What is an arts service organization?

Our new organizational description reads: CAELA is an arts service organization providing resources, information and connections for people who are living out their faith in service to God and others through leadership in the arts. (read more on our home page)

Arts service organizations (often abbreviated ASO) come in many sizes and forms. A 2005 report by The Boston Foundation, “Arts Service Organizations: A Study of Impact and Capacity,“ reads:

Arts service organizations in the United States vary dramatically by budget size and type and scope of services. An article published in the Journal of Arts Management Law and Society in 2001 identified over 4,000 existing ASOs. These include national, local, and regional membership associations, non-membership service providers, labor unions and guilds, advocacy and special interest groups, and volunteer and avocational membership groups. (p. 9)

In its Appendix (p. xv), the report also included several definitions of “arts service organization,” which we found very helpful in re-envisioning CAELA:

“A nonprofit entity that provides program services or technical assistance to arts organizations and/or individual artists and whose primary mission is not to perform, produce, present, or exhibit artistic work.”  –Arts & Business Council

Read more on our new website’s blog page, here. 

What’s in a name?

Roses, Vincent van Gogh (1890)

“That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
—Romeo and Juliet, Act II scene ii

When I got married, I resisted changing my name. I’d been a Purcell all my life, then I’m suddenly a Jennings? What had happened to my Purcell-ness? Did I have to throw away who I’d been all those years as a daughter (and…person…) in order to become a wife?

But names are important. I wasn’t required to change my name, yet names reflect identity and, upon getting married, my identity had fundamentally changed. As I (sometimes reluctantly) embraced that fact, I became more comfortable with taking on a new name as I started to feel like “a Jennings.” I also chose to sometimes use both names in contexts that span both my single and married identities (like within my career).

In scripture, people’s names are often changed to reflect changes in their identities. Abram becomes Abraham, Jacob becomes Israel, and Simon becomes Peter as God leads them into their destinies. Sometimes our names don’t actually change, but they shift based on who we’re becoming. Billy grows into William and Allie grows into Alexandra. The Jewish leader Saul of Tarsus always had two names, and he chose to start primarily using his Roman name, Paul, when his calling to the Gentiles was made clear.

Church and Art Network is also renaming based on shifting identity, growth into a more mature organization, and clarification of our calling from God to the world we’re seeking to serve.

Church and Art Network is now CAELA – Christian Arts Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Advocates.

Trending Idea #3: We need partners, not patrons

This is the third and final installment in our “trending ideas in the arts” series. To recap, those ideas are:

Art is not free.
It’s not about us.
We need partners, not patrons.

Have you already guessed that the three ideas are connected? Good!

There are costs, of both time and materials, in any form of art-making. Artists can either cover the costs ourselves or get help from others. If we’re serving others through our creative work, we can ask (even expect?) others to help cover the cost.* That can look either like a purchase by the recipient for his own benefit, or a gift through which he shares the benefit with others.

The question we have to ask next is “Why?” What’s his motivation? And does it make any difference?

And this is where my aversion to the traditional concept of  “patronage” comes in. “Patron” comes from the Latin word patronus (Harry Potter fans…), which means “defender, protector, former master (of a freed slave); advocate.” One step back in the etymology is the word pater – father. The words “paternal” and “padre” come from here, too.

Although we may think of a patron of our work as simply “someone who buys,” it’s not always an emotionally-neutral word. The word “patronize” (“treat in a condescending way”) comes from the same word. Playwright Ben Jonson, in his famous Dictionary of the English Language, defined a patron as “commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery” (written after a hoped-for financial gift failed to come through).

I hope few of us have that perspective on those they consider patrons. And my objection is really about semantics – about the language we use. But language is important. How we talk impacts how we think, and how we think impacts how we act.

There’s little in “patron” that suggests value outside of a personal relationship. And the arts need more firepower than that today. 

Trending Idea #2: It’s Not About Us

Here’s the next installment in three blog posts based on “big ideas” that surfaced in 2013 in our work. The first idea was: Art is not free. The production and presentation of any kind of art requires money and time, usually from both the artist and the person engaging with the created work.

The second is: It’s not about us. 

“Community engagement” is a big catchphrase in the arts world right now. One of my favorite bloggers on this topic is Doug Borwick, author of Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the United States and the Engaging Matters blog.  He writes,

“It is from community that the arts developed and it is in serving communities that the arts will thrive . . . Communities do not exist to serve the arts; the arts exist to serve communities.”

