Chicago Artists Resource Visits the UK
By Barbara Koenen, Director - Chicago Artists Resource
The event, called Future Forecast, was the conclusion of a yearlong research program of interviews, publications and “think tanks” organized to raise awareness of changing trends in the visual arts, with particular reference to the interface between artists’ practice and the broader cultural and economic environment. A-N and Artquest created a proactive and progressive approach to generating research and meaningful consultations and dialogues around the following topics: professionalization of artists, adaptability and social change, future sustainability, and innovation in the public sector.
There was an amazing amount of information exchanged in a fleeting 18 hour period, and much of it seems of interest to artists in Chicago and the U.S. Following is a synopsis of the highlights, with links for future investigation.
THE ROLE OF ART IN SOCIETY – Culture Vultures
Journalist and scholar Munira Mizra set the stage for Future Forecast with a discussion of her new book, Culture Vultures, a collection of essays that examines the substantial rise of funding for individual artists in the UK since the New Labor government took office, weighed against the cautionary proposition that art becomes burdened by social expectations like stimulating economic growth, reducing social exclusion and/or improving health. Examples included public art commissions in which the artist is charged with creating artwork to help “heal” the patients in a mental health facility, or to work with troubled communities to solve deeply entrenched social problems. Mizra’s thesis that instituting goals of a social service nature, with the intention of “making people feel good,” were detrimental to the outcomes of making good art, or even educating people as to what art is. She claimed that arts organizations spend valuable resources justifying their programs and making predictions that are difficult to verify, instead of supporting artists to make art without strings attached. Some in the audience felt that this was a way for the government to avoid fulfilling its responsibility to address social needs, while others cautioned against rallying in opposition to this relatively new way of viewing and supporting some types of artistic practice.
For more information: http://policyexchange.org.uk/
INNOVATIVE FUNDING STRUCTURES -- WWIK
An innovative artists’ support system enacted in the Netherlands, WWIK (the Work and Income Provisions for Artists Act) provides temporary financial and professional support for low-income artists, with the goal of enabling them to earn their own living in the long term.
WWIK replaced a previous program of the Dutch government that provided support for low-income artists in return for an annual donation of artwork to the government. Over its 40-year lifespan, it was realized that the original program didn’t offer artists any incentive to become self-sustaining professionals, while the government ended up with a lot of art that didn’t have a home. WWIK was devised with the goal of providing financial support, workshops and training for developing artists, for a limited period of time, after which the artists could be eligible for loans and other career-enhancing services.
To qualify for WWIK, artists must be low-income, yet demonstrate an active art practice that earns them at least Euro1200 ($1500) the previous year, minus working expenses. Their income must increase every year they participate in WWIK. WWIK provides up to 70% of their country’s guaranteed minimum income for up to 48 months, spread over a maximum period of 10 years. It offers training and individual counseling, and assistance finding paid part-time employment.
Artist Robin Vogel presented his work, De Vervoering (Your Opera) as an example of the possible outcomes of WWIK. Vogel’s work was a film documenting an opera company’s day-long intervention of a senior’s apartment. The company brought in flower boxes and various performers who performed vignettes and songs for the residents and the general public throughout the building.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES – Center for Public Innovations:
An important aspect of Future Forecast was the consideration of artists as innovators in grassroots organizing. Center for Public Innovations was the lead organization presenting an innovative program to support local people to take the lead on solving problems in their neighborhood. Their program, “Real Time Community Change,” brings together a neighborhood, a “funding pot” and a set of goals, and then identifies local neighborhood “spark plugs” who have the energy to make things happen and the inspiration to lead change. Their MO: imagine what’s not working, how to fix it, do a quick test, then do the project. Once the “community sparkplugs” are identified, they are given a modest budget (ie. $1000), participate in workshops for planning, presenting and funding, and the idea is implemented. Successful programs have resulted in a walk-in health center, employment options for ex-offenders, environmental renewal of a polluted pond, and the creation of a “safe” club for former drug users.
