Posts Tagged ‘Charleston Arts Coalition’

Step Inside the Art World of Charleston, SC, Become a Roadie

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

I recently received this press release at Carolina Arts. If you’ve been wondering what the Charleston Arts Coalition has been up to for such a long silence – here it is. Click on their name to see their new redesigned website.

Here it is:

Is it okay to clap every time the symphony stops playing? Making an “art faux pas” may be intimidating for young adults, attending their first symphony. That’s why the South Carolina Arts Commission is teaming up with Charleston Arts Coalition to present the Charleston Road Show. This already successful program that launched some years ago in Columbia, SC, will give a behind-the-scenes look at what’s involved in creating and presenting art for the stage, screen and wall to 20 Charleston residents, aged 23-39.

Participating organizations include Redux Contemporary Art Center, PURE Theatre, Charleston Ballet Theatre, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Chamber Music Charleston and Charleston Symphony Orchestra. New Audience Road Show members will visit each of the participating arts organizations three times. During the first two visits, participants will learn about the art form, from the basics of musical composition to the mood-altering effects of stage lighting and the production of a visual art show. Participants will talk with artists, staff, and board members, try their hand at each art form and take backstage tours. The third visit will include a performance or opening, and each “Roadie”, will be encouraged to invite friends and share what they’ve learned.

“This program gives the ‘Roadies’ the confidence to take their relationship with art to the next level,” says Stacy Huggins, program coordinator for Charleston.

The participating art organizations get a chance to listen more closely and design programs and experiences that really welcome the young and eager audiences in the community.

“The most shocking thing that we learned from the Road Show was that there was a certain intimidation factor for those young audiences with no previous art experience to even come into the building,” says Leslie Pierce of the Columbia Museum of Art. “It made us rethink what we were doing, made us look at the museum with fresh eyes and approach it in a different way that we have not done before,” continues Pierce.

The Charleston Road Show is based on the SCAC’s pilot program New Audience Road Show that is now in its third season. Through participation grants, the SCAC, Charleston Arts Coalition and Charleston Road Show aim to increase knowledge of local arts organizations and young adult participation and patronage in them. Each organization was carefully selected based on their commitment to making quality experiences for the “Roadies”.

Charleston-area residents ages 23-39 are invited to apply for the Road Show, which runs from Sept. 2010 to May 2011. Applications are available online by visiting (www.CharlestonArtsCoalition.com); application deadline is Aug. 26, 2010. There is a nominal fee of $25.

For further information contact Stacy Huggins by calling 843/364-8333 or e-mailing to (charlestonroadshow@hotmail.com). More information is also available on the Road Show’s Facebook page.

Charleston Arts Coalition provides a forum and virtual gateway for creative individuals, organizations and businesses to collaborate on projects, exchange ideas, host special events and promote creativity.  The CAC is open to anyone and everyone who wants to be involved. Major projects include (www.CharlestonCulture.com), a website free and open to all people, where artists of all disciplines can create profiles, post events, discuss issues and connect with others in the community, and the Charleston Road Show.

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances.  Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission focuses on increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, SC, the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit (www.SouthCarolinaArts.com) or call 803/734-8696.

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Join the Charleston Arts Coalition – Make a change in the way things are done in Charleston, SC

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I hope most of you saw the ad in our March 2010 printed version of Carolina Arts on Page 13 asking people to – “Be part of the Greatest Show in town!” by joining the Charleston Arts Coalition – Create. Unite. Inspire. If you didn’t see it – here’s a link to that page.

If you didn’t see our printed version of Carolina Arts – here’s a link to that March 2010 issue.

Carolina Arts became a member about five months ago and we think others should too. You can do it by just clicking this link. If you want to read what I said back then when we joined – here’s a link to those comments.

Who needs to join another organization? Who needs another item in the expense column of your balance sheet? Well, no one does – especially now. But, there are some expenses that are worth making. I’ve decided that joining the Coalition is a worthy one for me, and I’m not quick to jump in the line to join many organizations. I can’t make that decision for you. I can’t determine if this is one of those worthwhile expenses for you – you’ll have to do that, but first you’ll have to address the issue.

