Hans-Werner Hunziker, (2006) Im Auge des Lesers: foveale und periphere Wahrnehmung – vom Buchstabieren zur Lesefreude the eye of the reader: foveal and peripheral perception – from letter recognition to the joy of reading Transmedia Stäubli Verlag Zürich 2006 ISBN 978-3-7266-0068-6 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What are current politics of participation in arts—in making, curating, collecting, critiquing, programming art?
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
What are parameters of diversity or diversifying participation?
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Append your thoughts, questions, or reflections as a comment below. Feel free to contribute any examples or illustrations of your ideas (as links).
The politics in participation in arts can vary drastically depending on the particular organization. Each Organization has their own idea of participation; a museum of visual viewers will have a different opinion then a jazz concert of critical listeners. Money is a big deciding factor (not a surprise) of what gets created or produced for the audience. The government and the state affect public funds, which in return directly affect what is created. A curator chooses what works of are are to be at the museum, or music to be performed at a musical event. If that curator hate modern music, then you will hear more classical and romantic genre.
Transmedia play an enormous role in social practice. WIth recordings of every band out there on youtube, you can listen to 8 different variations on Mahler’s 5th symphony. Years ago you were limited to the tapes you owned. Today’s practice of downloading music is taking away profit and power from the artist, for few buy CD’s anymore. This is an extreme example, but my initial thought when you mention social power and art is the situation in North Korea. The citizens are only allowed access to certain websites, which would default to listen only to certain music and reading on the internet. The power of the government is brainwashing their opinions and views on the art world.
Every city has a different arts and culture scene, affecting the participation and diversifying participation. Population, ethnicity, financial class, and location are all factors that affect ares participation.The Mark Stern essay about art, culture and diversity in Philadelphia bring up a lot of factual information. It gives data and statistics that show people from these urban areas are more supportive of cultural organizations. It states that community arts are some of the most prominent programs in the neighborhood. They also have more social institutions. “Cultural participation rates are higher in diverse neighborhoods then any other section of the city.” On a personal note, I used to teach and a very poor farming community. And while a few students were very dedicated to the arts, the majority were going to take over the family farming business and put little effort into their art and music classes. Art organizations outside of school were a 30 minute drive away, and not prevalent in this small town. It was not a diverse town
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
Often times arts organizations are inaccessible, between costly ticket prices and social expectations for attending certain kinds of functions. This puts the arts in a position of power, as they hold the cultural capitol people need or desire. Transmedia not only expands art worlds and storytelling, but can be used for for expressing, discussing, and understanding social issues. There are many organizations that actually work on these issues and use the arts at a community level for the sake of culture, education, and opportunity. Upsetting the power dynamic of elite arts organizations by placing similar opportunities within reach of the masses is a critical step in diversifying arts participation.
What are parameters of diversity or diversifying participation?
There are many kinds of diversity. Looking at the chapter about the arts in Philadelphia, the author primarily addresses socioeconomic and ethnic diversity within neighborhoods. This means that each community has a unique culture that then produces a unique combination of arts and organizations. The socioeconomic diversity is of particular interest since that means many of the organizations are focused on inclusivity and community building. This is one approach to diversifying participation. There are also more formal means of diversifying an organization such as scholarships, affirmative action, etc.
Another key component to diversifying the arts is diversity of thought and knowledge. Arts groups have a wide variety of needs, both creatively and organizationally. As such, you need a wide range of skills sets working towards the mission. This is just as crucial as cultural diversity. The two can also intersect in a variety of ways depending on individual experiences and the needs of the organization or project.
Currently examining the politics of participation show that there is a search for power through participation and connection to the arts. Bill Ivey’s “Cultural Bill of Rights” uses language that claims ownership to participation in varying degrees and perspectives. The second right to “A Creative Life” gives the ownership of art to the individuals creating, therefore creating a diverse ownership of art and its many variations in different mediums. The politics of participation are not simply a governmental decision, but rather something that everyone has power over. Arts and the participation surrounding it cannot be divided into clear sections similar to the discussion of “The Arts and the Public Purpose” in the American Assembly. Those sections have blurred boundaries similar to the fact that roles of participation have blurred boundaries. These blurred boundaries allow for the crossover and diversification of creation, performance, and distribution of the arts in society.
