pointed out that record and CD stores have declined by 50% during the same period, but that certainly doesn’t mean we’re listening to less music, we’re just downloading it.

The annual Giving USA report, which we referenced last week, shows that overall giving to arts, culture and humanities is down, from $13.67 million in 2007 to $12.79 billion in 2008. Even more distressing is the fact that the arts are losing ever-more market share of all philanthropic contributions. In 2001, 4.9% of every philanthropic dollar went to the arts; in 2008 the arts’ share was 4.1%. That might sound like only a small gap, but the trend is concerning (when does it end?), and it represents a very significant sum: $2.3 billion (which is how much more American businesses, foundations and individuals would be giving today if they were still giving 4.9% to the arts).

Meanwhile, the national BCA (now merging with AFTA) has a new report that focuses on business support for the arts. Between 2003 and 2006, the percentage of businesses that contribute to the arts increased from 36% to 42%, but total cash support decreased 5%, from $3.32 billion to $3.16 billion. That was during a period of economic growth; obviously, this number is going to worsen over the next couple of years. I’ve read many reports that a majority of corporations plan to hold their contributions flat in 2009, but I’m thinking, yeah right.

Which brings us to the convention proper, which began at noon today with a prayer. (It was a Snoquomish tribal blessing, so it's OK). I’ll be following the Private Sector track throughout the conference, with some dabbling in the advocacy and civic engagement tracks, to see if we can’t uncover some best practices and other forms of inspiration to combat these conditions and reverse these trends at least in Portland.

Back in the Saddle

Without a shred of guilt, I abandoned the blog and other responsibilities for a week of vacation. I don't know whether it was deserved or not, but I took it anyway. As I catch up with news from the local cultural front, it's like going back to school and finding everybody talking about their new best friends and all the great parties you missed.

First came the Drammy Awards. Culture Jock thoughtfully texted an update during the ceremonies, but it wasn't the same as being there. (I happened to be engrossed in a “House” marathon at the time. You'd be amazed at how many diseases cause bleeding from facial orifices). Faithful readers may recall that I made a few predictions a week before the award ceremony. Turns out I got a few right.

Am I prescient, or did my posts on Culture Shock affect the outcome? Might I be a “digital influencer?” I sure hope so, because Lincoln (of the Ford Lincolns) recently identified Dave Allen (and his Pampelmoose website) as such, loaning him a big red car in the hope that his digital influence would give the brand a hipster cachet. I’m not looking for a free car, but don't hesitate to send me books, CDs and tickets anytime you want. However, please DO NOT ask me to serve on the Drammy Committee because then I’d be forced to admit that I don’t really want to see that much theater in a single year.

Then came the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s “Dance United” benefit on Friday night. Those who were there have been swooning. Not only have I failed as an arts advocate by not attending, but I seem to have missed out on a memorable slice of Portland’s cultural history. Congratulations to OBT for pulling it off and for nearing its financial goals for the month. Special kudos to my colleague, Culture Jock, for writing his thorough synopses of the performances. I’ve also been reading Barry Johnson’s coverage at Portland Arts Watch, and am looking forward to Martha Ullman West’s expert review which will reportedly be out tomorrow.

I was also surprised to learn (again, via Culture Jock) of Jessica Jarratt’s appointment as Executive Director for the Cultural Advocacy Network (CAN). Just two days before I headed off for vacation, Jarratt helped facilitate a half-day retreat for the arts organization with which I’m associated. For the past year or so, she’s been lending us an independent perspective on fundraising strategies and serving as an able cheerleader. She’s personable and smart and her enthusiasm is infectious. She may not come from the arts community, but I doubt that will keep her from being a great leader for CAN--in fact, it might be an advantage. In a separate post, I’ll tell her what her priorities should be.

I know that what you really want to know is what I did on my summer vacation. Do you remember the 1994 Ang Lee film Eat Drink Man Woman? If you add the verbs “read” and “sleep” and the noun “dog,” then take away all the Chinese food and move it from Taipei to the Oregon coast, you’ll have a working title for my vacation. Did I do anything productive? Not really, but that’s not the purpose of vacations.

Before heading for the coast, I had a romantic vision that I’d spend time gazing out at the ocean while writing. This is how far I got: “I sit before a vast expanse of the sea-green Pacific as it stretches to the far eastern horizon smelling briny, like a large fishy ocean. The sunlight glints off the rippling surf while mighty whales frolic unseen amongst the plankton. How small are we before such vastness?”

Then I fixed another drink and opened a good book, one of three I finished at the coast. Inexplicably, all my reading choices involved the mysterious disappearance of children. (Last month, I happened to read three books in a row that were all ghost stories). Given the common theme, I thought I'd write a comprehensive review of all three. Now that it's Sunday afternoon and my remaining hours of vacation are dwindling, that seems like an awful lot of work. Until I get to that, here’s my reading list: “Polar” (T.R. Pearson); “In the Woods” (Tana French); and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Stieg Larsson). The latter stands out thanks to its title character: A tattooed, pierced, uncommunicative, antisocial misfit who is also a brilliant investigator, computer hacker and nobody's passive victim.

Other cultural events of my week include finally seeing “Coraline,” which is playing in 3D at the Living Room Theatre. The concept of the venue is appealing: Watch a movie while supping on fine food. I ordered a Croque Monsieur (“Die, Mister” in French), which was served on a china plate with a green salad. It was a tasty meal, but awkward to eat without a table in front of me, and $9.00 for a grilled cheese and ham sandwich seemed steep no matter what you call it. Plus, no matter how comfortable the seating, you're still sitting in a movie theater with a few dozen strangers. The movie? I give it a B+.

The day we got home from the beach, we walked the two blocks from home to Pine State Biscuits for the first time. The tiny place was full, so we toted a pair of Reggie sandwiches home. The Reggie is a piece of fried chicken with bacon, cheese and gravy between two delicious biscuits. The chicken and gravy had a touch of peppery heat and the biscuits were perfect. The smiling sandwich in the picture below appears to be the Reggie Deluxe, which adds an egg to the mix. A heart attack in the making, but not a bad way to go--and not a bad way to be welcomed back to Portland.