First, take a look at their websites – Charleston Arts Coalition, Charleston Culture, and their blog. Take a close look and see if and where you can fit in.

Do you as an artist, gallery owner, artists guild, visual arts organization, art museum, art enthusiast or art patron need another outlet to promote your activities? Could you use a little support by being a member of a group whose goals are similar to yours in these trying times? Do you want to make sure you are up on all that is happening in your field of interest? Are you a wealthy person or corporation which has exhausted your imagination as to where you can make donations of large sums of money to reduce your tax burden? Well, if so – joining the Charleston Arts Coalition just might be for you.

I know which category I fit in – how about you? Do you know where you fit in? Or are you out there in this big cold world all alone? Don’t be a loner – be a joiner and then become a worker.

In retrospect, what have I gotten from my membership in these last five months? Well, truthfully – I’m not sure how to measure that. I’ve been a little busy keeping Carolina Arts above water and this winter has put a funk on my overall attitude about most things – it’s been too cold and nasty to try and separate those feelings from anything else to make such judgements. But there are some results.

We have gotten some things out of our membership. We posted our info at Charleston Culture, which I’m sure has put our paper and related enterprises in contact with folks who may have never come in contact with us. I’ve made some contacts with a few folks behind the scenes at the Coalition, which never hurts – after all I’m in the business of information and contacts = information. Our membership shows that I’m not just a complainer who does nothing but back seat driving. And, the Coalition has provided me another subject for this blog – believe me – it’s not always easy to come up with a subject – you can’t always count on the SC Arts Commission to provide me with fodder. And, at the headquarters of PSMG, located on the eastern shores of Lake Moultrie – you won’t find too many folks hanging around the watercooler talking about the latest issues of the day.

Besides, the Charleston Arts Coalition is still very young – as is our membership. They have a lot of potential, but that potential is limited by the number of people who join with them in making a difference in Charleston’s art community. A community that is not always so user friendly.

Every day there are closed door meetings going on where decisions are being made that will let some people in and leave some people out. In these people’s minds the motto is – the fewer the better. The better for them. They may say they are there for the good of the all, but their actions say something different. And, be sure of one thing – funding – the mother’s milk of the arts is in short supply and shrinking every day. They may invite you to sit around the campfire to share stories, but they are only passing out marshmallows to a select few.

So why not join a group which wants to build a platform all can stand on – where you determine what you get out of it by what you put in. Who can ask for more? And, if you want more, well then you should be ready to do more.

When I joined the Coalition I promised to be a cheerleader – it’s about all I can do in my position. There is no time for me to socialize in Charleston, not much time for meetings or events – I’ve got invitations coming from two states. All I can do is make my pitch to the folks who seem to care about what I have to say and participate in giving my opinions – from afar, offering the benefit of my years of experience in the Charleston art community and keeping an eye on and open mind to what I see going on. I’ll do that as long as it is worth the effort.

Think about joining the Charleston Arts Coalition. Think about helping the Coalition make a difference in this art community. We sure need it.

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Carolina Arts Has Joined the Charleston Arts Coalition – How About You?

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

In full disclosure, Carolina Arts joined a month or so ago, but it has taken us all that time to get ourselves a page up on the Charleston Culture website  – not that it’s that hard. Actually it was very easy and free, but we were busy doing other things and our household was visited by H1N1 and a few other things during that time. Lucky us! I’d tell you where you could find that page, but it’s more fun for you to search through the site to see how many times you can find us and see what you discover along the way.

Now, when I say we have joined the Coalition – I’m talking about taking out a membership – which you can learn all about at the Coalition’s website. Becoming part of Charleston Culture is free – open to anyone in the Greater Charleston creative community.

We are representing Northern Berkeley County from the community of Bonneau, SC. Since part of the city of Charleston is in Berkeley County on Daniel Island – we qualify. So when you think about the tri-counties (the greater Charleston area), Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties – you’re talking about McClellanville to Edisto in Charleston County, Goose Creek to St. Stephen in Berkeley County, and Summerville to St. George – and a whole lot of creativity in-between – not just downtown Charleston.