More info about CPI can be found at: http://www.publicinnovation.org.uk/
ARTISTS AS ‘SPARK PLUGS” – Rachael Matthews, Cast-Off
The CPI model generated discussion about artists as spark plugs. Artists identify their own problems/solutions/markets, work within their community in innovative ways, often with little funding, and just as often achieve interesting results. Future Forecast introduced a delightful example of an artist spark plug, Rachael Matthews, founder of Cast-Off. Cast-Off is a group of over 1200 members who knit. Sometimes they have knit on the subway, other times in a local pub, once they assembled to “knit for peace” in Trafalgar Square, and some groups knit to keep from smoking. Matthews also created a “knitted wedding” in which every component of a wedding ceremony was contributed by knitters from around the UK. You can see examples of this on http://www.castoff.info/
PUBLIC ART DOCUMENTARY – The Big Art Project
One of the most ambitious and interesting undertakings featured at the conference was The Big Art Project, a 3-year BBC Channel 4 documentary to raise awareness and participation in art by commissioning 6 public artworks throughout the United Kingdom and filming the whole process. Producer Louise Wardle described how the public was invited to propose locations for the artwork and how curators will work with selected communities to engage artists, collaborate and evaluate the outcomes. An interesting aspect of the experiment is that it will commission different types of art – permanent artworks, ephemera, event-based and cross-disciplinary collaborations.
A consistent theme throughout Future Forecast was trying to define the role of art in society. The Big Art Project continues this national discussion, using its 6 communities/sites to answer questions like: Can art mend a broken community? Is that what art is for? Can art kick-start tourism? Can art build bridges? Can art solve social problems? Should it follow a political agenda or come with no strings attached? Can art be participatory and sustainable? Can art spearhead regeneration and turn around social deprivation? Can art create a new brand for a place forgotten in time? Can art unite a community? Art asks difficult questions. Does it solve problems or create them? Does art have to be good for you or your community? What does that requirement do to the art? Can art bridge contested spaces?
Although many of the participants in Future Forecast operate in a different social and economic support structure than artists in the US, the questions that were raised are certainly in the minds of artists in Chicago. It will be interesting to follow the development of the Big Art Project, especially the part of the series when two of the community members are flown to Chicago to see Millennium Park and other examples of our public art. To follow The Big Art Project, go to http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/B/bigart/index.html
TECHNOLOGY FOR ARTISTS – Chicago Artists Resource
Representing the Chicago Artists Resource, I performed several ad hoc demonstrations of the website for artists and art organizations and government officials during Future Forecast. Because CAR is built with open-source software, it is a tool that can be replicated in other communities with relatively low cost. The websites of conference organizers A-N and Artquest perform much of the same role as CAR for artists in the UK, but it will be interesting to see if the CAR model finds other audiences in Europe and the UK, and whether our city’s innovative support for its arts community brings increased international awareness and opportunities to Chicago artists.
If you would like to learn more about Future Forecast, its conclusions and directions, please download the attached pdf.
About the organizers:
A-N The Artists information Company is a UK-wide information and advocacy non-profit publishing, networking and research company for and about visual artists. Through publications, research and interventions, A-N seeks to raise the social and economic status of artists and mediate for good working practices across employment, commissioning and consultations. Publications include a-n Magazine, and the pamphlets The Code of Practice for the Visual Arts, Good Practice in Paying Artists, and Good Exhibition Practice. More about these may be found on their website, www.a-n.co.uk.
Artquest provides advice and information service to London’s visual arts professionals. Its website, www.artquest.org.uk, covers all areas of practice including presentation and selling of work; research and development of new work practices; funding advice and sources; as well as the Q&A national legal advice project and Artroute, a comprehensive guide to the French art landscape. Artquest also organizes ongoing professional development and training opportunities such as the Trajectory program for mid-career artists; Electric Greenhouse, a digital media partnership; and Further, an artists’ film residency with no.w.here and Film London.