While each person participating and connecting to the arts holds some power of participation, that power is ordinary. Ordinary, in this sense, is not being taken for granted but a part of an accepted outcome/situation. Raymond Williams’s article has a theme of “______ is ordinary”. Within this phrase, he uses culture and learning, but art and participation can placed in the phrase as well. Because of the governmental influence of the politics of participation in art, there is this unseen but acknowledged divide of elite institutions and the everyday. This divide has given more power to the institution or the organization where once the power was equal. In the last decade or so, this has begun to shift back towards becoming equal. However because the everyday culture is still considered ordinary with little participation in the arts, the shift back to having equal power of participation is slow going. The acknowledgement that the power lies in the participation of the “everyday” art will create a massive expansion of participation and creation of art and art worlds.
Though there are several issues in the politics of participation in the arts, the main issue in each of the readings is support of the arts. Each resource either addresses the lack of support or offers evidence for why arts should be supported. Even making a living as an artists is considered a precarious feat. As stated by The American Assembly, “Only about one quarter work solely in their discipline. Although relatively well educated-40 percent of them have a bachelor’s or higher degree-artists are often poorly paid and lack health or retirement benefits.” It is clear that though one may possess the credentials of a professional, it is still unlikely to be successful in their field. Further, many communities are cutting courses and activities pertaining to the arts, regardless of the positive impact these programs have on the population. As addressed in the Saguaro Seminars, “Artists vote at higher rates than the general public. And it has been widely reported that youth participation in non-school arts programs leads to increased academic and civic achievements.”
Transmedia continues to play a major role in arts organizations. No longer does an audience member have to physically be present at a museum or concert in order to show support. Many museums, orchestras, and theatres have taken advantage of transmedia and made resources available on websites and other social media outlets to allow audience members to participate in the organization.
After reading “Re-Presenting the City” diversity and diversifying participation seem to have one major theme: location, location, location. If one wants to have options for social organizations, move to a diverse neighborhood. “Diverse neighborhoods are more likely to have many social institutions within one-half mile of more homogenous neighborhoods.” I can only assume these social institutions are trying to accommodate each culture represented in the community, therefore one has endless options. Other major cities like New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles are excellent examples of diverse neighborhoods with numerous social institutions.
Current politics involved in the arts and arts participation is one of changing the common stereotype from the arts being bland, boring, and “social broccoli” to a mechanism for social change and cooperation in our society. Countless stories of arts participation, stimulated by government funds, pervade not only the Module 2 readings but also my newsfeed and rave about the use of arts as a catalyst for helping and healing other human beings: bringing the different neighborhoods of Philadelphia together through the city’s varied arts programing; rehabilitating convicts through creative-writing workshops; engaging inner-city Minneapolis teens through activities at the Walker Art Center. Programs like these are being increasingly popular as we head farther into the 21st century, simply because the definitions of arts participation, culture-building, and social change is evolving as the Millennial generation grows older. Long-held social practices that those a generation ago upheld are now being thrown out the window, to be replaced by new ideas using non-traditional rituals that will (hopefully) have a positive impact on society.
Sadly, the politics of arts participation in the United States is very dependent on monetary support. It is difficult to find sponsors and supporters for arts and cultural organizations nowadays. Presence and success is defined by grants and money acquired. If the United States would allocate more money to these organizations and programs in schools, the accessible, public arts would thrive. Nicholas Chase pointed out that being an artist or an arts administrator now requires incredible skills at grant writing, persuasion, and other administrative tasks that actually take away from art creation to attempt to gather money. This is the new version of “politics” that plague the arts culture within America.