In reality, if someone wanted to become a member of the Charleston Arts Coalition from Greenville, SC; Charlotte, NC; Boston, MA; Paris, ID, Paris, IL, Paris, ME, Paris, France; or wherever to support the Coalition in its efforts to create, unite, inspire – I’m sure they’ll take your money – they’re set up for PayPal on their site. And, for all the people out there who have enjoyed or look forward to enjoying Charleston’s creative spirit – I’m sure that’s going to happen.

So what do you get if you join – besides the satisfaction of being part of something so wonderful and creative – well you can check out all the tangible rewards at this link – if the warm fuzzy feeling of being part of something isn’t enough, to see what you will receive at each membership level. But like all organizations – what you get is pretty much tied to what you put in and more. No one wants just a bunch of membership card holders – they want people to get involved. And, involvement doesn’t always mean attending what other members have worked so hard to offer – it means being on the hard working end sometimes. But, if you just don’t see yourself in the hard working category – that’s OK – just make sure you’re joining at the very highest level. Let your money work for you.

So what do I expect to get out of my membership? Well, we’re already part of Charleston Culture – linking us up to everyone who comes across that website. And we’re going to do our part to let everyone know about it as much as we can (think Seagrove pottery). But, I’m looking for some of that collaboration that has been going around the leaders and members of the Coalition – like the kind that was talked about at the Coalition’s Town Hall Meeting held back in Aug. 09. Here’s a link to my posting on that event.

And, my idea of collaboration isn’t everyone asking to be featured in our paper, on our website, or on the blog. I hope we’ll start to see some support from some of these folks. Collaboration is supposed to be a two-way street.

You see, I’m part of the old guard of Charleston’s art community and the Coalition represents the new kids in town. I can say kids in reference to my age, but these are not children – they’re just the new generation taking up the banner – which they will soon learn is the burden of the Charleston art community. It’s a heavy load at times. We’ve been carrying a load for Charleston for over 22 years.

So before I sign off duty – which I hope is a long time from now – I hope to share some of my experience and knowledge with this new generation – hopefully helping them avoid some pitfalls along the way – and learn some new tricks too. You have to keep on your toes to survive in Charleston’s jam-packed creative community. It’s such a small place for so many creatives to find their way. The journey can be full of obstacles, distractions and dirty tricks. Much like anywhere else. So, it’s good to have friends and collaborators along that journey.

We’ll see what happens. And I’m going to be checking the membership roster from time to time to see who else is joining and who isn’t. Not that I’ll be making a list, but I’ll be wondering why certain people and groups have not joined although they seem to be involved in many of the featured panels as speakers. Maybe some are better at talking and not so into doing. Well, that’s always been the case in Charleston, but it’s also always noted.

And, for all you other arts organizations out there throughout the Carolinas – this is my one backyard membership. I can’t join every arts organization out there in the Carolinas – much less every Chamber of Commerce that comes across our paper. It’s going to be hard enough for us as is to participate from Bonneau when things are happening in Charleston – a mere 1 hour plus drive  – both ways. So don’t send those membership letters or e-mails.

Carolina Arts does its fare share of contributions throughout the Carolinas – we just don’t make a big deal out of it and we don’t ask those who receive those contributions to either. There are no deep pockets here.

So like we said on our profile on Charleston Culture – Carolina Arts supports the Charleston Arts Coalition in its efforts to bring the greater Charleston area arts community together and feels that every creative individual, arts organization, and arts related business should do the same. It also recommends that every individual and business in the Charleston community should do the same to make it a better community to live in.

You hear that, Boeing executives? Show us your generosity in return for all those incentives we taxpayers will be forking over to you.

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Going To The Creative Town Hall Meeting In Charleston, SC – Aug. 25, 2009

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, was an interesting day. It started out like every other day with scanning and sometimes reading of The Post and Courier newspaper, the Charleston, SC, area’s only daily newspaper. The item of the day which caught my attention was an ad for the new WLCN HD TV 18 station operating out of Summerville, SC. The line was – “now streaming LIVE 24/7 on the internet”. That’s interesting!

