Creative Arts - Just ADD water!

Amazing how the arts have and continue to shape Cincinnati. The revitalization of Cincinnati has been going on for years and the role arts have played in that change are significant and evident.

I've only been here for two years, so I've seen a very small part of that transformation. What's noteworthy and amazing is just how quickly I've seen a change, particularly the want and need for the arts in the community. Really. I'm tickled pink... well, figuratively speaking at least.

And please, don't tickle me - unless you'd like to lose your finger.

This article from WCPO.com sparked my interest:

"Ten Years Later: The Arts"

Public Domain Works in Dispute

Many symphonies play mostly pieces that are a part of the public domain. There are several ways that a piece of music could qualify as part of the public domain. Those are:

1. If the work was published in the United States prior to 1923, it is in the public domain.

2. For works published between 1923 and March 1, 1989, it depends on whether the certain statutory formalities were observed, such as providing a notice of copyright on the work or renewing the copyright per statutory deadlines. Examples:

a) If the work was published in the United States between 1923 and 1978 without a notice, it is in the public domain. (Note: If the work published during this period has a notice, it is protected for 95 years from the date of publication.)
b) If the work was published in the United States between 1978 and March 1, 1989 without a notice and registration, it is in the public domain. (Note: If the work published during this period has a notice, but not a registration, it is protected for 70 years from the death of the author.)
c) If the work was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 with a notice, but copyright was not renewed, it is in the public domain. For more information on renewals, see How to tell if copyright has been renewed.
3. After March 1, 1989, all works (published and unpublished) are protected for 70 years from the date the author dies. For works of corporate authorship (works made for hire), the copyright term is the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation.

However, some works that were previously in the public domain are now facing the possibility of being copyrighted. The works in question are all foreign and were previously part of the public domain in the U.S., but were still copyrighted under international laws. In 1994, Congress adopted legislation to bring the U.S. in line with an international copyright treaty called the Berne Convention. Now, the Supreme Court is going to decide whether Congress has the right to remove works from the public domain.

Some of the works at issue include:

• H.G. Wells’ Things to Come
• Fritz Lang’s Metropolis
• The musical compositions of Igor Fydorovich Stravinsky

This decision by the Supreme Court could mean a lot for American Orchestras. These organizations are already burdened financially, and would be further harmed by having to pay more in royalties to perform these works. If the works of Stravinsky and other artists move back into the public domain, they would most likely be performed less frequently and fewer people would hear the works. The Supreme Court should not stifle the creative breadth of orchestras by moving more works out of public domain.



References:

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/copyright/publicdomain.html

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/supreme-court-recopyright/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wired/index+%28Wired:+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

Reviving the Honolulu Symphony

I accidentally stumbled across an article about the efforts that are currently underway to restore the Honolulu Symphony. The symphony filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2009. We have spent a lot of time talking about why the arts are important for a community and how we can make people feel that they are vital. This article is a nice reminder that some people really do believe that and are working to revive the symphony. A group of prominent business and civic community leaders, led by Steve Monder who recently retired from the CSO, have been meeting with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs about the symphony. The group states that "it would be a shame if Hawaii does not have a world class symphony..." because they are "the crossroads of the Pacific, and culturally we'd be starving if we don't have a symphony...and I think the youth would really suffer." All excellent reasons! Hopefully there will be broad community support for their efforts and the Honolulu Symphony can come into existance again.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110224_Symphony_revival_sized_up.html

How Art Can Save the World

As I was sipping on my bold coffee blend from my favorite local organic, fair trade coffee shop Aquarius Star, I was catching up on all my blog subscriptions on google reader and this post caught my eye:  Solving World Disasters through Art.  This post is from "Books of Adam," a blog written by a fellow misanthrope, Adam Ellis, who chooses to bestow the goings-on of his life upon the undeserving, but ultimately grateful community of the internets.

When I first saw the title I thought to myself, "I love art!  The world's pretty boss.  How do I save the world with art?!"  Naturally, I clicked on the link and read Adam's post.  He delightfully insulted the American people and their obsession with reality television while simultaneously asking for the world to provide support the Japanese people.  Adam has created a few drawings and put them up for auction on eBay.  All proceeds will go to the rescue efforts in Japan via International Medical Corp.

So, you have a choice.  You can either go to eBay and vote on any one of these three picture (personally, I'm a fan of the Sailor Moon one) or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 (US) to donate $10 to help Japan.