The arts do occupy a very powerful sector of global culture. The essay Representing the City: Arts, Culture, and Diversity in Philadelphia identifies two main types of arts participation, classified as “mainstream” and “alternative.” The mainstream arts include large city symphonies, established art museums, and classical theatres. These are usually the oldest and most prevalent within culture, and therefore gives them a lot of power. Usually, the “mainstream” arts can be difficult to get to, are expensive, and seem elitist to many people. With technology, these highly regarded institutions can now expand their accessibility and range of audience, transforming the fine arts through transmedia outlets. The alternative arts are gaining momentum, and they are powerful in that they are the primary source of an advancing culture. Pushing the boundaries is important so that culture doesn’t remain “ordinary.” These alternative, contemporary, and experimental arts are embracing transmedia to promote community participation outside of a traditional building, and this is broadening collaboration and the general perspective of what can be considered art and arts participation.
Diversity creates an interesting, cosmopolitan mix of people and culture, but it also produces variation in the art world. Diversity of background, values, and mindset progresses culture and art. While the social and cultural institutions in minority communities or more diverse neighborhoods may not be as well known, they are influencing the art world the most with incorporation of varied ideas that could be considered “new” by mainstream arts participators. It is important for these organizations to exist. Larger institutions could promote diversity by creating satellite locations in atypical neighborhoods, or expanding accessibility through programming and transmedia outlets, or forming scholarship programs.
Currently, it would seem that there are various politics surrounding arts. According to Nick Chase, the political policies surrounding the arts doesn’t help to support artists. Chase states that the US policies concerning the Arts “reveals vague but pressurized ideas that place the Arts in a position of fulfilling humanitarian needs without cultural, moral, social, or financial incentive for the individuals pursuing Arts and Culture vocations” (Chase, 2014). Therefore, there continually is a monetary gap in arts organizations that they rely upon donations to fill (Chase, 2014). Similarly, the article written by the American Assembly recognizes the vastness of the artistic sector, but also recognizes that “for most not-for-profits, grants do not provide sufficient or dependable funding, and the efforts to raise the necessary funds can divert attention away from artistic concerns” (The American Assembly, 2000, p. 68). Therefore, the politics of participation within arts organizations is heavily dependent upon sufficient funding an interest.
A few of the readings in this module emphasize the importance of the arts in relationship to political environments. For instance, the article “Artlife: Art for Art’s Sake in the the Experience Economy” emphasizes how political leaders see the arts and artistic participation as a way of stimulating cities. Sam Gould cites the former mayor of Portland who states that Portland “would be driven by the creativity of the artists and the worlds they create” (Gould, 2015). Therefore, there is an expectation among politicians for the arts to drive and shape cities. Gould goes more in depth with this idea when he describes the tasks that are being placed upon artists. According to Gould, artists are “tasked with being the vanguard for developers and business interests, governments, and non-profit’s funded by all three . . . artists are brought in to present the future of neighborhoods and to illustrate the agendas of politicians devoid of the problems that business interests and elected officials must engage day-in and day-out” (Gould, 2015). Not only do politicians rely on the arts, arts, conversely, have been seen to have an effect on politics. In the article, “The Arts and Social Capital: The Saguaro Seminars” they report that arts have an impact on civic engagement. That, for instance, artists vote at higher levels and that youth who participate in after school arts related programs have a tendency to achieve more academically (Harvard Kennedy School, 2012). Through these two articles, one can see the the relationship between politics and the arts, where politicians rely upon the arts, and artists influence politics.
In Stern and Seifert’s article about arts, culture, and diversity in Philadelphia, they make an interesting note about how cultural diversity relates to artistic participation. According to Stern and Seifert, “arts and cultural organizations and engagement do not parallel divisions of race and social class; rather, they tend to concentrate in neighborhoods that are ethnically and economically diverse” (Stern & Seifert, 2000, p. 287). Therefore, ethnicity and economic diversity affect the politics of artistic participation since arts and cultural organizations tend to focus in areas that are more diverse. This idea is later supported when they state that “arts and cultural institutions and engagement give identity to diverse urban neighborhoods” (Stern & Seifert, 2000, p. 288). As a result of the findings of their study, we can realize that “arts and cultural organizations are more likely to be dominant in diverse neighborhoods” (Stern & Seifert, 2000, p. 295). The diversity in these neighborhoods creates a diversity of participation. This can be found on two levels according to Stern and Seifert, either as a way of forging identity, or as a way in which inter-group conflict can be addressed (Stern & Seifert, 2000, p. 295). As a result, we can see a complex relationship between arts and diversity, where the two are meshed together.