While doing daily duty number 2, e-mail, I also checked out this new station found on the internet here (www.wlcntv.com). Sure enough, there was a window on their site that showed streaming video, but I could never get the LIVE links to work. It’s always something with these computers, but that’s another of 1,000 possible blog entries about technology frustrations that I could write. But what I saw was impressive – as an alternative to old local stations. (What does this have to do with anything? In retrospect – they look like they need content providers – this would be a great opportunity for the Charleston Arts Coalition to grab a hold of a TV media opportunity to build an audience for the arts in other media markets.)

Next was a dental appointment. Just a regular visit for cleaning and checkup. No bad news there! What a relief. Those visits can turn into a financial nightmare.

Then it was off to Charleston. But, first I was going to have lunch with my Goddaughter, Emma, who is a recent graduate of the Savannah School of Art and Design. She studied sequential art – used in animation films, manga, comic books, and in the production of movies. She can also do some illustration work – perhaps for children’s books. Anyone got a paying job opportunity out there? Never hurts to ask.

During lunch I told her where I was going later that day and she asked if she could go. I said I guessed she could, but it might be boring. She was still interested.

Hey, this almost sounds like a Twitter account – I just could never stick to the 147 characters thing. Or, one of those personal journal blogs where you tell everyone what you do every minute of the day.

Where we were headed to was the Creative Town Hall meeting entitled, Nursing Creativity Through the Economic Slump, presented by the Charleston Arts Coalition in partnership with the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Charleston. The gathering was held at the Wachovia Auditorium in the Beatty Center on Liberty Street in Charleston. One word in description of the facilities – impressive. (Say it like Darth Vader.)

The meeting was open to all Charleston creatives that are interested in exchanging ideas and bringing awareness of the importance of creative business for a thriving and prosperous cultural city. The Coalition would also announce the results of their “Voice of the People” survey and address the main themes and issues noted in the survey as well as have an open forum for discussion. They said you’ll be able to see the results of the survey on the Coalition’s website. Check it out.

What were my impressions of the gathering?

I’m going to be very short for once on a very complicated subject. It could take volumns to write about this meeting, but I won’t – for one thin,g if you’re that interested in what took place there – you should have been there. But, I got the impression that this gathering might not have been that well publicized or – and it’s a big OR – Charleston’s creative types are not that well plugged in to what’s going on.

First, it was a smaller crowd than I expected and it was top heavy – meaning that I saw a lot of people who were heads of their respective organizations, but there were not that many rank and file creative folks.

Second, I didn’t hear anything new that I haven’t heard a number of times before – mostly because some of the featured speakers are the same that have spoken many times before. They all made safe little speeches. Can you blame them? The politics of the arts in Charleston and South Carolina, for that matter, are not bent toward being candid without paying a price. Some people wouldn’t voice an opinion until certain other folks left the room. What does that tell you? And, after spending three hours traveling in my car to come and return from this meeting – why couldn’t some people spend two full hours at this meeting? I’m going to be counting on these folks in the future? I doubt it. And, like at the movie theatre – turn your cell phones off or on vibrate – which is the lesson I’m being told to learn. Mine was off.

Third, I heard people say things that I know from my own experience with them – not to be the case. It’s the old case of listen to what I say – don’t judge me by what I do. Sorry, I’m a do kind of guy – I’m judging.

Fourth, before entering this meeting, folks outside the room encouraged visitors to make comments on a bank of computers, during the meeting pleas were made for people to make comments on the Coalitions blog or website, and the final note of the meeting was for people to make comments, but as of this writing – no comments are flowing in. Not a good sign, but not unusual.

Fifth, about the survey – “Voice of the People”. Only 277 people took it – including me. I say only 277 because it has been said that there are over 5,000 people in the creative industries in the Charleston area. The opportunity to take the survey has been out there for some time, well publicized, but again – I’m not sure how well these creative type are tuned in to what’s going on in the Charleston art community. And, I’m not sure they care about much.

