We like to think of the Arts in terms of mad, wandering spirits, mysterious women- forces utterly free of all worldly responsibility.
In reality, most art organizations are tied fast to clear directives- the marketplace, a school of thought, a patron, a Pope.
The regional arts are no different.
At their core is a binding commitment to a city, region or place. This commitment, linked directly to sectional funding, shapes the direction and content of much regional art work.
Idealistically, the artist is the player- the city is the stage. Should the time, the players and the wind be just right, a partnership of regional artists and benefactors might rise to create something genuinely special in the world- an amazing place.
We have all had the experience of visiting culturally exciting places. Even in our own hometowns, we have experienced flashes of such a places- happening cafes, surprising theater productions, bright new musical acts- artworks that ring with a sense of place.
It is clear that these artistic experiences are not simply a result of big bucks. That is, authentic cultural destinations cannot be brought in from California, corporately managed into existence or ordered to rise up like Dubai-ville.
So what strange magic, we might ask, transcends the power of money, management and political influence to produce culturally alive towns'
My interest in writing this short paper is to comment briefly on three specific areas of the regional arts that directly address this question. These comments are but introductions to a larger conversation as we move toward an understanding of how the regional arts work and how an arts community lives together.
Community Integration
It might be said that creatively active places are a deal between the living and the dead.
On one hand, such places are grounded in history, traditions and regional identity.
On the other, the knotty past combines with the extravagant clamoring of the new- independent personalities, fringe groups, fledgling organizations and fresh cultural trends.
Together, the past and present convene to give this town by a river, that city on a hill, its richness, its diversity and best of all- its singularity of place.
In this fertile setting a cultural infrastructure is formed.
Separate from entertainment venues, the cultural infrastructure is a civic, mission-driven phenomenon.
Arts organizations within this system survive and thrive by sharing resources and crossing over from one partnership to another. In such places, the integrative powers of the Arts are prized.
Regional Arts organizations and artists move easily from Education to Business to the Social Services, forming bonds and community relationships. Theater interweaves with restaurants, bars and cafes. The visual and musical arts partner with schools, churches and festivals. Dance, poetry and classical music support the intellectual life of regional communities.
In creative places there is but one possibility of success; one possibility of prosperity. That is the success of the community as a whole.
The regional arts exist in a realm of many cooks- all independent in thought and volition- and all somehow in the same kitchen.
The Role of Regional Artist
And of these cooks, the "the artist of place" has a particularly important role.
Such an artist has to be more than creatively gifted to survive. She must have skills that range from nun to car salesman; from technician to historian.
His is a complex pallet that might include specialized skills in education, historical interpretation and the use of the Arts to meet social concerns.
Independent artists must form their own networks of collaborators; videographers, designers, tech and media professionals to support their work.
Artists who are part of non-profit organizations must learn to work in meeting situations, artistic partnerships and on community projects. To some extent, everyone in the regional arts must learn to hustle.
And more.
The artist of place must, to some extent, take a pass on the bright lights of the city.
He or she must accept a humbler role in a smaller arena.
He must view his own accomplishment, in part, as an expression of a larger whole, a broader canvass.
This is the canvass of place; the creation of a high quality cultural infrastructure. The work of the regional artist is part of a collective achievement, accepting a place in time over a place in Art History.
Respect for New Work
The commercial marketplace cannot sustain the demands of creatively rich places. Greek folk dancing, experimental theater, unknown music groups and works on regional subjects do not pay.
And, in the entertainment world, there is no money to support programs that draw twenty-five to fifty people to a venue, no matter how good a production might be.
And, yet these are the kind of productions that define creative places. These are the very artistic offerings that make a place rich and wonderful.
Ultimately, the soul of the creative place is in the ferment of new works, the employment of young artists and artistic risk-taking.
Nothing so defines the nature of a culturally alive place as the production of original works, fresh adaptations, commissions, new music, modern dance- the creation of contemporary art. There really is a simple formula behind the development of creative places: preserve the best of the Old Town- respect and support the work of the New Town.
The yield is beyond the strictures of the marketplace. And, yet, it is pure profit.
Final Notes
In this short essay I suggest that the Regional Arts are a separate and definable whole. They
come with their own brand of artist, artistic goals, aesthetics, strategies and desired outcomes.
Further, I suggest that the crowning expression of the Regional Arts is their fundamental contribution to a quality cultural infrastructure.
And though the Regional Arts are easy enough to describe, they consistently lack the benefit of proper evaluation- an evaluative tool that fairly and quantitatively assesses what the regional arts actually do.
That is a means for measuring and documenting the true economic work of the Regional Arts- community integration, non-generic attractions and contributions to the cultural infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the cultural infrastructure itself lacks a dollar and cents method for appraising its economic value to the community.
This is an evaluation of the work of regional artists and arts organizations that stands alone from the contributions of commercial venues.
In this regard, I fear we currently have only one working model for of assessing the economic contribution of the Regional Arts to the cultural infrastructure they support.
And, that is to take them for granted, lose them all together, and observe the economic impact of having them gone.