If you haven’t checked out my last post about the National Performing Arts Convention, you can view it here.

Quick intro:  Throughout the week, convention attendees convened in small groups (”caucuses”) to discuss topics/issues effecting the field at large.  At the conclusion of the convention, everyone who remained met in a large group to decide how to approach these issues going forward.  Although making the final decisions via group-thought was difficult and annoying as a result of technological glitches and, in my opinion, of an underinformed group, the convening still produced some interesting feedback from the performing arts field.

Here is Issue #3….

Issue #3: The increasing diversity of our communities creates an opportunity to engage a variety of ages, races, identities, and cultures in our audiences and organizations.  Which three strategies are most important to take in order to advance our vision?

Because diversity can be a touchy subject, before I go on, I should say that these are NOT Fractured Atlas’ thoughts and opinions, but rather my own.

First off, let me be sure to clarify what I think of when I hear the word diversity.  I think of different races — white, black, Hispanic/Latino, etc.  I think of different cultures — American, French, Nigerian, Brazilian, etc.  I think of different ages — toddlers, tweens, teens, young adult, middle-aged, over-the-hill, and elderly.  I think of different sexual orientations — straight, gay, transexual, etc.  I think of different classes — lower, middle, upper-middle, upper.  There are more categories I won’t even begin to list.  Diversity means involving ALL of the different groups, including those in the minority AND majority.

Let’s be frank, though.  “Diversity” is a word that gets tossed around way too much as a hot term — something we all have to include in our organizations, in our lives, and in our grant applications.  And I think a lot of us are missing the point.  Diversity cannot be forced into where it doesn’t make sense.  For instance, let’s say there was a theatre company that set out to do August Wilson’s ten-play cycle.  One would expect their casts to be made up of African American actors.  Should they be forced to diversify their casts by including Asian Americans and Latinos?  No.  Should straight men be allowed to join the New York Gay Men’s Chorus?  Probably not (wasn’t there a Will & Grace episode about that??).  These things just don’t make sense.

Whenever possible, diversity should happen naturally.  And, we should also be looking at how we’re already diverse within our own groups.  Here at Fractured Atlas, for instance, we’re all pretty young (I won’t divulge how young).  That’s not very diverse, correct?  But, our artistic backgrounds are extremely diverse.  We have theatre artists, a dancer, visual artists, and an art historian.  Out of eight people, I think that’s pretty diverse.  As a culture, we need to start embracing the diversity we already have in our groups and organizations before we try to force diversity for diversity’s sake.  If you’re open to working with new people — whoever they may be — then, in my mind, you’re open to being diverse.  At that point, diversity should happen organically.

So, that clarifies my stance.

Here is what the audience voted for among the suggestions:

On a NATIONAL level… “Charge national service organizations to create dialogue at convenings, create training programs, promote diverse art and artists, and partner with grassroots organizations who are already connected to diverse communities.”

My thought on this… Come on, folks!  This is already happening and has not done much except result in arguments (in my honest opinion).  Let’s try something new and innovative for a change.  The strategy I was hoping to see pushed forward was: “Create a media campaign with artists from diverse communities including celebrities to provide exposure to diverse art.”  I know I dissed the media campaigns in some of my prior posts, but here is where I think it would be most effective.  I think this would appeal to diverse youth who look to celebrities as their heroes.  Cultivate these thoughts within the minds of our youth and you start paving a road for the future.

On the LOCAL level, the audience voted for: “Open an honest dialogue across community groups and sectors to share priorities and identify barriers to participation.”

Here we go again with the touchy-feely stuff.  I’ve witnessed open dialogues.  Some go well, but as soon as you say “diversity,” everyone has their own opinion and is not willing to budge.  Instead, why don’t we try to “Partner within the arts, as well as with community organizations, to build relationships.”  And I’m not talking about phony, “let’s apply for a consortium grant” relationships.  I’m talking about honest-to-goodness partnerships, where it makes complete sense to partner with the community organizations.  Not to toot our own horn, but Fractured Atlas has been doing a lot of advocacy work in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn area recently and, in order to connect with the artists in that community, we needed to connect with their community organizations (many of which are culturally-specific institutions).  Why did we do this?  Because it makes sense in the context of the project.  In the process, we are diversifying our programming and our reach.

On an INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATIONAL level, the audience favored: “Discover arts in your community offered by cultures other than your own and establish peer relationships.”

Hooray!  One I finally agree with.  Granted, again, I don’t believe diversity only means cultural diversity (as is noted by the suggestion above).  But, I think this gets the point across.  If you want to be diverse and want it to happen in a natural way, you have to actually be interested in the other cultures/orientations/groups.  If you’re unfamiliar with those groups, then you need to get out there and introduce yourself.  If you’re uncomfortable doing this, find someone who can serve as a connector between yourself and this group.  It’s like working across artistic disciplines.  If you are a filmmaker who wants to start working with dancers, you have to go see dancers perform!  If your interest has been peaked, follow your gut and learn more.  Discover and actively participate.  It’s really not that difficult.  If you just open your circle up to more people, you will automatically be diversifying that circle.

As I said before, many people have their own opinions about diversity.  And you’re welcome to disagree with mine.  Please feel free to post comments!

I hope you have enjoyed my series on NPAC.  I’ll be sure to get back to the member profiles next week!

If you haven’t checked out my first post about the National Performing Arts Convention, you can view it here.

Quick intro:  Throughout the week, convention attendees convened in small groups (”caucuses”) to discuss topics/issues effecting the field at large.  At the conclusion of the convention, everyone who remained met in a large group to decide how to approach these issues going forward.  Although making the final decisions via group-thought was difficult and annoying as a result of technological glitches and, in my opinion, of an underinformed group, the convening still produced some interesting feedback from the performing arts field.