My hat goes off to the Coalition members, the Tate Center for Entrepreneurship, Jessica Solomon Bluestein, president of the Coalition for hosting the meeting and John W. Zinsser of Pacifica Human Communications for being the meeting’s commentator. They did a great job.

What’s my verdict?

Before I go into that, let me tell you about a little slice of the evening. Well into the meeting I wrote something on my note pad to show my Goddaughter after the meeting was over to see what she thought. It was – “Charlestock – 2 hours of love, peace, and collaboration!” – like Woodstock. Her impression was that she just witnessed a lovefest too. Now she’s one of those 5,000 plus artists in the Charleston art community and I don’t think she walked away with a lot of hope. Many times, Charleston’s reputation for being an arts mecca cannot deliver on all it’s made out to be. Charleston is a very small town with a very large art community. Hopefully she’ll find her place.

Back to the verdict. As frustrating as going to one of these meetings is for me – someone who has been in the community for  over 34 years and seen way too many efforts come and go – I too saw something different at this meeting – a point voiced by several other members of the audience. I’m impressed with the Coalition’s determination and dedication to their mission – to Create, Unite and Inspire. I’m going to join the Coalition as a Business Sponsor and do as much as I can, but being a regional arts newspaper focused on the visual arts in the Carolinas – there will be limits to my involvement, which is something each member has to deal with. We all have our main jobs and like many in the art community these days – we’re fighting for survival too.

My biggest concerns for the future of this organization and what they will be able to accomplish is the art community at large – the rank and file creative folks. They don’t seem to be engaged and they don’t seem to be realistic at times. When I see in the survey that artists would be willing to pay from $3 – $15 a sq. ft. for space in “downtown” Charleston – when it is more like $40 to $50 a sq, ft. plus add-ons (taxes); when they say they are not willing to go anywhere but downtown Charleston; when they say they also want free and lots of parking – it’s hard to see how any organization can fulfill their dreams. They are just dreams. Have you seen a McDonalds in downtown Charleston? Do you know what the Apple Store is paying to be in downtown Charleston? Let’s get real.

On the point of all these arts groups working together – that’s a tough one – it’s natural for some, and down right unnatural for others. Will it happen – I don’t know. My experience says not, but I’ve always said – I won’t mind being proven wrong. In fact, I’m tired of my natural pessimism turning out to be justified.

Charleston – prove me wrong.

The scariest thing I heard mentioned at the meeting was the existence of another group – the Charleston Regional Alliance for the Arts. Oh my.

All in all, a fairly interesting day.

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I’ve Been Taking a Survey of Charleston, SC, for 35 Years

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

I came to the Charleston, SC, area from Michigan in November of 1974. I liked what I found here and have found no reason to leave since – although I eventually moved 45 miles away to Berkeley County – a place where I could afford to do an arts newspaper and own a home. And, maybe 35 more years or so from now – I might own that home one day, if I live that long.

I came, so many years ago, as an adult. And I only mention this in the context that when dealing with many people in the art community these days – I’ve lived and dealt with Charleston’s art community – long before most were born – some in Charleston – most from somewhere else.

I mention that last bit about coming from somewhere else because I’ve been and still consider myself part of Charleston’s working class. We’re the folks that do stuff – offer services, create new – well, everything. That’s the way it’s been in Charleston for the most part – the people that built up the community come from somewhere else – first from Europe, then Africa, and now from other parts of South Carolina, the South, and America. Most, not all, who were born here are connected to a heritage of leadership and consumers – they’re the deciders and users. Both are vital parts of any community.

That was most evident at a recent meeting of arts people gathered together for a mid-June lunch at the Gibbes Museum of Art in downtown Charleston – to get to know each other. Most were relatively new to Charleston, some were what I consider very young and a handful were seasoned veterans of the Charleston art community. I myself, carry my scars of past battles (culture wars) and am easily frustrated by the enthusiasm of these newbees – in that they are going to change Charleston. I find myself more interested in deeds, not words. In fact, it is very hard to get me to go to one of these gatherings anymore. I still make the effort if I can see reason or opportunity, but as I said, I’m not impressed by words. I make my living dealing with words and I know how easily they can be offered without anything to back them up.