It seems that the current politics of participation in arts revolve around funding and where art stands on the list of priorities for each country or state. How do we encourage the children of the world to become artists when financially supporting yourself solely as an artist has become practically impossible? How do non-profit organizations survive with little financial support from their state or city governments? I really liked the article by Nick Chase identifying the double standards for arts and culture in the U.S. I find myself conflicted by the roles that an artist must now fulfill to be success. Chase writes, “The administrative work very literally never ends.” He talks about how an artist must spend almost more time on administrative tasks than on their very artwork because that is what is necessary for artists to financially support themselves. I have a deep interest in professional development for young artist and how to equip art students with the administrative tools needed to pursue an art career. I think that it is great for artists to be entrepreneurial and to learn to market, research and write about their art. On the opposite end it frustrates me that artists can’t focus their energy on their craft, that students can’t become art majors without needing classes in business. If there were more generous funding policies set up by each state to support local artists imagine the art products that each community could produce. There will always be tension between artists and funding but as Chase states, “In my opinion, funding is not the primary issue plaguing the arts today, attitude is. There is much more to be said on the matter, and much more to be done.”
Most of the provided articles point to the fact that art and participation in the arts is important to our societies and culture. If research and statistics prove that point then why isn’t art funding a priority, why isn’t the attitude of our government changing with the facts?
What are current politics of participation in arts—in making, curating, collecting, critiquing, programming art?
The article The Arts and the Public Purpose makes the statement that art helps people live with and interpret change. The article also says that the arts help to define what it is to be American, the arts contribute to quality of life and economic growth, the arts help to form an educated and aware citizenry, and the arts enhance life (p. 67). All of these points support the fact that arts participation is essential to life. Not only is it essential, it is expected that every person will participate with the arts in one form or another.
I feel that the current politics of participation in the arts is in a very interesting place. People have the freedom and technology to interact with the arts in ways no one would have imagined 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Traditional forms of art education, making, curating, collecting, critiquing, and programming have changed drastically – however, change can be a good thing. Online art archives allow people to view high quality images of art that may be thousands of miles away. This gives ordinary people the ability to be a critic. It is so easy to access art online, people may not even be aware that they are participating in the art world.
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
Bill Ivey’s cultural bill of rights is an awesome example of using transmedia to declare power. By writing and sharing these rights he is claiming that everyone has a right to be creative, and embrace their cultural heritage. Power and social practice intersect in transmedia environments quite often. An interesting way power interacts with transmedia is who or what has the power? For example, ordinary citizens can use the internet to produce blogs, pictures, and art to comment on someone or something that is in power. By doing this the people who are utilizing these transmedia environments are taking control of the power. However, if you live in a place where you do not have access to or your access is controlled to transmedia environments then whoever has control is wielding power over you.
What are parameters of diversity or diversifying participation?
The arts are very important in supporting the diversity of a neighborhood, city, and country. By making conscious efforts to provide opportunities for arts participation in diverse populations, it encourages these citizens to be engaged with, interact with, and support the arts. Access to the arts help people preserve their cultural heritage and embrace diversity.
At times the idea of providing a diverse set of community organizations can be futile because the areas might not be able to successfully house an organization due to the neighborhoods not being prosperous enough. This is because the neighborhoods where the poverty is great, there isn’t as much diversity throughout. Knowing that there is a strong relationship between arts organizations and racial communities is important. Areas of poverty for African-Americans have less access and less physical arts organizations around them, whereas areas of poverty that have more ethnic diversity have more access and more options for arts organizations. Arts organizations are more prosperous in ethnically diverse areas as well as in prosperous areas. Which does make sense but it limits who has access to them. It’s very much a catch-22 scenario; because there is this gap or divide of art when it comes to the presence or absence of diversity, cultural institutions are implemented to build bridges and allow people to participate with the arts through things like community programs or community engagement. While there shouldn’t be areas where it’s difficult for arts organizations to thrive or that diversity should be a hindrance to arts access, it is good to know this and how to make accommodations based on it.
