Tuesday, June 30, 2009
So, we had a bit of blog hiatus (blogiatus?)
We had a big event. It was super fun and a big success for us. And I'm really proud of how it reflected who we are and what our mission is. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to:
a) show who Springboard serves;
b) honor the artists we work with; and
c) have a viable fundraiser.
Here's what we came up with:
The event include
d a show of 5 performing groups and a show and sale of 6 visual artists. We scrimped and scratched to get printing, venue, food, booze and media donated*…but we paid the artists. The performers all got paid, with the exception of the headliner - who got to pick a piece of art from the sale (for which we paid the visual artist.) The visual art was juried (in order to provide the artists a group show for their resume) and we split the sale proceeds 50/50 with the exhibiting artists. So, the artists did provide a lot for this event - they made significant contributions of time and talent and energy - but they also got paid.
And, perhaps most importantly, everyone attending the event knew that half the money they spent at the sale was going to the artists. Which communicates something to them about how we value art and artists. 75% of the expenses for the event were paid to the artists. I can't think of a better way to spend money. Could we have asked v
isual artists to donate work and performers to donate their performances? Sure. But what would that have said to the attendees about our mission? That we are an organization founded on the belief that artists can make a living, just not at our event?
The perennial topic of how and if artists get paid seems to be making the rounds again - a lot of great writing out there that highlights new issues with a lot more depth than my still event-exhausted brain can do right now. But it does make me wonder if a lot of it isn't just that we should stop and think about these types of events and how they fit with our mission before we do them. Maybe a silent auction of donated work isn't the only way to have an event.
-laura
*Thank you to all those great sponsors!
