Meeting TBC...

The excerpt below is from what was spoken at the Council/Community meeting 1/16/2019, regarding our plan and movement forward with arts funding. Sitting in the room I can always feel more than what is being said. Today and like last meeting, I felt frustration, unease, unknown direction-- but I witnessed and also felt something miraculous. As a person who came from a small-ish town in WNY it was remarkable to be surrounded by people who devote their lives to causes for greater good, by people who believe. They believe (even if it wasn't said out-loud) if we work together, we can construct an inclusive future where the arts are considered in this community a fundamental asset, a market player, a pillar of our vibrancy and economy.
​I witnessed  organization leaders from all arts sectors coming together to listen and learn from one another. Like others, I think I am still pensive about this undertaking, mostly because of the time and energy involved in carving out a better reality and stronger market. But if we can work together, communicate effectively and execute strategically, some of the greatest issues will be addressed. In our "millennial" society, we have been dealt an advantageous hand; we have resources, like the internet and cloud based data storage, to gather and disseminate information, to reach a wider audience and hopefully engage others to participate in the change- by some typing and a few clicks of the mouse. The real question is do we believe we can do it?  (This is where we say YES)
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​My name is Amy Vena- I am an artist, arts advocate, administrator, and writer. I Manage a Corporate Archive & Art Program, for a decentralized pharmaceutical corporation. I have served as an adjunct instructor in fine arts at RIT, and community/corporate liaison for the Henry Lomb Memorial Restoration and re-dedication Project with the City of Rochester. I also pride myself in working with Garth Fagan Dance on their 75/45 Gala, and with the Garth Fagan Dance School.
 
Since last meeting, I hope many of you have had the opportunity to read through local arts articles, watch the news regarding last meeting and watch the video of the last meeting, posted to Your tube by the Flower City Arts Center. (Thanks Amanda for recording!). I hope you have had the opportunity to read through the latest issue of AHP. Janice Gouldthorpe’s article “Creating Inclusion in the Rochester Arts Scene,” and my article , Fulfilling the status Quo, Generating Sustainable Vibrancy in the “City of the Arts” address many of the variant issues we are addressing today and in the near future, head on.
 
Since last meeting Olivia Kim has started the Facebook Group Roc Arts United to disseminate information and keep dialogue relevant. If you use Facebook, please join this group. She is also looking for willing administrators who are able to keep the page moving forward.
 
-Rome Celli is doing great things with the Rochester Art Collectors group – and would love to assist in driving the economy forward
- Olivia Kim and other feel like we need a unified art media campaign
Many others have a vision of igniting the arts & cultural economy and spreading awareness about consumer engagement with peers outside of the art industry. 
 
I hope these events and campaigns can happen but without unified communication, funding and competent administration we are still far away from these goals. It’s great to think Proactively but we need to focus our energy on where our system is currently failing us. We need to fix our engine, all hop on the same boat(or bus), before we can drive forward.
 
Organizing the arts in this city is very complex because, we are a large city, our arts offerings are diverse in size and offerings and our audiences are vast. The "Art for Everyone," mentality entails contribution and participation from the broadest spectrum of practitioners and administrators. Something we have been struggling to do in the past: find a unified voice. We need to look at Art and arts participation from a very broad approach; and we need to figure out how to disseminate and communicate with each other effectively, way before we can think about submitting any type of proposals for funding or reformation to the current administrative practices.
 
We need to focus on the City, Monroe County and the State of New York. 
What can we do from an administrative perspective now? 
Who do we speak to, and for what? --a great example would be live music in the Airport --we have billboard for U of R, why not Eastman students playing live?
What are our current and most critical issues?- like the Rochester Historical Society. 
How do we(citizens, working artists) find out about Open Calls & RFP's?
 
We like any other business industry,  need economic associations or economic development groups for the arts and culture market; Similar to the Downtown Development Corporation, AIA, RAF or CDCR. We need a team that can manage the reformation effort, operations, and a team that's not going to do it for free. 
 
We need organizations that will nurture a broad range of projects and be a resource for information dissemination to the Rochester Arts Community. We've come a long way with ROC Arts United, but we need to host frequent programming and be accessible to people with limited economic resources. 
 
We need a vibrant and economically strong association with a board of engaged business masters/leaders, curators, organizers, accredited advertising/graphic designers, PR directors, communication specialists and proven event planners who will launch campaigns and initiatives for artists in our area. We need to strengthen and build our economy and that is not going to be done by the internalized cyclical culture we currently have, we need to campaign beyond Rochester and drive people here.
 
When it comes the Arts economic sector we need a major shift from non-profit to for-profit; we need to think more like independent business owners & entrepreneurs, in our association development.
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Thoughts on Where to create action…

1. City and County-  Awareness, Support & Funding- for artists and organizations
2. Vibrancy/Events- How are we working together, how are we isolated?
3. Inclusion and Diversity/Communication- What is the best way to communicate with our peers
4. Economic Development/Sustainability
5. Business Development/ Marketing/ External Campaigns & Audience Engagement/Reach- How is the county/city helping us reach outside of Rochester? How are we doing it independently?
6. Business Analysis, consumer/engagement reports- Communicating Results and findings; collecting & disseminating this information

 
Just my two cents, to Join the movement- follow ROC Arts United on Facebook or get in contact by filling out a contact form.
--Amy V.