It's up to you.  Be a global citizen.  Help out the country that brought us George Tekai, Godzilla, and Mario Brothers.

--Carolyne Hall

When Does This Art Expire?

University of Iowa Performing Arts Entrepreneurship Professor, David McGraw wrote a very interesting opinion article for the Iowa City Press Citizen about the expiration date of arts organizations.  He mentioned our society’s habit of confusing age with quality, how we are more likely to support an organization that has been around longer, and our refusal to let organizations close their doors quietly.  Mr. McGraw suggests creating arts organizations with expiration dates - an organization would be created with the sole purpose of creating art and ending at a specific date.  Mr. McGraw described such organizations as collaborations that focus on the celebration of art being created rather than the longevity of the organization. While I am not completely sold on this idea, I do think it has some merit.

As we've been discussing the supply and demand of the arts market, I can see where projects like this may be beneficial.  Having a set amount of time an arts organization is going to exist creates a sense of scarcity and urgency.  Also, people love projects -- we like to feel like we belong to something.  If we look at such community art oriented projects such as Cincinnati ArtsWave's "Paint the Street" initiative, we can see how successful events like this can be, at least in their first year.  Additionally, projects that do not have the intent to last forever appear to be more malleable.  These expiration date arts organizations can also be designed to fill specific needs within a community. The influx of new and different initiatives could really benefit a community.

However, I would like to address Mr. McGraw’s concern with our society’s inability to let longstanding organizations close their doors quietly.  Whether we realize it or not, we have a relationship with the arts and the organizations that produce them.  No one likes to see a relationship end, which makes it so difficult to let go of an organization we’ve been familiar with for so long.  Arts organizations that plan to exist for only a few years remind me of the short dating trysts so popular in romantic comedies called a "fling".  People go into the fling knowing it’s going to end soon, but eventually someone starts to have lasting feelings.  Someone always ends up getting hurt.  While the characters in a romantic comedy always seem to conveniently resolve their issues and fall madly in love with each other and live happily ever after, I don't think I can say the same about the arts and the community.  I cannot accurately say who will be hurt one in this situation.  Perhaps it’s the community because there is suddenly a void of the arts.  Maybe it's patrons who have come to enjoy, maybe even love, the work the organization created.  It could be the managers and artists who are suddenly out of job, forced to create another similar organization or move to a new city, away from their supportive community.

Who’s funding these short-term organizations?  Donors like to know where their money is going and how the company is being affected.  The minds of donors are put more at ease when giving to an organization that has been operating for long time because they know the company is sustainable.  Donors know there is a relationship between the community and the organization.  On a more egocentric note, donors like to a part of the legacy.  They like to see their names in programs and receive the benefits promised for their certain levels of donation.  If an organization only plans to exist for five years, it may be a lot harder to find people to give money.

Maybe in the future, when the economy is better and money is more plentiful, we can have these short-term organizations interspersed with longstanding organizations.  However, I don’t think this is a sustainable model at this present time.

The State of Education

A college friend of mine, Carl, is a second year teacher at a high school in Eastern Iowa.  Over the past couple years we've had several conversations about the state of arts and general education.  We have come to the conclusion the potential is there, but nothing is being done.  A couple months ago, Carl wrote a blog entry about the continuous conversation about the need for education reform in the State of Iowa and how often the blame of poor performing students is placed upon the shoulders of the educators.  He goes on to outline the top four obstacles teachers face: quality professional development, the evolution of academic priority, parents and public misconceptions.  As a young, enthusiastic educator trying to make a difference in the lives of his students, Carl has shed a new light of these issues.

I wholeheartedly agree with Carl's assessment and can only  hope and pray my tax dollars are being spent effectively to positively reform Iowa's education system.  For too long people have been complaining about the current system and giving suggestions as to make it better.  However, that doesn't do anyone any good until we actually DO something about it.  What does knowing the test teach us?  Absolutely nothing beyond the fact that our students have the capability to be mindless drones that can regurgitate force-fed facts.  What happened to education being about the experience?  Why are good grades a given, something a student deserves, rather than an award?  The grade inflation rate is outrageous!  Shouldn't what a student learned be more important than the overall grade earned in a class.  In my personal academic career, spanning from high school to graduate school, I have taken many classes where I received an A for my final grade and felt like I didn't learn anything.  However, on the flip-side, I've taken classes where I worked very hard to earn a B. Those B's are so much more important to be because I was challenged and felt I actually learned something.

