The Exhausted Arts: Come Together to Recharge
A few weeks ago I came across a piece by Michael Kaiser about the “Lasting Legacy of Recession.” Many remember that Michael Kaiser, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, visited Tucson and Phoenix on his “Arts in Crisis” National Tour earlier this year.
The piece begins:
“One of the legacies of the lengthy recession we appear to be leaving behind us is that arts leaders are exhausted.” The full piece can be found here.
I’d humbly offer that exhaustion is not the Long Recession’s only legacy, nor is it perhaps the most menacing in terms of the sustainability of the arts field. Still Kaiser’s piece about the legacy of recession resonated with me, as I thought about my own workplace and the broader Arizona arts industry.**
Our agency has lost one-third of its staff in three years. But because we aim to serve and advance the arts industry, and because the recession left new and critical needs in its wake, the workload has increased significantly during the same period – there are just fewer people to which tasks can be assigned.
Sound familiar? In the statewide community listening sessions we conducted this spring, many Arizona arts leaders and workers were singing the same tune.
So. If we agree we’re exhausted, what can we do about it? Mr. Kaiser says, “I hope… these exhausted managers will use the summer to replenish themselves, to regain their excitement for their work and their passion for arts management.”
For these reasons, we hope you’ll consider registering for the 2010 Southwest Arts Conference, the only convening of the statewide arts community in Arizona. We also hope you’ll register your staff or encourage your board and volunteers to attend.
SWAC offers practical and experiential learning sessions, as well as opportunities for attendees to be inspired and to grow their networks of support. Perhaps most importantly in these challenging times, SWAC provides time to unwind and refocus. Participants often tell us how grateful they are for the time away from their busy lives, to sit by a hotel pool with old and new friends, to participate in an artmaking session, or simply to be forced away from their computers for a spell.
We also know that funds are tight. That’s why participants who register prior to Sunday, June 20, 2010 can register at a discounted rate of $99 for the 1.5 day conference. And for those who need to stay in the valley overnight, the conference hotel, the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Golf Resort, is offering significantly discounted rooms to SWAC participants for the duration of the conference weekend: $69 per night plus tax.
Information about the SWAC agenda, registration and room rates can be found here.
While we look forward to seeing you at SWAC, we hope you will seek out additional opportunities to recharge this summer. In Arizona, the recession is not over, and many challenges lie ahead – but know that we’re here to support you and we will face those challenges as a field, together.
Sincerely,
Jaime Dempsey
Deputy Director
** I have great admiration for Michael Kaiser and hold him in the highest esteem. But related to the “Lasting Legacy of Recession” piece, I must say that I, along with (I suspect) many of my fellow Gen Xers/Millenials, take issue with Kaiser’s assertion that there “is not a wealth of experienced arts managers waiting to take these leadership positions.” I think “experienced” is the operative word here, and I don’t suspect Kaiser would interchange it with “talented” or “worthy of investment” or even “desperate to be offered a chance to prove their mettle.” But that is a blog post for another day, and in fact, during SWAC 2010, keynote speaker Barry Hessenius will explore generational issues in the arts in a session titled, “Generations Collide! Successfully Managing the Intergenerational Workplace.” Perhaps I’ll see you there?
