CONVERGENCE 2009

By BARCODE 2x

Tuesday December 1, 2009 was the Arts Alliance's first annual 'Convergence', a half-day seminar for local artists and arts organizations. This event unveiled the new a3arts.org website, a web portal for local artists and arts events. Discussions also covered the conversion of commercial space into galleries and performance space, as well as an overview of the value of the 'creative economy.'

The breakout session on creative use of space and resources was eye-opening. We took a look at how old and abandoned buildings have been repurposed for arts centers and live/work space for artists. The idea of a Utopian community where artists lived and worked inexpensively may seem attractive to some people, but these projects have met with mixed results.

One such project was Jackson's Armory Arts Village. With multiple studios, rehearsal halls, and performance spaces, the Armory also promised more than 60 units for artists to live. When the project began to expand its uses into homes for the elderly, and for-profit enterprises, it all fell apart, leaving a giant empty building on 19 acres of land. A similar project has been in development here in Ann Arbor. At 415 West Washington is a city-owned building with multiple proposals on the table to convert it into artists lofts and art space.

I begin to wonder if the problem is when you combine living space with working space. In particular for artists. The Armory became spoiled when it spun away from its initial mission. The 'Creative Class' was its target market. This class (I am not sure they actually exist) was meant to occupy the space, and when outsiders, non-creative types wanted in, it lost a lot of its appeal.

Part of me wonders if artists are meant to live in colonies at all. Spending time on an artists' commune or on a retreat is one thing. For a weekend. Living and working among artists in one building could be wonderful, but this begs the question: shouldn't artists live in the world, so they can better represent it in their art?

Multi-use art centers make sense. But adding the living component shakes it up a bit. Remove the lofts and condos, and keep the operation focused on providing quality private work space. Simple, and it accomplishes the main objective of getting arts into a community.

My next session was an introduction to a3arts.org. This is a new web portal designed to connect arts producers with consumers. Artists and arts organizations provide all the content, from event listings to message postings to blogs, or "Thoughts", as they call them here. A promotional tool for the local arts community.

To begin with, there was discussion of the name, which stands for Ann Arbor Area Arts. The name 'Washtenaw' was too clunky for a URL. Now the seven population areas in our county fall under 'Ann Arbor Area.' Which is fine for us in the Ann Arbor area. This branding creates a bit of psychological consolodation and confusion for internet users. Like when we are referred to as 'The Detroit Area.' Bringing Milan, Dexter, Chelsea, Manchester, Ypsilanti and Saline in with Ann Arbor may cause a bit of confusion among users. Being under Ann Arbor's Dome, this positions our city as the cultural center. Brighton and Howell, etc, outlying communities, will still have access to the site, though they have not been targeted by the project developers. 

Artists, organizations, and venues all create unique profiles, like on Myspace or Facebook. The Beta test is kicking off in the next few months, to work out the bugs. Our session group of 15-20 people really raked the designers over the coals. Our concern was whether the site is fully featured enough.

In the Web 2.0 era, many such sites benefit from a social networking feature. Allowing artists to communicate and create communities in a focused local portal seemed to me to be the most useful thing a3arts.org could do. However, with existing social networks out there, the designers decided it would not be necessary.

I came away glad that I would be part of the Beta test. I am hopeful that the portal will expand in its uses. We also suggested photo and video galleries on the profile pages, as well as a messaging feature for groups and individuals to communicate. The site is halfway there, in my opinion. Technology has changed the way we communicate and work. Artists included. The web has allowed us to not only promote art online, but to produce it as well. An artist's profile page, in my opinion, ought to show a lot of art. A theatre's page should include video clips and photo galleries. The arts portal should contain lots of art. It should be art itself.

A2ethics.org was founded on the idea Cass Sunstein puts forward in his Republic.com 2.0. In the book, the author warns against the dangers of too much specialization, too many niche communities online. When likeminded individuals band together in online communities, it becomes almost as dangerous as Live/Work communities. As we said, artists should live in the world. By cordoning them off, giving them private space and private communications over a private portal, are we cutting them off from the rest of society? A community demands diversity to be truly sustainable. Putting artists in colonies, or trying to consolidate their online activities, while seemingly convenient, is potentially dangerous.

The key note speaker Stuart Rosenfeld of Regional Technology Strategies Inc. talked of various 'creative economies' around the globe. These are towns of various sizes who have benefitted from a healthy arts sector. His points were as follows:

1. "Creative Enterprises" are any venture in which the product appeals to the emotions or aesthetics of the consumer. Is this art?, I wondered. Is art now of value when it is a creative enterprise?
2. The Creative Economy is misrepresented. Working artists and self-employed artists make up a large portion of the overall economy. The arts, for instance, are Arkansas' third-largest economic "cluster". And yet, many times the data on creatives in the workforce are ignored or left out of community economic diagnostics.
3. Creativity is a competitive advantage in traditional sectors. We live in an age where a product's success often relies on the consumer's experience. The iPod is a great example of an arts device. The iPod owner gets to consume art in a very intuitive way. The experience that Apple has created allows a wonderful interaction with the consumer. The creatives who package the product are examples of how great design can merge with function and commerce. The iPod is art, in and of itself. The brilliant, timeless design is the work of great design artists.
4. Creativity attracts people. Artsy neighborhoods, or towns with cultural activities, will attract new residents.
5. Creativity is embedded in other aspects of our culture. Food-as-art and religious or spiritual art are examples of where we find art in alternative venues. Many popular cities have not only a strong arts community, but a spiritual community as well. There are connections between arts and alternative medicine too. Quite often, where there is art, there is spiritual healing and alternative health culture nearby.
6. Innovation. Silicon Valley, he pointed out, has a great number of artists working and living in the area. Many professionals in the computer fields are also artists. A vast number, something like 90%. Creative types are needed in the workforce, particularly as the computerized world expands.
7. Recognize talent and provide opportunities for talent development. Educational institutions provide a ton of cultural outlets and training opportunities for emerging creatives.
8. The flavor of the area. The roots and native culture of a city can drive the arts. The music of an area, the indigenous art create a unique cultural atmosphere.
9. Artists make up 5% of the workforce, worldwide.

Rosenfeld finished by mentioning the barriers to a successful creative economy. For the most part, the barriers lie in public perceptions of art. As long as art is seen as an entity unto itself, the public can dismiss it as a non-essential item in an overall budget. Until the public understands the value and the economic benefit of art, the arts will still only exist for their own sake.

I believe that there are too many arts lumped into a cluster. And for all of the benefits laid out above, there will be lots of artists who are still edged out with nowhere to hang their painting or perform their act. There are a spectrum of creative enterprises that make up a creative economy.

But there are arts that will not find their way in. Just like on a3arts.org. A Dramatherapist in my group mentioned that she did not see a place for her services anywhere in the site. The designers assured her that she would have a place in "Other." Would Dramatherapy find its way into the artists's colony? Would graphic design find its way in? Would a rock band get noise complaints from the neighbor working on his novel?

I refuse to call myself a part of a Creative Class, even if I am a prime example of it. I am college educated and work in the arts. But I have problems with the class system altogether. Separating artists from society does not lead to great or important art. When artists are seen as a vital part of the overall community, and when the arts are valued as part of the economic sector, we will see some progress and some balance. By designing real and virtual communities for artists, we may be creating new barriers for the creative economy. Our efforts to promote and aid the arts through websites and living communities may be counterproductive.