I’m a realist, I play the devil’s advocate, I’m pessimistic at times, I’m what my high school German teacher called facetious, but I’m also an optimist – I have to be – I publish an arts newspaper in the Carolinas. I could have done a newspaper about NASCAR and probably made a lot of money by now. But I love the arts. I’m focused on the visual arts, but I like it all – well most of it.

What I don’t like is being asked from time to time to join other folks to step into a big hamster cage and take a spin on the big wheel. I’m too old to ride that wheel anymore – spinning around and around just makes me dizzy. And, I find I don’t get much work done when I’m dizzy.

And spinning in place is what has drawn me to my computer today. The Post & Courier newspaper has just offered another – State of the Arts article subtitled, “How are Charleston arts organizations weathering the current financial drought?” in it’s Weekend section (7/16/09). It’s as if they don’t even read their own paper – what did they expect to find?

I’m not familiar with the author of the article, (I’m a daily subscriber to the P&C) but I can only guess that it was a young person, fairly new to Charleston’s art community. No veteran would have written what was offered. The article was about a page and a quarter of a regular newspaper page, so expectations were very low to begin with. It’s not like this was considered a major subject for a series.

And, I’m not coming down on the Post & Courier (this time) – many other newspapers have gotten around to offering this same, limited look (more like a peek) at the state of the arts in their community. I’ve seen them in the FreeTimes in Columbia, SC, and the Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, NC – they’re all the same – a cursory look at how bad things are in the arts during this economic downturn. Duh! At least in this latest look at the state of the arts no one from Charleston said they depend on making people feel guilty to support them – as one arts person said in Columbia, SC.

Most of these articles are just another plug for a few nonprofits hoping to gain a few more donations, some like this latest version by the P&C were based on national surveys – this one was a National Endowment for the Arts 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Guess what – it’s down.

Another darn survey of the arts!

Here’s a truth. No amount of survey results is going to change my thinking based on my own experience and I imagine that’s the way it is for most people. We are after all creatures of our environment and experience – knowledge based on anything else is hard to accept. We can do it, but it doesn’t come easily. Otherwise how would you explain that there are very large numbers of people in this country – educated under the same system that most people were in America, who believe the earth and the universe is only a few thousand years old. The rest, what most of us call history and science, is all made up by people who just can’t accept their way of thinking or their beliefs.

Surveys are not scientific – they’re just another form of advertising or wishful thinking on most people’s part. And, I’ve never seen one done about the arts that I could believe or that is anywhere close to my own experience – based on the last 35 years. And why is that so?

Most people in the arts don’t participate – that’s the truth. They don’t like the questions asked and they don’t see what difference the survey results will make. That’s even if you ever are offered a close up look at the survey results. Most of the time the only thing offered is someone’s interpretation of what those results mean. They don’t want you to see the raw data because it’s ugly, it might not show the organizers of the survey in a good light, and people who take the surveys plan their answers to project certain results. But the big problem is most people won’t participate. Surveys are no better than opinion polls. You can get any results you want by cooking the questions and selecting who you ask. Make people sign their names to a survey and tell them they are going to be made available for public viewing and I bet you would get entirely different results – if you could get them to take the survey under those standards.

Most of the public doesn’t care about survey results either – they’ve been offered survey results too many times that were just manufactured to project a favorable point of view by the folks paying for or organizing the survey. It’s unfortunate, but true. So, why do so many arts organization believe that doing a survey will change the public’s mind or at least the minds of people making decisions on who gets the money, on how valued the arts are to society? You got me. Look, they either get that point by now or they never will.

In today’s world, I think most people are like me – they want to see deeds, not hear or read words about what the arts are doing for them or how it can enlighten their lives. Show them the deeds and they’ll show you the money – if they have any to spare.

The Charleston Arts Coalition is conducting a survey. You can find it at on their website. The cut off day to participate is July 29, 2009.

Should people in Charleston’s art community take this survey in view of everything I’ve just said? Yes, but only if they are going to be honest and willing to work towards the goals that survey suggests – otherwise why bother? The Charleston Arts Coalition doesn’t just need your 2 cents worth, it needs your participation.

