This morning I attended the much anticipated and blogged about forum hosted by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC) and the UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research at the Italian Community Center. It started at 7:45AM and I gotta tell ya, kids, gettin' my butt into gear at the crack--haha, cheap laugh alert!--of dawn to talk about the difficult and daunting issues facing the arts and cultural community was no easy task, but, thanks to a highly disturbing dream I had last night, I was completely paranoid that if I didn't show up some devious rascal was gonna run around with a paper Cricky mask affixed to his/her face, annoying everyone with one-liners and asides. That's my job, dammit! Upon arriving, I quickly realized that it wasn't that kind of party and that I'd been made a rube by the most clever of tricksters: my own brain.
Anyhoo, after settling down at my assigned table with a cup o' joe, a nice bagel and a little fruit, I was finally cognitive enough to introduce myself to my table mates, representing a good range of arts and cultural organizations: Bel Canto Chorus, First Stage Theater, Wild Space Dance Company, Early Music Now, and the Washington County Historical Society. Then I took a gander around the room and was pleased to see some other independents besides myself, such as David Ravel of Alverno Presents, Pegi Taylor of IN:SITE, artist/educator Dorota Biczel Nelson, and Artsy Schmartsy (a.k.a. Jonathan West).
So what did I think of the whole forum thang? If ya really wanna know, it wasn't bad. Like most events of this kind, the tendency is to make the discussion broad and wide, with very little in the way of detail. However, there were some good, fairly specific ideas offered up in terms of collaborative efforts and actions that could be taken by the community. I'm not gonna lie to ya, there was a lot of the usual talk of intangibles and how the benefits of the arts to the larger society are difficult to quantify, but it did seem as if almost everyone there was on the same we-need-to-change-how-we-think-and-how-we-work track, so that's a true positive.
At the risk of sounding more cynical than I'd really like to, the result of this forum may simply end up being a psychological boost to all of us in the beleaguered arts and cultural community. To be fair though, sometimes that's just what ya need to get things going.
It'll be most interesting to see how the listening session at 6PM tomorrow night at Walker's Point Center for the Arts (WPCA), 911 W. National Avenue, will differ from this morning's forum. For one thing, it's open to everyone. For another, it's being held during the cocktail hour, so even when there's no booze in sight the mere thought that you can leave to have a drink afterwards is enough to make the chatter lively. Also, I anticipate that the crowd will be comprised of more independent artists and small organizations, which means it may have some welcome elements of chaos, making it quite the special event.
If we can manage to clear our schedule, look for Kevin and I at WPCA tomorrow night--Tuesday, January 27--we'll be the ones without the masks.
Related:
Reminder: Have Your Artsy Say Monday & Tuesday
Cultural Alliance Goes A'Courtin'
Artists Asked Not to Be So Lazy and Give Opinions
Winsome Waxes Profound on the Cultural Alliance
News Flash: The Arts Are in Deep Doo-Doo!
Delayed Analysis Leaves Door Open to the Infamous and Incorrigible
UPDATE: Join Artsy Schmartsy in a Public Grilling of Cultural Alliance
The Art Blogger vs The Art Org
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