What are current politics of participation in arts—in making, curating, collecting, critiquing, programming art?
To me, the funding of the arts has to do with more than a whimsical distinction between artists employed part time and “starving artists.” Rather, it is part of a system by which minority voices are systematically stifled. A much larger set of government funding in Germany goes to the arts than here in Eugene. The question they ask in Germany is, “We’ve already got funding for the standard ballets and operas. How can we appeal to the youth of this new ethnic group in our audience?” The question we ask in the US is, “We barely have money to maintain what we have going. Who can either sponsor arts or be an artist for free?”
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
What are parameters of diversity or diversifying participation?
The politics of participation in art differ from one place to another, and from one art activity to another. After reading the Cultural Bill of Rights, I realized that applying its clauses will only happen in a perfect world, as many factors take roles in the art world. Arts, like many other aspects in life, is often controlled by the wealth and power of a society, to include politics and traditions. Having said that, I believe that the arts, being a heterogeneous world, cannot be controlled by one power, individual, or government. While researching this topic, I found this interesting video, with the title “Who Controls Art”, here is the link https://vimeo.com/21621003.
Unfortunately, the power of arts is being underestimated, not only in the United States, but all over the world. An example of that would be the gentrification of artists from their buildings in order to shift the building/neighborhood towards wealthier residents. Another example of that is how the arts nonprofit continue to be challenged financially.
Transmedia has played an important role in the widespread of arts in the last decade. With the new means of technological distribution, artists and art institutions succeeded in selling, distributing, interacting, raising money, building audience, discussing, and critiquing art while seated behind their small screen. This helped a lot of art-lovers in watching their favorite art shows for free on the internet, while in the past they couldn’t because of the high prices of tickets, or because they lived far away.
In their paper, Re-presenting the city, the writers emphasized on the importance of urban diversity and cultural engagement, which help create and preserve the identity. ُThey also indicted that diversity can be shown in the number of cultural organizations a city has.
What are current politics of participation in arts—in making, curating, collecting, critiquing, programming art?
Our society tends to view arts as nonessential, which makes it difficult for the arts to be properly supported financially. Nicolas Chase’s blog post really outlines the challenges facing musicians in Oregon, which can be extended to all involved in the business of making art. He goes into great detail on the issue of raising funds, obtaining grants, and attempting to live above the poverty line as a working artist. Our society is not a supportive environment for artists. This is similar for programming; funding for art programs are typically the first to go. However, there are many people who do understand the importance of art – specifically its uses for education, therapy, creating social commentary, and bridging gaps in communities.
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
Transmedia environments flip the traditional script where a select few have an ability to have their voices reach a mass of people, to one where everyone with access to media suddenly has a voice and can be heard. This takes power away from the elite few and gives it to the public. However, commercial media still has power and control. As noted in the reading The American Assembly, this can be seen in the way nonprofits are often unable to utilize the most effective means to reach a broad or niche global audience because this ability still lies with broadcast media and they are controlled by their sponsors/advertisers. While the Internet is altering this, at the moment it is so inundated with voices and information that this can sometimes make it difficult to navigate that world. Some previously silenced voices now have a venue to speak, but they are getting buried beneath masses of content.
What are parameters of diversity or diversifying participation?
The article Representing the City: Arts, Culture, and Diversity in Philadelphia was an interesting read regarding this topic. It expressed how this project tracked diversity in Philadelphia. Here they focused on economic and ethnic diversity. They found the ways in which arts institutions bridged that gap and brought people together. I found it interesting, but not surprising, that “mainstream” art events had more participation from areas with higher income and less poverty. “Alternative” art events had higher participation from areas that were culturally/economically diverse. This is something to consider when looking into diversifying participation for an event. What is it about “mainstream” art events that is not attracting a diverse population? How can we reframe these events? Is the marketing for these events happening through venues that are not accessible to a wider population (e.g. social media marketing)? How can we make these events more inviting and inclusive?
