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Tuesday, 05 September 2006 18:26 |
By JEREMY MORRISON
About 50 members of Ashevilleës art community gathered at the YMI Cultural Center Aug. 31 to participate in an open forum in an effort to find their niche within the HUB Project ÇƒÓ an overall economic development plan for the area.
"This is a really huge leap for all of us," said Adrienne Crowther, executive director of the Asheville Area Arts Council. "Arts is an official partner at the table."
The HUB Project, developed by the Institute at Biltmore, draws on Ashevilleës attributes ÇƒÓ such as technology, wellness and the arts ÇƒÓ to build a solid economic foundation for the area. The arts council is overseeing the cultural leg of the project.
Louise Stevens, of the Montana-based ArtsMarket Inc., has been contracted to guide the councilës efforts.
"The arts have
been recognized as completely symbiotic with everything else that has
to do with an economic base," Stevens told the audience of as she began
the forum.
Furthermore,
Stevens said, the ideas generated in such forums will serve as a
framework for Ashevilleës art community for the next 20 years.
A panel of local
artists, serving as a steering comittee, were on hand to offer their
thoughts on the direction the group should take.
The problem is
that "artists usually never speak in economic development language,"
said Charlie Flynn-McIver, artistic director of the North Carolina
Stage Company, located in downtown Asheville. "Thatës going to be the
challenge ÇƒÓ you got to do it."
Wilmington transplant Chet Spear talked about how his former home base was revitalized by the local arts community.
"A group of artists moved in and took a town that was dying ÇƒÓ really unhealthy ÇƒÓ and made it vibrant," he said.
Robert Winkler,
a sculptor who moved here from New York, told how the atmosphere was
very fractious when he first began working with the steering committee.
"Everyone was
looking for their piece of the pie," he said, adding that the project
should be seen as a collective effort that would better the entire
community. "By making it a bigger pie, everyone gets a bigger slice."
Kitty Love,
founder of the Lexington Avenue Arts and Fun Festival and a local
tattoo artist, told the audience she was hesitant about the arts
involvment with the HUB Project, but has recently warmed to the concept.
"Working on an
economic development plan has been really weird for someone whoës spent
most of her life in an unaccountable-for tax bracket. For some of you
the HUB may seem a little mysterious," she said, urging people to
educate themselves about the project.
Laying out an
outline for the evening, Stevens identified some key themes. Among them
were expanding the market, organizing with non-profit organizations and
corporations, affordable housing and workspaces, technology and funding
opportunities.
"The system, as
it is in Asheville, has gone about as far as itës gonna go," Stevens
said, before setting the audience loose with jumbo notepads and markes
to brainstorm about growing the areaës art scene.
Possible ideas
included formally establishing a relationship with the business
community, convincing them art is important and they should take an
active role in its creation, and using public space ÇƒÓ such as bus stops
ÇƒÓ as locations for art.
Another
suggestion was for artists to be included in design committees and
development boards so that they might insert the artistic perspective
into the conversation.
"Itës about not treating artists like children ÇƒÓ or clever little people," someone else wrote.
Other ideas
included not taxing artistsë goods, or determing how much tax is
generated from the sale of art and putting that amount back into
funding additional art projects. There were several calls for the
creation of an artists database.
"You wrote requirements, recommendations and stategies," Stevens said. "If it hasnët been said, itës open mic time."
The first woman
to the microphone suggested that people should "realize the
distinction" between working artists and novices, such as street
musicians.
"If thereës no distinction, then how is this community going to be recognized as a real artistës community?" she said.
Another woman expessed a wish for a full-service art supply store.
"Tru Blue is wonderful ÇƒÓ itës the size of my closet," she said.
The next speaker suggested out-of-town businesses, such as Wal-Mart, donate 1 percent of their profits to the arts.
There was a call to display art in public spaces like malls.
"Iëm excited about the fact that fine art competes with the Gap in a very real way," a woman said.
A man emphasised the importance of conveying the point that art is meaningful.
"If we canët show people the value of art, theyëre going to use it as gingerbreading ÇƒÓ as a mantle piece," he said.
Another speaker
said Asheville should follow Irelandës lead and declare an income-tax
exemption for artists, thus putting the city on the map as an arts city.
Noting that many artists lack health insurance, a woman said possible solutions to this problem should be explored.
A woman asked that "another kind of artist" not be left out of the process.
"I donët want to
see us forgetting about a whole sector that wonët come to development
meetings and wonët be a part of these discussions."
In closing the
meeting, Stevens said the steering committee would take the groupës
suggestions to the drawing board and hopefully have a plan by November
as to how the art community will contribute to Ashevilleës growth in
the context of the HUB Project..
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