The [sometimes troubled] relationship of artists and arts organization with the communities around them has been a discussion point in the arts world this year; largely because of decreasing funding of the arts by government, foundation, corporate and individual donors. Arts organizations are often seen as out of touch with any but an elite (i.e. wealthy, highly-educated, mostly white) minority. There’s a growing idea out there that the arts don’t contribute as much value to communities as other “social service” organizations do, and therefore the arts don’t deserve the same type or amount of financial support that those other organizations receive.

2013 Trending Idea #1: Art is not free

Along with everyone else’s year-end lists I thought I’d add mine.

In 2013, I talked with more than 500 artists and arts leaders. In those workshops and conversations, I found myself frequently repeating three statements that often challenged their current thinking and sometimes confirmed what they already sensed. These three statements became the “T-shirt lines” for the year, so I thought I’d share and unpack them here for those of you who didn’t get to experience me on my soapbox in person. :)

These ideas – and my suggestions about them – grew out of my research and observations about the direction of the larger arts marketplace; my understanding of the value and purpose of the arts in God’s kingdom; and the concerns and needs expressed by artists and arts leaders around the world.

Trending idea #1: Art is not free.

The production and presentation of any kind of art requires both money and time. Some disciplines require more time than money, or vice versa; but I don’t know of any arts disciplines that don’t involve both to some extent, if the work is intended to be shared with the public.

Maybe there really is a wolf this time

Artists and arts leaders have been crying out about lack of money and patronage/audience support ever since I started following such conversations 25 years ago, when there was more money and support than we’ve ever seen before or since. The cry probably really meant “there’s not enough money and support for my art” (at least it did when I said it…). The people who were getting the cash and bodies – often the large institutions – kept quiet when that complaint arose, or waved the banner of their success to raise their economic profile even further. Because, let’s face it, no one really ever has as much money and support as we want, even the large institutions. That’s the nature of the beast.

However…. Unless I and many other arts observers have become Chicken Littles in the past week (to mix my parables), we’re no longer complaining to get attention from those we think should be doing more; we’re now getting worried that those might be actual wolf tracks outside the door. The decrease in interest and engagement in the “fine” (vs. commercial or popular) arts is starting to leave a visible mark on our culture – and no one’s worked up the courage yet to ask what it might mean for the future.

The first and biggest blow was a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States’ federal agency that engages with art-making in our country. The report showed a significant drop in arts attendance across several disciplines between 2008-2012 (as well as no change in some areas, and a slight increase in a few).

What are the #10qartscareer?

After a couple of months of focusing on “The Artist Entrepreneur” workshop series that just wrapped in NYC – and then a week to recover/catch up on everything else – I’m now pushing ahead to the second new project C+A is investing in. Both are part of what I’ve entitled “Oholiab’s Call”: the portion of our God-given vocation that commands us to teach and mentor younger artists/arts leaders.

The second project is an interactive discussion that we’re developing through the web and probably eventually a print book. We started on the project last summer, but had to put it on hold due to lack of funding. We’re back at it now and I’m consulting with arts students, arts professionals, and others about the best format and platform for the work.

The project addresses “The 10 Questions Young Artists Ask [or should ask] About a Career in the Arts” – aka (for now) #10qartscareer. I developed my own list of questions from 20+ years of working with emerging artists in various contexts and from talking with experienced artists about their life journeys, and I’d love to get your input, too. Of course, if you are a student or emerging artist, feel free to respond!

What are artists in their teens and early twenties asking about a career in the arts? What do you wish you’d gotten advice about from someone more experienced? 

Write your thoughts below, or email me at luann@churchandart.org.

For updates on how the project is going – and an opportunity to respond to the questions when they’re finalized – follow this blog or sign up for our enewsletters.

I’m also posting regularly on Facebook and Twitter about both arts entrepreneurship (#findyourownway) and careers in the arts (#10qartscareer). This is where I’m doing the majority of my work these days in “curating” the information out there that would be of interest to arts leaders in the church – be sure you’re following along! If you’ve signed up for FB and are not receiving our updates in your feed, go to the page a few times, or share/like/comment on a post, to “tell” FB that you want to receive our updates.