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This financial situation often results in art either coming from people of means (the trust fund child who decides to become a “starving artists”) or being selected by people of means (the wealthy white man who decides to purchase and promote the paintings of latino artist). The art that we see is thus filtered through a financial system grounded in the values of the dominant ideology. What we see as challenging or even subversive may even just be the healthy subversive limb of the dominant ideology, that provides just enough room to question so that people feel content without challenging the status quo to the point of political unrest. Sam Gould makes the point that art needs to create problems, but that has never been an easy task. Commissions have long been the standard way for an artist to make a full time living, and the most alternative works typically come from people who made them while they worked other jobs. We actually have a unique opportunity here in the US to increase art funding and find creative new ways to distribute that funding so that the diversity of this country can be better represented in the arts. That said, Chase makes the point that attitude is the issue. While I agree with his points, I think that creative distribution of arts funds would solve some of he issues he discusses. It would turn the arts into a more grassroots, folkloric production, circumventing government disinterest in culture building while still maintaining the government role in the economic support of cultural programming. I would recommend doing a pilot program organized by bioregionalists that is nationwide but does not have a nationwide prescription for fund distribution, but rather considers each community (at scales ranging from “the South” to small towns) and provides for funding with few caveats as to what constitutes arts. The amount of engagement of the communities that this would involve would itself propel the program forward and generate not only interest but investment.
As an international student, I am not familiar with the politics in US. However, from what I have observed and learnt in the States, I am pretty sure that the arts environment in the USA is much more open and free compared with that of other country.
Here, I would like to share some hints about China. I am Chinese, or I would rather say I am a Mongolian-Chinese girl. What I have learnt from my family and my community is quite different from that of a normal Chinese family in culture and life habits. For me, I am always glad to be an ethnic minority in China. Although 55 minorities only occupy 7 percent of the whole population (1.5 billion in a total), they inhabit 60 percent of the Chinese territory, resided in Northwest, Southwest and Northeast of China. Our culture is brilliant with a long history. So in such an environment dominated by Han culture (Han people are the majority population in China, with 93 percent of its population), how to preserve and inherit ethnic minority culture has become a challenge. When we recall the history of China, we found that Tang dynasty was built by Xianbei people who were minorities. What is more, Yuan dynasty was founded by Mongolian people and the final Qing dynasty was established by Man people. Minority wrote a glorious chapter of Chinese history. But now, along with the fast development of the society and acceleration of the urbanization process, ethnic minority is losing their personality. On the one hand, an increasing number of new techniques come out and gradually have changed their life habits. They have to comply with the new trend of new technology to make a living. On the other hand, policy in some level is guiding minority people to accommodate their original styles to be in line with new things in which always Han culture dominates. However, history always needs to be looked back, more and more young minorities generation now are beginning to revive their unique culture from an international perspective. I know that the way is still long, but the rich culture will never be afraid, for it will attract more people’s attention around the worldwide.
Based upon the spreading of trans-media, people will have various ways to spread their ethnic minority culture. This action will also be beneficial to the people who are always interested in minority culture. Though people come from different country, with various race, culture, and religion, arts has no boundary that people all over the world can communicate through it with each other.
Thinking about the politics of participation in the arts, what comes into my mind is how close participation and intervention of politics in the art world can be. My thoughts are related to certain experiences of intervention in the German history, for example the former GDR and how they tried to transform the art worlds within its short existence of this country. Stepping back from history, we should be aware that, although political participation has many advantages and a huge impact in our art worlds, politics influence the shapes of our art world.
