Malvern - Group One

The Big Canvas - July 23, 2008

The group included 11 individuals who work in art-related organizations (such as board members of the Philly Cultural alliance or other art organizations, chairpersons for fund-raising for art groups, director of summer art camps, artists/photographers, ballet director, art director/writer, manager from University of the Arts) and individuals who are appreciators of the arts. Participants were from areas such as Chestnut Hill, Media, Chester County and Havertown. Reasons why they attended the forum included: they love and care about arts and culture in the area, they had an important role as an artist to reach into the city and support art; they are concerned the word about arts events is not getting out. -- Moderators Svetlana Gradess and Lisa Santer

For what do people use arts and culture?
• Man can not live on bread alone; it enriches life.

• Brings civilization to a higher level, including children.

• Connection with others, socialization, people coming together, creates dialogue.

• It’s about keeping people’s minds open. We tend to be polarized with people who think like us. Expose to other people.

• Artist’s brains are wired differently. If you can’t enjoy each other as a society then we need help.

• Art of doing things well applies to everything you do in life. You are enriched personally if you see other people do things well.

• So many demands in school/work. Kids need an outlet for the mind to rest. That is the great advantage of theater, visual arts, and spoken word. It gives you a chance to absorb.

• We can narrow down the reasons to three or four words: inspiration, education, entertainment and communication.

• Singing, painting - You are trying to communicate something and it gives inspiration. For the last 20 years, one of the participants has been interested in the connection/intersection with Art and the Economy. Economy will depend more on skills artists have such as problem solving. Artists have different perspective on things and that ties into a strain of innovation.

• Importance of the arts is they tell a story of who we have been and what was accepted during a certain period of time. •

• Need to preserve arts as a part of history.

• There has been a reawakening of story-telling, of making a point. It is easier to remember. It has endured for a reason.

• It touches everything. You can’t separate it. It has the possibility to touch everything. What it tries to teach our kids; how to solve violence. It has practical uses.

• Life-changing potential: Gangs were brought in as active participants in a play. A group raised money to have the gangs be in a Broadway show. Each one of them was touched by the experience. It increased their self-confidence. Some of them went on to perform in theater as careers. Life changing-it touches part of your soul (deadened soul). Expression - able to express anger.

• Economic/business: Large employer. Artists/nonprofits and restaurants get money from art events (eat at restaurants after the show, nonprofits dealing with art.)

Who are the users?

• Everyone (students, families, young, retired)

• Educated upper middle to middle class, as evidenced by inner city public schools and everywhere. Examples: Conference for people with disabilities during which a woman (wrapped in blankets) put on a mini-theater production that helped enliven an otherwise dry discussion. One participant missed the arts communities in Orange County, Calif., because it is easy to get to, important part of community.

What values do you think arts and culture bring to individuals, families, communities? What basic values do they support?

• Murals are an important tourist activity and transform communities.

• Basic values it supports. Great theater can teach effectively what’s right/wrong through theater and can bring home message more than theologians.

• Arts builds self-esteem; great communicator.

• Part of arts that schools miss. One of forum participants is a classical musician and if it had not been for music class, she would not have passed math.

• Teach how to think; Writing - how to construct proper sentence.

• Community building in Media: Second Saturday, a community art show, allowed people who hadn’t shared previously shared their art talents to share them with others and allowed them to get to know their neighbors. Museums that show films to community; creates a gathering place. Art gatherings allow value, to see each other around things that are fun. Improve quality of life for everyone. Value of living close to art – come to civilized place, place of acceptance.
Gloss over art/artists-lot of discipline required to produce play (art as a teaching tool), write score, create sculpture.

• Refinement, learning.

• Art offers something to humans. Examples of kids in library, soothing kids with music. For the part of us as human beings, it offers something very special-it offers Joy. We have it as children, and then as adults we lose it (other things cover it up), and we need to bring it back to us.

• One participant gave a personal example. She was depressed and after going to an hour long music concert given by a cellist, a sense of soul and love came through to her and she “was healed”. When the cellist played, the soul and love in him is what came through the artist. Despite serious setbacks since, she’s never been depressed like that since.

• A particular feeling. Breathrough comes through, emotions come through when see art, for example, Guernica versus other art. The feeling breaks through to you.

• Emotion on the highest and most basic level (core) touches and reaches you. Emotion - you want to know where it is and how to get to it.

In our region, what are the barriers to these uses and values?

• Lack of good communication about events, particularly local: Lack of arts critic/reviewer on local staff. Philly publicity often overlooks suburban and live events—example of four different performing arts groups in Chester County having events on same weekend, and Daily News put national movie opening on cover, ignoring all four local events.