C+A is now marketing “The Artist Entrepreneur: Find Your Own Way” workshop to Christian colleges and churches, to help  students and other emerging professionals prepare for the arts marketplace. Interested? Contact me at luann@churchandart.org.

Get Engaged

One of the things we’ll be talking a lot about in “The Artist Entrepreneur” workshops in the next three weeks is engaging with our audiences, patrons, and other interested (or not-yet-interested) observers. If you follow C+A’s Twitter and Facebook posts, you’ll see that I post a lot about that topic there, too.

So, let me just make it official, and point you to some resources if you want to follow this very important emerging conversation and movement among artists and arts organizations.

I very strong believe (which you can tell from all the bold) – from my own experience as an arts leader and from my daily research into what’s going on in the broader arts marketplace – that the non-commercial arts are at risk of being permanently marginalized as elitist and irrelevant to most people, unless we in the arts take responsibility for changing how we work and how we talk about our work.

A Castle Needs Foundations

We’re getting ready for our first session of “The Artist Entrepreneur” workshops, next Monday evening in New York City! Please be praying for my preparation, and for the people who’ll be attending. I’ll be posting here, on Facebook, and Twitter for the next month or so about the topics we’ll be covering: Vision, Money, Communication, and Evaluation. If you want to follow along with us before and during the sessions, use #findyourownway

But here’s a great quote for the whole idea of becoming an Artist Entrepreneur:

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” −Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Haven’t all of us artists been accused of building castles in the air at one time or another? Being dreamers, out of touch with reality, lazy, selfish, and/or fools?

Oholiab’s Call: Two Distinct Roles, One Shared Responsibility

In my oft-quoted passages from Exodus (I promise, I will get back to that leadership series one day, it was getting good…), I’ve pointed to two people, Bezalel and Oholiab, as the first vocational artists in the Bible – they are, at the same time, called to arts leadership. Production and leadership seem to be married, from the beginning. Scripture says:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel … and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab … to help him. (Exodus 31: 1-6; emphasis added)

Then, a few chapters later, Moses repeats God’s command to the Israelites, but with one significant change:

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel … and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. And he has given both him and Oholiab … the ability to teach others. (35:30-35; emphasis added)

Oholiab was an artist also – he’s included among the “skilled workers and designers” – and assisting Bezalel on that massive project would have been a huge leadership role in its own right. So it’s interesting that, when Moses passed on God’s instructions, the only one that he doesn’t repeat verbatim downplays Oholiab’s “helping” role and emphasizes Bezalel’s and Oholiab’s equal “teaching” role. I admit to having an overactive imagination when it comes to filling in gaps in scripture, but I wonder if maybe Moses – an experienced leader of artists – was adding his own wisdom to God’s command.

Perhaps to Bezalel, Moses wanted to say: “Yes, you’re the visionary, the boss, the star of this whole deal (besides God, of course, and me, Moses). But you don’t get to just swagger around here and give orders. You need to show these young kids what you know and help them learn to do it, too. I know you’d rather be making art yourself, or orchestrating others in their creating; but God’s given you the ability to teach others for a reason, and he expects you to use it. One day you’re going to be gone, and God’s still going to want art to get made for his glory.”

And perhaps to Oholiab, Moses wanted to say: “No, you’re not going to be the star of this whole deal – in fact, your job is going to be the star’s helper, his coffee-getter, his side-man, his canvas-stretcher. But you do also have great skill, and a lot to offer to others, particularly these young kids who also have been given talents by God and a passion to use them. They need what you know, and God wants you to stop longing after the stardom he’s chosen to give to someone else, and make a real, immediate difference in the lives of the young artists around you. What you give to others will outlive anything you make yourself.”

Or something like that. Or maybe I’m just projecting. It’s been known to happen.

I’ve talked before here about how important it is for the experienced artist/arts leader to embrace our scripturally-ordained mentoring role. I’m going to talk more about it in the next two parts of this series. In part 2, I’ll share my own experience as an apprentice, and will ask you to share yours. In part 3, we’ll look at the need for mentoring in our current educational, economic, and artistic landscape, and we’ll hear from some students about their need.

Why?

Church and Art Network is beginning a major initiative to become an Oholiab to young Christians, to help them make knowledgeable choices and a productive start to their arts careers. Stay tuned for details. It’s exciting stuff that you’ll want to be part of!