Here is Issue #2….

Issue #2: The potential of arts education and lifelong learning in the arts is under realized.  What strategies are most important in order to advance our vision?

Here is what the audience voted for:

On a NATIONAL level… “Devise an advocacy campaign to promote the inclusion of performing arts in core curricula.”

My thought on this… Hasn’t this been done already?  Did it work?  The strategy I was hoping the crowd embraced was: “Lobby for education reform, including rescinding No Child Left Behind.”  Look, we’re not going to get anywhere on the arts education front if we can’t first reform the American educational system in general.  I was lucky enough to go to a great public school with a great arts program.  But even 10 years later, I know that the same school is no longer at the forefront of the arts or good education.  They probably have more metal detectors than instruments!  We need to drastically overhaul this system.  And, with that, although many of us think it’s logical that improvements to arts education will be included in that overhaul, we need to actively lobby for it, using every tool we have at our disposal.  We need to talk about correlative data that shows arts education improving learning in other areas, we need to talk about businesses hiring creative people with MFAs rather than MBAs, and we need to talk about how we actively sustain a positive creative culture within our communities — starting with our youngest citizens.

On the LOCAL level, the audience voted for: “Mobilize and collaborate with K-12 and higher education institutions to strengthen arts education and arts participation as core curriculum.”

Although I agree with this, I also liked the notion of:  “Integrate arts teaching in educators’ professional development and integrate teaching programs in artist organizations.”  I think we need to work hand-in-hand with the teachers on a local level.  They are the ones that can withhold the arts from America’s children if they really want to.  If they fully embrace arts education — and we can help them do so! — then they will pass their experience onto their students.

On an INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATIONAL level, the audience favored: “Lead lifelong education programs that actively involve people in multi-generational groups.  ‘Make the arts part of a lifelong wellness plan.’”

I’m highly skeptical about this one… It’s too touchy-feely for me.  I’m sure it could work, but I’m also sure a lot of people will be turned off by it (ie, people that don’t like to be coddled).  Instead, I preferred:  “Run candidates for school boards and local government.”  Again, as in my previous blog post, I think that if artists ran the world (or, at least the community), then we would have a stronger impact when it comes to decisions such as funding arts education programs in schools.

So, what are your thoughts on these ideas?

Check back in coming days for a report on Issue #3 (re: diversity).

Recently, I attended the National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC) in Denver.  This was a convening of 4000+ artists and arts administrators, many of whom are involved with groups such as the National Performance Network and Dance/USA (Open Arts Network partners), Theatre Communications Group, Opera America, and the League of American Orchestras, among others.  The convention happens every four years and was a great chance to talk with peers and colleagues across a variety of disciplines.  And, we were glad to meet a few Fractured Atlas members face to face!

Throughout the week, convention attendees convened in small groups (”caucuses”) to discuss topics/issues effecting the field at large.  At the conclusion of the convention, everyone who remained met in a large group to decide how to approach these issues going forward.  This was done with the help of America Speaks, an organization that helps facilitate these types of large discussions.  Although making the final decisions via group-thought was difficult and annoying as a result of technological glitches and, in my opinion, of an underinformed group, the convening still produced some interesting feedback from the performing arts field.

What’s going to be done with this feedback?  I really don’t know.  On the national level, I’ve heard that some of the national arts organizations involved are going to take the ideas back in order to incorporate it into their future strategic planning.  But, on the local and organizational/individual levels, I don’t really see this feedback making an impact.  I expect that attendees probably returned home, saw their uber-clogged inbox, and forgot all about the decisions that were made.  We’ll see, though.

So, I thought I’d let you know what everyone decided in regards to the topics we discussed.  I’ll report on Issue #1 in this post and will report on Issues #2 & #3 in future blog posts.

Issue #1: Our communities do not sufficiently perceive the value, benefits, and relevance of the arts, which makes advocacy and building public support for the arts a challenge at every level.  Which strategies are most important to take in order to advance our vision?

Here is what the audience voted for:

On a NATIONAL level… “Organize a national media campaign with celebrity spokespersons, catchy slogans (e.g. “Got Milk”), unified message, and compelling stories.”

My thought on this… Hasn’t this been done already?  Did it work?  The strategy I was hoping the crowd embraced was: “Explore interactive new media initiatives to increase access and relevance (e.g. create a “Google Arts”-type resource, blogs, YouTube, etc.).”  I know that the performing arts are best experienced live — and that’s why this strategy got very few votes — but, as a community, we’ve been WAY behind the times when it comes to technology.  This is what the younger generation is watching… They’re fast-forwarding through commercials as a result of DVR and Tivo!  So, why should we start with a commercial campaign if barely anyone will see it?  Even if these ads were online, I don’t know that it would attract new and diverse audiences.

On the LOCAL level, the audience vote tied with: “Create an arts coalition to get involved in local decision-making, take leadership positions, and strengthen relationships with elected officials.”  AND “Forge partnerships with other sectors to identify how the arts can serve community needs.”

Those two were my top picks in the local category as well.

On an INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATIONAL level, the audience favored: “Build relationships with non-arts groups, including governments, corporations, community development organizations, etc.”

Although I do agree with this idea, the one I was gung-ho for was:  “Participate in the local political process by lobbying city council, school board, etc.”  I think it’s very important that we get involved in areas outside of the arts… and the political process is a great place to start, as that’s where we could make some real impact and progress advancing our ideas as a community.

So, what are your thoughts on these ideas?

Check back in coming days for reports on Issue #2 (re: arts education) and Issue #3 (re: diversity).

Happy 4th of July!