I think, the art world should be as independent from politics as possible; this does not mean that art cannot be political. Nonetheless, we need the participation of politics, for example by creating nationwide laws, that ensure artists social security like retirement policies and health insurance. What I want to point out is the political participation on a local level. The interests of local politics are to guarantee an attractive, worth-living community with a healthy economy and a well-organized cohabitation of different generations, ethnicities and groups of interest – the diversity of communities. Referring to Reynolds Williams, who underlined culture “as a whole way of life”, meaning that culture is our everyday life. The arts and products of the arts, no matter if they are visual or performing, emerge out of our everyday culture and represent its diversity. Art is an approach, a possibility to connect people from a diverse background (economically and ethnically are parameters to express diversity) and takes place and is negotiated in art and cultural institutions. At this point, the power of politics and social practice through art intersect: As a diverse, connected communal life in our towns and cities still needs to be achieved, politics can participate in the art worlds by funding specific projects and the organizations or provide state-owned facilities for the use of art and cultural communities.
Transmedia, social networks and digital activity of small organizations strengthens their impact on the local and outside community, the art world and their chances about being funded by public (or private institutions), because they are able to act on a bigger platform as within their often limited space of the studio or cultural center.
While many people may perceive art as something limited to the elite, the truth of the politics of art participation is much more complicated than that. As expressed by Raymond Williams, culture (and the art that is created by a culture) is all around us. People are constantly surrounded by art forms of varying kinds, but as not all of the art produced is “good” by the standards of the aesthetics, or does not conform to the standards of established genres, it is not considered “Art”. Furthermore, as studied by Mark Stern and Susan Seifert, arts organizations tend (at least in Philadelphia) to be most common in areas of economic and racial diversity.
This diversity is key to the artistic process. While groups can certainly focus on historic works, and continually display and perform old works by old masters, in order for an art form to progress it needs to be innovated, and diversifying the group of people participating in the art world is a fantastic way to trigger that innovation. The communities identified by Stern and Seifert allow for that innovation, by providing spaces where a number of different cultures (both on ethic and class based lines) can interact and inspire each other, breaking down barriers and increasing participation in the arts.
Increased participation in the arts can suffer, however, when funding is not present to support artists. As mentioned by N F Chase, art funding in the US is perhaps the lowest in the world, at only 47 cents per capita. While the US has a long tradition of private arts funding, with families such as the Rockefellers and Fords contributing millions in dollars to the arts, this tradition has been rather limited to the elite, for whom giving money to the arts was just another form of conspicuous consumption, and whose ability to give gave them outsized power in the arts world. However, modern innovations such as Kickstarter (which, according to Heritage Action (which is hardly the most reliable source on this topic, but I was just looking at them for another class for arguments against public arts funding and found this fact in a 2013 paper they put out), provided $323.6 million in funding for Arts related projects in 2012) and Patreon allow individuals to support the arts they want in whatever amounts they can, breaking down old barriers and giving power to those who were previously largely powerless in the arts scene.
(And as a side note, while I didn’t know that Wales had the highest level of arts funding in the world, it does make sense after having lived there for a year. A country in which men’s choirs are not only a common thing, but frequently connected to local rugby clubs and historically connected to the mining that fueled Wales’ economy; whose biggest celebration of national identity is a festival dedicated poetry, literary, and musical competitions (unless they beat England in Rugby – that tends to turn into an even bigger celebration with lots of shouts of “Cymru am byth!”); and whose national parliament is next to a concert/opera house is a country that can be expected to prioritize the arts funding. The fact that Wales’ dedication to the arts and culture, and funding of those things, helps to not only differentiate it from England, but to keep alive its traditions and language, also ensures that the more Welsh Nationalist leaning members of the Senedd ensures that those funding levels are likely to stay in place.)
Current politics of participation in arts bring up the issues of the roles art plays in society, both historically and contemporary. Much of society underappreciates the value art plays in everyday life. From the music we listen to driving to school to the historical monuments that are iconic to our country, art “can and do[es] meet the needs of the nation.” (The American Assembly, pg.1) There is so much crossover between making, curating, collecting, critiquing and programming art that the participants are often doing one or more forms of participation simultaneously. With an increase in transmedia environments, with the mode of participations merging, power is becoming more accessible to those who normally might not influence the art world. The stay at home mom, with no formal art training, might blog about her art classes at various community art centers. She now has the power to critique her experiences while making her blog, thus participating in more than one way. Power and social practice also intersect across the non-profit arts and commercial arts. In The American Assembly reading, uses the example of a small theater producing a show that might go to Broadway and end up being produced for television or movies. The media environments audiences receive and participate in the art encompass a larger social group as the art piece increases in power. So, gathering from the reading, as art is spread further outward in more environments, social practice is increase, thus the artwork gains power.
