1. declining audience participation numbers
2. lack of public recognition of the intrinsic value of the arts
3. lack of pay and respect for artists

I believe we’ve done some things in service of issue #3 that are contributing to the other two. Specifically, I think that in our effort to command greater respect for the profession of being an artist, we’ve excluded people from identifying as artists and prevented them from seeing the art in their everyday lives. We want artists to get paid, obviously, this is something I feel strongly about. But in order to do that, we’ve created all these ways of defining who is a “professional artist” and that’s usually linked to those who make their living as an artist. But what about the hobbyist? The avocational artist? Aren’t they real artists? Those who used to practice but don’t anymore? At what point do you lose the privilege of calling yourself an artist?

I’m not sure excluding people and having fewer people who identify themselves as artists is a good route towards public support of the arts.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately in relation to people who work for arts organizations. When I go to conferences and convenings of other service organizations, there is invariably discussion of how we find out what “the artists think” about this or that topic. While I admire my peers dedication to making sure their programs align with their clients needs, I’m always struck by how many of these administrators don’t include themselves in the category of artist. In fact, I think a lot of administrators are afraid to call themselves artists – fearful of being called out or challenged, fear of being a poser or a faker, I guess? I find myself having this conversation a lot:

Me: “So, what’s your background? Are you an artist?”

ArtsManager: “Oh, NO! Goodness, no, I’m not an artist, I’m just an arts supporter. An arts appreciator. Well, I do have a degree in piano performance, and I still play a little bit, in fact, I just played for a friend’s wedding last weekend.”

Me: “That sounds like you’re an artist.”

ArtsManager: “Oh, no, no, no. I’m not an artist.”

What?! Why are we doing this? My post a few months ago stirred up a lot of debate on this question of artist vs. administrator – but can’t we be both? Too many times, I see administrators who stop identifying as artists and artists who resist the idea that you can be both. There are some great exceptions to this – my friend and colleague Karen Atkinson refers to her work creating GYST – a training and software business for individual artists – as a large, ongoing art practice.

Being an artist is an important part of my identity and it’s important to my work at Springboard. I acted in three commercials last year and gathered props from thrift stores for my husband’s Fringe show – hardly a banner year if that’s all I think of as my artistic practice. But I refuse to give up this part of my identity, both because I do still practice (even if it’s occasional) and because I use my artistic brain and the creative process in my job every single day. I think that if, as a community, we led the way in saying, “Hell, yeah, I’m an artist!” then perhaps others would feel comfortable saying it, too.

“I’m a doctor and I’m an artist.”

“I’m a teacher and I’m an artist.”

“I’m a senator and I’m an artist.”

“I’m a lawyer and I’m an artist.”

And I really believe that allowing, and even pushing, more people to call themselves artists leads to better support for art and artists.

What do you think?

-laura

Labels: laura zabel, rants

# posted by laura @ 2:52 PM