CreateAustin

CreateAustin Interim Action Update

Hi! Deborah Edward here, from Greenlights - a member of the CreateAustin planning team.

Bill Bulick and I are sharing editing privileges on this blog as the CreateAustin cultural planning process moves into a new phase.

In 2007 the CreateAustin draft plan  was sent to the City for review by municipal leaders, including City Council. However, the  CreateAustin leadership team was not ready to let go of the momentum that has been building during these months of planning, reviewing, brainstorming, and collaborating.

So in November, we launched an Interim Action plan, and put out a call for anyone already involved in the planning process to join in efforts that could continue the buzz for the plan, and organize activities to help move the ball forward on key initiatives.

A hardy group of volunteers responded to the call, and a few interim projects have emerged. Teams have been organized to...:
1) Assemble an inventory of the spaces and venues presenting arts and culture.
2) Conduct a survey of the various school-based, out-of-school, and after-school programs that connect learners to creativity - to identify resources and gaps in our local arts education programs.
3) Explore ways to structure and focus a Creative Alliance to serve artists and arts organizations.
4) Keep the creative community informed and involved in the cultural planning process.
5) Identify people and models to lead the community-based implementation of the cultural arts plan.

If you haven't already read the CreateAustin draft plan, check it out on the city website.

If you want to get involved in one of these interim initiatives, read the meeting notes and contact me.

Here are meeting notes for your review:
GENERAL MEETINGS: Download createaustin_interim_jan_15_notes.doc
INVENTORY GROUP:Download createaustin_inventory_action_team_meeting_notes_1.08.08de.doc
CREATIVE ALLIANCEDownload creativealliance_modelsfeb08.xls

We invite any of you to comment here about the past, current, or future process of the cultural arts plan. This is a community effort - and your voice  is important!

Next meeting of the Interim Action Teams will be Monday February 4 6-8 pm at the Carver Library 1165 Angelina. If you are interested in attending, and perhaps joining an Action Teamm e-mail me at deborah.edward@gmail.com.

Arts Leadership Succession Efforts

Guest blogger and author: James T. Parsons/Attorney at Law

While many arts entities have "young professional" groups, by and large they are not fully succeeding in these efforts of truly developing arts leadership succession inter-generationally. 

While these groups are good about "introducing young people" to the art, they are within various degrees unsuccessful at grooming future leaders - with some exceptions, of course.  Much of this problem relates to the "time" it takes to invest in such leaders, with most organizations believing that the "time" would produce more fruit quickly by having strong limits on these other development effort.  Much like saving toward retirement, such dividends seem small in comparison to more immediate and short term returns on investments in the here and now (the seasoned leaders).  However, like saving for retirement, having at least a portion of an art's effort focused at professionals from various age groups is necessary to diversify their efforts for more long-term stability.

Part of why I think the National American for the Arts Initiative model can and will work is that it does recognize the need of building in those younger leaders into the model, through professional development. Using an analogy from the military, arts organizations often want to recruit Generals and Colonels (Seasoned and experienced board members), but don't seem to understand the way that the military works.  The the mass of Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors is how those Generals and Colonels ACTUALLY lead - and that those lower level officers are being groomed for promotion and leadership through the process. 

Using this analogy, arts organizations believe that they ought to find promising lieutenants (their young professionals), create some entity that will "introduce them" to that arts entity, and in a few years they can start contributing at the level of the Generals and Colonels (ie, the Seasoned, board members).  When that fails, they don't understand why their succession planning has also failed.

The reality is that there is a huge gulf between the young professionals and the seasoned board members, by and large, and that those young professionals may be very promising, but are not currently capable of bearing the full financial or leadership responsibilities of the seasoned leaders at the same level.  Without a systematic approach of developing these professionals, from emerging leaders - to mid-level leaders - then to seasoned leaders - to  board members - any other efforts will, in my experience and opinion, fail. As with all non-profit development, you have to move donors and leaders up a ladder - one step at a time - to obtain long-term development goals.  Without long-term planning, quick fix solutions in such areas have a momentary splash, a headline, but quickly fade as the rose.

If the City's effort is really intending to build a garden for the arts in Austin under CreateAustin, that will live long into future decades and make a significant impact on this City's ability to nationally draw attention for its arts leadership, it must account for the emerging and mid-level leadership development as a necessary component. Continuing with a garden analogy, we are talking about the planting of trees, not annual flowers.  While trees take longer to establish, maybe even decades, once they are established - they are there for generations, such as the baby trees planted 100 years ago on the Capitol grounds. Thus, while networking young leaders is more like flower gardening, the true development of strong arts leaders is more akin to forestry. 

If CreateAustin does not fully engage young leaders now in the planting of those leadership trees, in a few arts seasons, these efforts will equally fade.  To ensure, as well, the buy-in of this group, I would encourage the City to engage a group of young professional leaders now that will help develop and execute that portion of the plan.

COLLABORATION IS KEY

We're smart people.

There are infinite ways in which we might work together. Let's get this conversation started...

To begin, it's essential for those leading and managing cultural venues, programs and offerings in Austin to sit down and talk, openly that is, about challenges and triumphs, audiences and supporters.  Once all realize the experiences are sometimes identical (and we're all in this together), solutions can be defined.

It's not about re-inventing the wheel either. City models of inspirational collaborative success are being shared, resourced and reviewed all over the country. Like art, this can become a process of exploration and growth for Austin.

In unity comes opportunity....some even you might not imagine (yet).

Is Austin becoming too expensive for creators?

Is Austin becoming too expensive for artists and creators to live and work here? That fear has been voiced very strongly by many participants in focus groups and interviews. Yet others, including public officials, cite statistics that assert Austin is still affordable compared to other large, Western US cities. What is the truth? Is this a critical issue? How will we decide? What, if anything, will the Austin community do to assure that its most creative individuals can continue to live and work here?

Where does creativity reside?

Bill Bulick here, inviting you to weigh in…

Input received from focus groups, interviews and community meetings so far has reflected two strong currents of thinking – that Austin must be careful to provide support – “habitat” - for individual artists and creators – and that it is critical that the community do a better job in sustaining its major cultural institutions. Which is more important? Can we do both? What does a cultural infrastructure look like that can accomplish both? How could institutions and individual creators work more productively together?