What are you doing next Thursday?
I want you.
To clear your Thursday, February 19th schedule and spend the day with me.
For Arts Advocacy Day at the Capitol; for a bunch of awesome workshops on marketing, fundraising, and technical theater; and for a press conference unveiling an historic report on the impact and health of arts in Minnesota.
I can actually hear you rolling your eyes. It sounds like this, “Oh gosh, so busy, why, no, politics, people, data, I hate that stuff, oh, stupid, boring, so busy.”
I get it. I am often at war with myself over the value of advocacy and showing up for politicians vs. the need to protect my time to actually make creative work happen. And, specifically about this “impact” report, nobody’s eyes roll faster than mine when I hear about bean-counting to measure the effect of the arts on people.
Do it anyway
But here’s the deal. Every two years, whoever is now in our Legislature makes a budget. Everybody in the state—from business people to social service organizations to unions to students to teachers to rural city managers— hope to get some funding to help with what they do for our state, and those Legacy funds we brag about have to be defended every time. This is that year. The restaurants do it. The bass fishermen do it. We gotta do it too.
Also, the folks at Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) make it super-organized, easy, and fun. If you’ve done it, you know. If you haven’t, I’m telling you, marching around the halls of government in big packs of twinkly-eyed artists, talking to Senators, will make you teary-eyed, big-chested, and all goofy with pride as you remind them (and a little bit yourself too, admit it) how cool what we do is.
So here’s the deal on impact reports: You and I know that the real value of arts is intangible – it’s the gulp in your throat, the sexy moment of inspiration, the tear of empathy – and that doesn’t fit in a pie chart anywhere. But there are people in a position to support our work – politicians, chambers of commerce, donors, your annoying uncle, sponsors, activists, board members – who compare bottom lines before they decide where resources go. You’ve heard the arguments—the arts are a nice luxury to have, like icing on the cake but no way are they an essential ingredient baked right in there, right?
This report unequivocally demonstrates that we are a big fat slice of cake.
Changing attitudes
I was in a meeting recently with someone whose job I thought it was to support a vibrant community here in Minnesota (I’m being vague on purpose, because I’m about to be snotty), and I had to listen to him tell me all the reasons he wasn’t going to give the theater industry the same kind of support he gives other industries because he “has to be accountable to the taxpayers, dontcha know, blah blah blah,” and I got that familiar, yet confusing sensation of burning at the tip of my ears, knot in my stomach, and sudden desire to be a dick-kinda-person, someone powerful and cavalier like on a TV show – someone who could put him in his place, or at least assert my place with him as one of importance.
But, you know, I’m an artist, not a white-guy-tv-lawyer, so I just left the meeting all grumbly, and had a glass of whiskey when I got home. But the next day I remembered this report is coming out, and as soon as it does, I’m going to throw it in his face – OK, I’ll probably gently hand it to him with a smile on my face because I’ve been living in Minnesota for 16 years now. And this report will show him that if he really wants to support Minnesota, he better get on board with the theater world cause we pull more than our weight around here.
My point is, come on down on February 19. Represent. Schmooze with other artists. And be there when this report is released to the public in between some workshops on stuff you need to be good at anyway.
Then get a drink with me after it’s all done. We can roll our eyes about our annoying uncles together.
Register for Arts Advocacy Day