• Don’t know where performances are, or what’s available. One web site lists these, but it is not well-known. People do come to free and other events when well-publicized. No county agenda for arts. Poor marketing/visibility, partly due to cost of advertising.

• Small newspapers don’t advertise local events. Inquirer dropping suburban coverage, esp for arts and culture. Fewer people, especially younger people, reading newspapers so need to find other ways to publicize.

• Centralized easy to find and use Web site with calendar and reviews. (There is Chester County version of Philly Fun Guide, but it is not well-known.)

• Church bulletins

• Free short radio/tv program covering arts scene; community calendar channel may exist now.

• Example of Arden Theater providing better and much less costly theater than Locust Theater’s imports of Broadway shows, but people don’t know to go there.

• Many suburban churches have great arts programs.

• Philadelphians and suburbanites won’t come to local events in suburbs.

• Competition for free time. YouTube and blogs offer interesting outlets for arts; democratize creation, production, and distribution of arts; have more potential than is used.

• Costs: ticket cost, opportunity cost, time to find out about event, time to travel, cost of gas/travel, ordeal of traveling to Center City and finding parking, parking cost. Performing arts organizations cannot support themselves on ticket revenues.

• Attitude: Many people feel like West Chester arts not as good as Philly because cost is higher so quality must be better.

• Artists are underpaid. The real creators are left behind.

• Question: Do we have too many arts organizations? Too many productions (none of which support themselves). 300 year old region not growing in population; may not have infrastructure able to support it. RAND corp found rates of cultural participation in Philly region similar to those in other regions—increasing participation possible, but not easy to achieve.

• Funding problems: Many won’t fund the art; they will fund the outreach and other aspects, but not the art itself. Small organizations often passed over in favor of larger organizations. Need to know top leaders; be bold; too much work to solicit funding. Large suburban corps/organizations often give very small amounts to suburban arts efforts and much larger amounts to Philadelphia arts.

• Supply of board members: people are not willing to make monetary commitment to be on boards; some don’t know how to get in (or rejected because not from this area).

You're part of a committee that's going to decide how $60 million gets spent. What's on your list?

(Each person got five votes.)

• Give money to schools for art education - seven votes.
- Cultural pass for some age, perhaps 13yo, gets admission for courses/classes
- Bring exhibits into schools like aquarium is doing now (esp w/fewer field trips possible)
- Get high quality instructors into schools. Could include orchestra performers as instructors as well as performing in schools. (Orange County, Calif., did this.)
- Go back to model where classes in all arts are in (public) schools
- Support teens to help develop arts with which they are connected; groom them as next generation of artists.
• Improve communication about arts and culture opportunities - seven votes
- Regionally syndicated arts column including reviews (by experts &/or ordinary people)
- Use multiple media—blog, podcast, radio, web calendar
- Example of some of this: http://www.uwishunu.com/
• Transportation - six votes
- Create “Arts Train” to and from arts venues in Philly & suburbs. Make it free; advertise well; take to two to three places safely. (May need to hire several guards.) Have food and drink on train — make it a party train.
- Have Septa run more frequently (esp at night) & “run all the way out.”

• Decrease entry costs for tickets, admissions - five votes

• Fund small grass roots organizations - three votes
- Modification included ensuring they have solid structure (board & programs) and are at phase when added funding will help them take off.

Other major regional concerns or issues? Which of these have a higher or lower priority than arts and culture?

• Health care - seven people thought this was a higher priority than arts and culture

• Food access - seven

• Environment - six

• Public education - five

• Public safety - five

• Homeland security - four

• Homelessness (ending/ameliorating) - four

• “Church” - two

• Rebuild infrastructure: roads, bridges, etc. - two

• Inner city neighborhood cleanup on major scale - two

• Other social/non-profit issues - two

• Control of sprawl, support for outdoor resources; protect farmland & water resources - two

• Fire department access - zero

For what other issues could arts and culture be part of the solution?

• Community gardens and mural projects contribute to public safety.

• Education has clearest tie: exposure, involvement, engagement is important part of spiritual & ethical development. “Better educated people” don’t allow neighborhoods to fall into disrepair.

• Health care: all sorts of arts therapy can play a role.

• Some disagreement over this: People in some distressed communities asking to bring in arts as way to revitalize/improve/clean up communities—that may be 15 years ahead of schedule as other things should come first. Other people asserted early arts strategy has been useful in this way.

• Improve environment and control sprawl:
- Better architectural design.
- More pleasing aesthetically.
- Arts can help people learn & search souls, for example Al Gore’s movie re climate change.
- Education and public art can draw people into natural areas which can make them more engaged with and passionate about environment (example of local trail, which needs two murals on blank walls).
- Example of England, where people don’t tear down old buildings but use them, and don’t keep spreading built area.