I first offered comments about this group at the very beginning of this blog on May 26, 2008, after going to one of those art community gatherings – this time it was about the lack of affordable space in Charleston for artists. Back then at the end of my blog entry I said, “Most things they want are possible and possible with the help of the community – once the artists – like commercial gallery owners – are willing to put their own money and futures on the bottom line. Money makes the world go round and it’s the mother’s milk of the arts. Once artists stop waving around pumped up economic surveys about the impact of the arts in front of the community and adopt a healthy respect for other people’s money, they will find that many are willing to become partners with them on sound projects. Don’t continue to delude yourselves or insult the intelligence of the public. The call for this movement – if there will be a movement, should be – get real, get serious and you might just get what you want. Carolina Arts will do its part – if presented with a sound proposal, but then we have to fight to survive everyday to keep what we have.”

Since then the Charleston Arts Coalition has been formed, they have a website, a blog and have created another website called Charleston Culture, launched May 14, 2009. The focus of the group seems to be on spreading information about the art community. The lack of space issue has faded into the background for some reason.

I have not found a lot of participation on any of these sites or the blog. Not many people are joining in or offering comments.

I’m still hopeful about this group, but somewhat frustrated with where they seem to be going and at this point – it seems to be the big wheel – in my opinion. Participation is the key and at this point I don’t see a lot of signs of it. A few folks are probably working a lot on this project, but they have yet to gain the attention of the greater Charleston art community. Time will tell and that’s always the case. I’ve seen so many efforts like this come and go – not just in Charleston. Getting the arts community together is like herding cats. I’m stealing that from Christopher Rico an artist and blogger in Clinton, SC.

Getting a large art community together – like Charleston is near impossible. Charleston is small and can’t support such a large art community, which makes for rough and tumble competition for funding and resources. Trust is low and based on past experience.

I’ve taken the survey, I’ve plugged the survey, and I’ve looked at the Charleston Culture and organization’s websites and am trying to figure where and if I fit in. I was trying to participate in a roundtable discussion, but the schedule was during my delivery time for Carolina Arts and that comes first. I don’t live in Charleston so I’m not in the social loop of this group.

I haven’t joined the organization because I’m not sure what I’m joining and where my membership dollars would go. Besides being part of the local media, I’m not sure you can be part of something and comment on it at the same time, and be honest. It’s not an easy thing to do. My best contributions my be as an observer from outside the group.

Either way, build or fade – this group’s efforts depend on the art community’s participation and past experience tells me – they’re not into it – right now at least. What will make them change their minds? I’m still working on that 35 year survey of trying to figure out Charleston’s art community. I’ll let you know when I have it figured out. I haven’t found a lot of logic at this point. But I do know they are not keen on participation, or working on goals where the payoff is in the future, and they have a hard time overlooking self interest for the good of all. This makes them not much different than art communities anywhere else or other people in general.

Now, one thing’s for sure about the Charleston Art Coalition – they have lit a fire under some other groups in Charleston that are supposed to be serving the public. Ever since the Coalition started talking about plans for a cultural website, the City of Charleston’s Office of Cultural Affairs has stepped up work on their efforts to promote Charleston’s cultural events. Even the Coastal Community Foundation suffered an uproar when it stepped in to just help a few groups suffering in the art community over the holiday season. They tried to promote a Charleston Art Alliance to make them look more inclusive, but they learned the art community is bigger than their usual myopic vision.

So if anything the Charleston Arts Coalition has stirred things up some, but time marches against them. People will lose interest – even those involved now, if they don’t see their time and efforts build on something – something not already being offered – something everyone in the art community can be a part of – whatever that is.

But, then again – I’m just one of the old farts of the Charleston art community who has grown tired of spinning in place and sees the negative side of things much more than those who seem to see only the positive future – unknown territory to most of us old veterans. Please, make me wrong folks. I want to be wrong on this subject. I won’t mind it at all.

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Posted in Carolina Arts, Charleston SC Visual Arts, SC Arts, State of the Arts, Unbelievable but True, Wishful Thinking | Comments Off