Tuesday, May 26, 2009

She landed an ilab at iland!

From ERPA artist Caroline Woolard!

"I thought I should let you know that 3 friends and I got the iLAB grant www.ilandart.org/ !! [ilab's] Jennifer Monson doesn't require "deliverables" and really just wants us to invest in process. I'm so excited! I will be starting a blog/website with podcasts, interviewing Gary Lincoff about his experiences hanging out with John Cage on the mushroom walks that included Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Allan Kaprow, Lois Long, maybe Cunningham etc..."

And the more "professional" version:
Caroline Woolard, Christopher Kennedy, Athena Kokoronis, and Kate Cahill just received an iLAB grant to work with mycologist Gary Lincoff on a project called StrataSpore. We will use mushrooms as material and metaphor for latent potential and unseen infrastructure.

StrataSpore is a platform for collective knowledge about local NYC ecosystems and its potential for applications in urban sustainability. The platform will cultivate “spores” of knowledge by combining elements of task/performance-based art, experiential learning, and experimental design practice that implements a dialogue about unseen, natural and man-made systems as sites for restorative sustainability applications. Our focus will be directed on the mushroom, and its potential for changing the ecology within a landscape. We invite communities and individuals to partake in a multidisciplinary practice of visualization and re-interpretation of natural systems (mycology) as models for community engagement. Based on the connective function and form of mushroom ecology, StrataSpore will harness local fungi as a model for engagement and re-interpretation of living in urban spaces."


AN INVESTMENT IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS!!! yes, amen, brava, salut. Go iland.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

are you optimistic?

We feel upbeat despite the recession! Onward and Upward!

The Times' profile of the uptick in creativity (despite loss of gigs, unemployment, etc) resonates well with what we heard at the Smack Down last week: (listen to the audio version blogged on 5/13!)

MAKE GREAT WORK
DO LESS WITH LESS
SLOW DOWN
BE STRATEGIC
MAKE GREAT WORK AGAIN
BE BOLD, TAKE A RISK, MAKE A FULL-EVENING WORK

The underlying lesson I keep coming back to:
Know thyself, and to thine own self be true.

Huh?
What does success mean TO YOU? not to your folks, not to the "community", not to your partner. But to you. And how are YOU going to manifest it?

Do you want to make $100k annually from your art? Ok, then you may have to do very specific things to get that (big day job with big salary? sugar daddy/mam? accessible/sexy/user-friendly art?)

Do you want Times reviews, Bessies/Obies, grants, notoriety, international touring, record contracts, Grammys etc etc? How are you going to make that happen?

Can you live on $12,000 a year happily
and without credit card debt?

Do you want to barter for space, props, talent, supplies etc?

Do you just want to make your work, have a few people come see it, make more work, make better work?

What do you want to do and HOW are you going to do it? Answer that question for yourself, and ask it often. And then get empowered financially around your unique and individual response to YOUR LIFE AND YOUR WORK (I am shouting in all caps).

How do you get empowered financially you ask? I will add a list of services, books, consultants, sites tomorrow.

Back to The Times' article:
The most optimistic artist profiled in Robin Pogrebin's piece: Liz Fallon of Portland, ME seems to have an intact day job (customer service for a direct-marketing firm). Not to be a pessimist, but what happens to her sunny optimism if/when she gets laid off?

The photographer profiled was the only? full-time working artist mentioned. And he IS hurting (fewer gigs, layoffs etc).

The hyper-talented and uber-smart Karl Allen (formerly TD at PS122) is doing a lot of life questioning about how to survive and how to do what he loves most. Tell me Karl!!

We all know it - artists are nimble, ambitious, resilient and deeply attuned to life's exigencies. I am thoroughly optimistic and wholly inspired by all the big thinking, big listening, and hard questioning. THANK YOU for smacking it down...

Friday, May 15, 2009

Smack down and down and.....

I love a good fight. Not really but...

Claudia La ROCK-oh over at WNYC's Art Cult blog, blogged about our New Economy Smack Down and she didn't mince words. I will add my two cents to her smack down shortly. As soon as I gather my thoughts, write a few grants, answer some calls from artists with 411 questions, and deal with cash flow.

And to those of you who missed the Smack Down, Morgan von Prelle Pecelli's soap box from the event is here on her sassy blog.

We will post the other panelists' soap box manifestos and audio from the event soon too.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

New Economy Smack Down

Stream Full Audio Coverage:








Download Audio File

The New Economy Smack Down
Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 7pm-9:30pm
Galapagos Art Space

Hosted by Robert Elmes, Galapagos Art Space, and Jennifer Wright Cook, The Field

Don’t be brought down by the economy, instead usher it in with an evening of lively debate, truth-telling, and prophesizing. Join us to wrestle with the urgent issues and uncertainty that confront the performing arts community. A two-part panel of arts and business leaders will help set the stage for this impromptu evening of possibility.

Fire Side Chat
• Heather Hitchens, New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)

PANEL 1: Cultural Stakeholders and Gatekeepers
• Moira Brennan, Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund
• Aaron Landsman, Thinaar / Elevator Repair Service (ERS)
• Morgan von Prelle Pecelli, The Lost Notebook
• Brian Rogers, The Chocolate Factory Theater

PANEL 2: Cultural Entrepreneurs
• Rachel Chavkin, Theatre of the Emerging American Moment (TEAM)
• Miguel Gutierrez, Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People
• Jeff Hnilicka, Funding Emerging Arts with Sustainable Tactics (FEAST)
• RoseAnne Spradlin, RoseAnne Spradlin Dance
• Jon Stancato, Stolen Chair

Special Performance by Aerialist Lisa Natoli

This event is co-presented by The Field and Galapagos Art Space as part of The Field’s Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA) program, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation’s 2008 New York City Cultural Innovation Fund. Learn more about ERPA!

LOCATION: Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main StreetCorner of Water Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn, F to York, C/E to High Street, 2/3 to Clark Street

AUDIO GUIDEPOSTS: Heather Hitchens @ 7:05, Aaron Landsman @ 31:35, Morgan van Prelle Pecelli @ 41:10, Brian Rogers @ 51:00, Moira Brennan @ 57:10, RoseAnne Spradlin @ 1:17:55, Jeff Hnilicka @ 1:30:00, Jon Stancato @ 1:44:00, Rachel Chavkin @ 1:58:10, Miguel Gutierrez @ 2:05:00 (TRT 2hrs 37min!)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Smackdown is upon us!!!

Preparing for the New Economy Smack Down... tick, tick, tick... it's happening at Galapagos this Wednesday evening, 7pm!!! LEARN MORE & RSVP

Several of our panelists were involved in an awesome conversation on Clauda La Rocco's WNYC blog...it's quite a bit of content, but certainly a worthwhile read to get your wheels turning for the Smackdown: CHECK IT OUT HERE

Planning to attend Wednesday's event? TAKE THIS SURVEY!!! It's quick and easy, and will help us know more about where you are coming from, to get the most out of the Smackdown.

While talking about the economy can seem like a seriously heavy topic, I'm looking forward to seeing people and picking their brains...I mean, everyone is so worried about the economy right now. But how can we learn from each other to weather this storm? How can we turn fear and anxiety into constructive tension and creative resolution??

Plus this could even end up being FUN, we are going to be at GALAPAGOS after all!!! There is a 1,600 square feet lake inside with red leather island seating. And there is going to be a performance by aerialist dance artist Lisa Natoli.

Looking forward to another good healthy dose of Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists!!!

(Photo of Lisa Natoli by Galapagos)