Why does the whole of the fault of poor academic performance of students have to be placed on the shoulders of teachers?  As Carl points out in his post, parents are a major influence on the performances of their children.  This extends far beyond the academic arena.  When parents are supportive and involved in the lives of their children, they perform better.  They become contributing members of society.  Why? Because their parents were a good example.  If parents took the time to be a part of the lives of their children and teach them positive social values and good work ethic, perhaps our educators will be more successful in their teaching.  It is not fair to expect our grossly overworked and underpaid educators to be parents by proxy AND teach our children algebraic equations.  This is a challenge to all parents out there:  ask your child what he or she learned in school today, ask if they helped anyone, ask if they met anyone new.  Engage with your child.  Please do not expect television to raise your children.  Trust me, the Kardashians are far from the best example your children need.  Please inspire your child to aspire to be more than a contestant on the Bachelor in 2020.  Try to keep your kids in school and positively reinforce their good behavior.  At the least tell them you love them.  Seriously, all these daddy issues are guaranteeing us an army of strippers for generations to come.

I realize there are some teachers out there who are in the field because it's a safer bet, unless you're in Wisconsin and Ohio and other states taking away the collective bargaining rights of our educations. (Shame on you, Governor Walker.) But there are so many more teachers who actually care.  Why not implement some sort of reward system based on student evaluations within middle and high schools.  If nothing else, it's another way to get students to write.  I understand these students can't vote yet, but they do have opinions.  Maybe this is idealist in me, but I think allowing students to actively shape their education would empower them to take ownership of it.  Sometimes all it takes is to ask a student what they think to get them involved.  Plus the evaluations may help teachers who aren't effectively reaching their students to adapt their methods.

I understand that education reform is going to take a lot more money, time and effort than we really want to put it.  However, we must remember the age old adage, "You reap what you sow."  We need to invest in our future today.  Start small.  Parents pay attention to your children; encourage them to do their best and learn something.  Please, teach your children manners and positive social behaviors.  Teachers, keep up the good work.  Administrators, pay communicate with your teachers and with the parents in your district.  State Legislators, don't aim for perfection, aim for what is realistic. Small, measurable and achievable goals are a good idea.  Don't set yourselves up for failure.  It doesn't make you look good.  Community members, please act like you're in a community; take an interest in the schools and the education of your future community leaders.  We want to cultivate a flourishing garden of educated global citizens, but that takes time, effort, and money.  Please invest.

Classical Music Economics

American Orchestras: The Sound of Trouble
The Detroit Symphony, which has just emerged from a 34-day musician’s strike, is in such economic straits that it may have to disband.
-Time Magazine, June 13, 1969


Detroit Symphony Cancels Season as Musicians Strike
The management of the debt-burdened Detroit Symphony Orchestra canceled the rest of its season on Saturday, after executives and the players failed to resolve a strike that has lasted four and a half months.
-The New York Times, Feb. 19, 2011

These two headlines come from an interesting blog post I came across tonight. It discusses the rise-and-fall-and-rise-again cycle of classical music and what can be done to create sustainable orchestras. The poster mentions the Louisiana Philharmonic, which was born from the ashes of the New Orleans Symphony. The Louisiana Phil is the country's first musician-owned-and-operated orchestra. In order to survive, the orchestra members make an average of only $23,000 a year.

I highly recommend reading this article. Even if you don't read the whole thing, just take this final sentence from it and think about it:

"Solving the economic problem of classical music is not easy. If it were, someone would have figured it out already. Perhaps fresh thinking is required."

Philadelphia Orchestra: the next Detroit?

According to this article on Philly.com, the orchestra management of the Philadelphia orchestra could be threatening chapter 11 bankruptcy during the organization's contract negotiations. Highlights of the article:

"Players - who could see a 20 percent cut in base pay and the loss of 10 positions - are taking the threat seriously. They would like any eventual deal to include a commitment that management will not seek bankruptcy protection, whose stigma they feel would both damage the orchestra's reputation and dampen fund-raising and ticket sales.

"Some orchestra board members are advocating bankruptcy - despite the fact that the group has no debt and an endowment well north of $100 million - because they believe it would allow management to no longer fulfill its pension obligations, board members and others say.

"Philadelphia's two sides have been meeting to reach a deal on salary, pension, work rules, size of the ensemble, and other matters as the orchestra's leadership responds to sagging attendance and a budget gap that administrators and board members variously have stated as being from $7 million to $14 million annually.

