This workshop hosted by Roxbury Arts Group was a regional discussion about surviving during tough economic times. Attendees were from the western Catskills, including Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie and western Ulster and Sullivan Counties. They represented local arts councils and multiart centers, performing arts spaces (one brand new, others, well-established), artist cooperatives, and writers’ groups.
I. INTRODUCTIONS: Facilitator Kent Brown asked participants to introduce themselves and include one strength and one challenge of their organizations. Both the stated strengths and the challenges acknowledge the depressed economy, as well as the realities and benefits of serving rural regions and audiences.
Comments generally broke down into categories, as listed below. Under each category, the various statements are indicated starting with a - (dash)
Strengths:
• Boards & Volunteers: - recent board development with consultant resulted in clarified board roles - young & enthusiastic board - committed board & volunteers - business-minded board
• Staff: -mature, sophisticated & dedicated - we take what we do seriously, but not ourselves (humor); still love coming to work
• Community: -community has passion for the arts and supports programs - audiences trust and want us to challenge them - small communities are strong in support of the arts, with loyal funding - 2nd home community supportive
• Organizational History: -as a new organization, we have lots of interest and expectations - been in business/space for 34 years, have solid reputation & loyal supporters
• Space: -great building (new artists’ cooperative) on Main Street, becoming a center of art & community gathering & events; cooperation with local businesses benefits the downtown - cheap real estate allows us to create visibility for artists in rural areas - not having a space leads to good collaborations with other community venues -working with other groups/businesses leads to cross promotion.
• Technology - expands our audiences & supporters
Challenges:
• Board & Volunteers & Staff: - full time jobs at half pay - job reductions, yet large service region - difficulty finding funding for general operating support - staff & board limiting vision - we’ve done too much with too little, and are now expected to keep the same pace (resistance to change) - new board members have enthusiasm, but don’t yet connect costs of our programs and services to financial reality - volunteer organizations also having trouble keeping up with demands - motivating volunteers - competition for volunteer time
• Community: - we need to communicate our value as well as our need - reach out to broaden audiences, members & supporters - communities unfamiliar with artist galleries; need to bring them in, get them involved - build new/younger audiences & volunteers - convincing community we’ll still be here to serve them in 2 years - uniting and assuring a community that has lost all their arts venues over past decades
• Organizational History - new venture (artist cooperative) has high level of community interest and activity, but no developed board, paid staff - new performing arts center has challenge of programming for a 600 - seat facility -
• Space: - one performing arts center has been in same remote location for many years; facility has little flexibility, requires time & travel committment from audiences - growing competition from other similar spaces
• Technology: maintaining & expanding use of technology; limited broadband access
2. REDUCING OPERATING COSTS
• left large facility, now in small office and using public venues for programs and exploring collaborative programs; result - reduced overhead and salaries
• revisited last year’s budget with eye toward future cuts
• staff volunteered to cut hours
• renegotiated rent & propane bills
• rescheduled open hours to align with downtown’s usual business hours; results - less hours but more people served
• started a corporate sponsorship program with local bank on cultural calendar
• planning to concentrate our energy & funds on strategic planning for the future
• link with downtown businesses for cross promotion and collaborative events that benefit all
• work with, renegotiate with landlord
• ask for deals from vendors
• get involved with regional organization that offers group utilities (oil, electricity) bulk buying plan.
• collaborate with other organizations and businesses on programming
• shop around for health insurance
• group buying for office supplies
• cut back on reception costs
• barter for services (need care in matching values for IRS purposes)
• cut back on exhibition announcements costs by moving people over to email list and website (postal cost savings); use sharpdots.com for reduced and speedy announcement production.
• independent contractors vs. employees (needs research)
3. FUNDING STRATEGIES FOR RURAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
• Catskill Art Society offers a month-long silent auction of donated art work, which is exhibited in their space for a month. Artists receive 25% of selling price. At concluding event, auctioned services (for example, loft use in New York City) are picked from a “Treasure Tree” on a first-come basis. CAS plan to explore cmarket to run their silent auction online for duration as well. A Cmarket silent auction could be explored as well by collaborating groups of a region.
• Space rental for receptions/parties
• Art in Common - arts programming from 4-7 every Saturday night during the winter; gets free food and spirits in exchange for promotion; promotion is weekly press releases.
• Membership discounts with local businesses
• go after NEA, NYSCA and Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation stimulus funds; some arts councils have applied to redistribute stimulus funds.
3. NEXT STEPS:
• build regional cross promotion efforts to promote economic value of the arts; link websites.
• continue arts advocacy efforts on state and local level; communicate rural arts needs to NYSCA.
• want hearing at NEA on need/value/ importance of funding rural arts organizations and programs. NYS ARTS can take this message to the NEA, and see if other regions of the state want to add their imput. In this region, Mark Eamer, Kathleen Frascatore, and Susan Kenny volunteered to be a task force to outline their position; Martha will check with other regions and through the Rurals Gathering at the September Arts Summit, and help develop an upstate position paper for the NEA.
Martha
Recent Comments