When thinking of diversity or diversifying participation, there is a direct correlation between more diversified neighborhoods or environments and more places to participate in art. Social constructs or conventions in place in a less diversified neighborhood will have a hard time being broken down or set aside to create a more accepting community environment—which encourages participation in the arts. If people feel accepted socially, they feel safe and empowered to express themselves creatively. Also interesting, is that neighborhoods with a higher poverty rate, more African Americans, or a younger population tend to have more institutions for participating in art—contrary to common belief.
Based on the readings, it appears that the current politics of participation in the arts are centered on the idea of the arts representing an undeniable public good – that is, that arts and art programing should have a specifically community bent in its development and deployment. And not simply a community bent, but rather a rosy vision of an artistic community steeped in the language of consumerism and billed in such a way as to create an artistically minded ‘good’ democratic citizens – as in the case of the “cultural bill of rights.” I am left considering specifically how these politics play into the “art” itself. This weeks readings seem to divorce the creation from the interpretation of art as a social tool and for the sake of funding – drawing out a monetary connection between political and artistic endeavors.
Transmedia seems to provide a strong voice for artist-owned and directed works of art and storytelling. One of the blog posts for this week suggested that an artist had to be a jack-of-all-trades – ranging from a PhD in business management to a full time creator of art – in order to succeed as a full time artist. I was left wondering if artists had more power in transmedia settings. For transmedia projects, it seems that the work might be less contingent on traditional funding routes. In this sense, it seems that a form of fuller ownership (read as power) is present within transmedia because it is up to the artist to direct their artistic endeavors as they see fit; that is, the artist is granted a larger proportion of control over his or her work in this setting, which in turn leads to a level of power within their work that may not be attainable through traditional funding means.
With regards to ideas of diversity and participation, there seems to be a number of situations where power dynamics and access come into play. Take, for example, transmedia: even in transmedia’s incipient form, individuals may be unable to participate due to (if the art form is found online) a lack of access to technology. When reading the “cultural bill of rights,” I found myself wondering if it is the art world’s responsibility to seek out and provide ways to make itself more diverse? If we are to take seriously the notion that art provides some sort of social benefit, the answer seems to be a resounding yes – the more individuals able to enjoy art the better in this scenario.
The politics of participating in art that are closest to me are the politics of gender. As a college undergrad student studying Studio Art in my fifth year, I have had one course where the number of males outnumbered females. I have taken at least 80 credits worth of art classes, which figures out to around 20 classes. The aforementioned male dominant class was technically not even a studio art class, but a product design class. In my personal experience in art, there are very little men. I found this article interesting because it asks the question “Is the Art World biased?” to 20 successful women in the art field. https://news.artnet.com/people/we-asked-20-women-is-the-art-world-biased-heres-what-they-said-81162. Like I said, I found the article interesting, but also kind of sad. A lot of the responses seemed a little defeated and tired, maybe even a little angry, like the response “Hahaha is the pop Catholic?”. I did rejoice, however, in the clever and educated responses by some women as I am glad to see that people are aware of the issue and are prepared to make comments on it. One particular quote interested me because it mentioned, and I am paraphrasing, that the highest priced works of art belong to men and that those who represent those artists are also men. This seems like a social practice to note. Many musical artists have representation as well, but there is little discussion about gender in that role. Is it that musical artistry is easier packaged and sold than art so that the relationship between the musical artist and representation is less intimate and more business focused? Is it that male artists are more comfortable working with a male agent and that allows for the message of the art to be better translated from one person to another?
How do power and social practice intersect, especially in transmedia environments?
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