"Administrators have declined to commit to a specific operating deficit figure, or to say how they arrived at it."

I have to say that certain facts of this article confuse me. How can an organization file for bankruptcy if it is in fact not bankrupt? Also, how are the administrators and board members on such different pages in terms of the budget gap? Certain aspects of this situation remind me of the Oakland Symphony case study from our intro class...

Detroit Symphony Percussion Section Resigns. All of them.

In class several weeks ago, there was a somewhat heated debate over the DSO and what would happen if their salaries were slashed. Some people in class said that a reduced salary would have little to no effect on the caliber of the orchestra, under the argument that these musicians can't just go out and find other jobs at their convenience.

Actually, they can.

To summarize the article above: A few weeks ago, the DSO had 3 full-time percussionists (there is a vacant 4th spot which was not filled before the strike). Once it became clear that there was no end in sight to the strike, these players went out and took auditions with other major orchestras. They won. They now have new jobs in different high-paying orchestras.

I'm not trying to start a fight here, nor am I saying that I even agree 100% with the musicians. I'm just saying that to assume that a drastic salary slash will have little to no effect on the orchestra simply isn't true. The percussion section just proved it. These are some of the most talented musicians in the country. The odds of them winning big jobs when the positions open are extremely high, since Detroit is a big job and they were obviously good enough to win that one in the first place.

If the DSO has any chance of survival, some sort of agreement has to be reached. Someone has to give. The musicians think it has to be the management. The management thinks it has to be the musicians. As I am gaining insight into the arts administration world, I can see how this would easily occur. However, both sides just going back and forth saying they are right and the other is wrong is getting them nowhere. If something doesn't change soon, there will be no more DSO. Fortunately, most of the DSO musicians will have found employment elsewhere :)

Council Observation

The council meeting I viewed was the Major Transportation and Infrastructure projects sub-committee on 2/1/11. The topic of this discourse was the update about Bridging Broadway. "Bridging Broadway is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to maximize the new casino’s positive effect on Greater Cincinnati. We achieve this mission by connecting stakeholders, sharing concerns, and promoting opportunities."

This discourse went over some of the aspects re the vision statement. Here are some general key points that are factored into the vision statement: pedestrian oriented; mixed use, residential, retail and arts; mixed incomes, not completely gentrified; economic development; connecting surrounding neighborhoods; Be an entertainment district.

The idea is to maintain what is there, connect to historic districts, have good neighbourhood policy, and create a green infrastructure for the development.

A lot of the conversation involved the 6 month research process and updates. The update was by Stephen Samuels, giving his Phase 1 update. He said it is in tandem with Leah’s team, 6 month scope of work, still in the research phase. 1^st half has been defining the study area, proposing primary corridors, looking at base line metrics and demographics, the 3 community dialogues, get the input (for qualitative data to go with the quantitative), to create the policy of: live, work, play. The data comes from every facet that will factor into the casino districts.

A lot of the discussion has been with the 5 surrounding neighbourhoods, Pendleton, central business district, OTR, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Auburn. Working with the community organizations, committees, and property owners. Another aspect has been looking at crime trends, doing a 4 year study. The idea is to look where the crime has moved. 

A lot of the conversation was on the visual ascetics of the surrounding areas, be that the physical infrastructure, lighting, safety, etc. Which is fascinating, because of the criteria in which they were rating the areas, because Art was not a factor. The reason for all of this is how to design routes and structures to accommodate the expected foot traffic around this new corridor.

About 45 minutes into the conversation they mention a little about the "Arts experience." No clue what that means. 

It seems like the overall point of this entertainment district is to overcome the barriers to entry of consumers to downtown. 

What do people get for participating? That is a powerful statement, and one that could be applied to the arts as a whole, not just this project.

There's No Place Like Home...

So, imagine being one of 30 talented artists living in a giant warehouse, converted to artist studios. Suddenly, you find out you are going to be evicted. And not because you haven't paid your rent or you've broken the rules of living in the studios. It's actually because the former owner of the building is in jail and the building has been turned over to the city, who has decided that the run-down warehouse/mansion (weird combo, I know) would provide more use when renovated and made into high end stores and apartments. This is what is happening to the artists of Shanghai's 696 Weihai Road. The city has decided to evict the remaining artists (many of whom have signed contracts with the city to live here) and once the building is renovated, many of them will not be able to afford living there.

So, what's an artist to do when faced with such a challenge. 2 things. The first, is to protest. The second? Stage a kick-ass social media campaign, using all of your creative powers combined!

(one of the pics from the social media campaign)

This movement (supposedly inspired by the Wizard of Oz) by the artists has gained massive amounts of support from the people of Shanghai and it looks like the artists will be getting a reprieve-at least for now. I love that they were able to "stick it to the man" by using their talents to create public support for themselves and their artforms. Well done artists, well done.

(more pictures featured in the Shanghai artist eviction social media campaign)

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Chinese+artists+fight+studio+eviction/23355

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/life/2011-02/09/content_11968339.htm

http://www.shanghaieye.net/english/2011/03/shanghai-artists-plan-%E2%80%98wizard-of-oz%E2%80%99-activity-to-resist-eviction-in-april

Right is wrong, and wrong is right.

I'm sure many of you read this article about the DSO musicians rejecting managements 'final' contract. I have to admit, I'm actually rather surprised that Board kept their word and canceled the rest of the season.

From the Detroit Free Press:

"The musicians rejected management’s final contract offer, and management and the board of directors responded by carrying out a long-promised threat to suspend the remaining 3-1/2 months of the 2010-11 season. Half the season was lost to the 20-week strike already."

Maybe the DSO should start thinking about the Supply and Demand argument that Rocco Landesman brought up.

Though, I am curious to know how much money the DSO saved during the 20-week strike by the musicians. And I'm REALLY curious as to know whether or not canceling the remainder of the season will save the orchestra even more money.

So, what is going to happen next season? No contracts have been signed, programming seems like a shot in the dark, and no ones happy. Where do we go from here?

A while ago I remember having a conversation with one of my professors about the current state of orchestras in the US. My professor presented a rather interesting question:

If you're faced with the choice of losing your dream or taking a pay cut - which do you choose?

:sigh:

Ah well. I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110219/ENT04/110219009

Sharing information

As this program reaches to an end I would like to share a link where arts supporters, artistic directors, board members, artists and everybody involved in the arts can look for some ideas on how to support the arts. Anyone interested in arts can find conferences about public policy, cultural economics, cultural legislations, sociology of culture, budgets, marketing, management and many other areas of interest. An interesting fact about this site is that there are conferences from many countries, therefore many different cultures, lifestyles and of course politics. It is a great tool to get new ideas that might be implemented in our local environment.

Today I want to share with you a video about Culture and Politics. In this video John Holden talks about the reality for many museums and almost any other artistic organization. I will not repeat what the speaker says since he does a great job by himself. But I will tell you something about him.

John Holden was previously Head of Culture at Demos and is a Visiting Professor at City University. He has Masters Degrees in law and art history and his main professional interest is in the development of people and organisations in the cultural sector. He has been involved in numerous major projects across the sector, from libraries to music to heritage, and has worked with many organisations both large and small. He was a principal organiser of the influential Valuing Culture conference in June 2003, and has developed a theme of work around the topic of cultural value. John has spoken at many conferences in the UK, and also in Finland, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

http://vimeo.com/2103263

Cincinnati City Council Meeting

On February 24, 2011, I attended the Cincinnati City Council Meeting. The meeting was run by Mayor Mark Mallory, and I thought the the issues presented were very interesting. The first item that was discussed was an emergency ordinance that authorizes the city manager to submit a substantial amendment to the City of Cincinnati 2010 consolidated plan to the department of housing and urban development. There was a process of yes/no votes, and then the ordinance was approved. The next several items also went through the same voting process.

- An emergency ordinance that customizes the appropriation of $1 million dollars for the purpose of providing for the current expenses for the year 2011.
- An emergency ordinance that authorizes the city manager to apply and accept an appropriated grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
-An emergency ordinance that authorizes the city manager to establish terms and conditions for the presentation of the "Taste of Cincinnati."
-An ordinance to authorize the city manager to establish terms and conditions for the presentation of "Oktoberfest."

After this business portion, the meeting presented different announcements from various committees. For example, the Quality of Life committee will meet to discuss the "Green Cincinnati" plan and evaluate environmental efforts. Another example is the Job Creation committee which will discuss the number of job loss that the city will encounter, in addition to the loss in tax revenue.

As an international student, this was my first time to attend a council meeting. It was an interesting experience to see the variety in issues presented during the Council meeting. I thought that the agenda items would fuel lengthy discussions; however, all of the agenda items were agreed upon using a quick yes/no voting system.