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Hoong Yee, Richard, Janet
&
Barry
Blogging for a better world
At this year’s conference, I was joined by two other bloggers to capture in words the spirit and essence of this universe we call grantmakers in the arts – Richard Kessler and Barry Hessenius.
What is art about, really?
If you have ever heard Dr. Manuel Pastor speak, you would know what he would say.
Dr Manuel Pastor writes and speaks frequently on issues of demographic change, economic inequality and community empowerment. At his keynote speech at the Grantmakers in the Arts 2011 Conference, he said many things I thought were cool:
On December 15, 199, we became a majority/minority state.
Collaboration and conflict go together.
Collaboration is principled conflict.
Do you know the difference between chess and jigsaw puzzles?
Chess Jigsaw puzzles
2 colors many colors
some pieces are more powerful than others every piece is important
you gain by knocking a piece out you gain by putting pieces together
the goal is to win the goal is to complete
As a nation we play way too much chess
Art is making things of beauty with friends
Frances Phillips and her Beowulf socks
Frances Phillips is a quietly impressive force with a knitted sock patterned with the opening lines of Beowulf beginning with, “Hwaet…” wrapped around two slender needles tucked away in her pocketbook.
Hwaet?
“I’ll send you the instructions, you’ll love it.” Frances clearly loves literature and knitting to depths beyond me and the rest of the GIA Knitting Circle. ”Just remember to weave in your strands when changing colors mid row.”
Believe it or not, that makes sense to me. Later on during the conference, Tommer asked me if I had lost a ball of green yarn. At the moment I am knitting something in a silver cotton so no, the yarn did not belong to me.
“Hmmm, I wonder if Frances is using green in her Beowulf socks. Lynn Stern might be, she is working on a pair of multicolored gloves. Let me put the word out for you.” In my opinion, the fact that I know this stuff is actually impressive as an example of niche knowledge, thank you very much.
I turned to Frances, smiled bravely thinking to myself, “Wonderful! Just in time for holiday knitting.”
We were serenaded at the plenary brunch by Eugene Rodriguez, Linda Ronstadt, David Hidalgo and Los Cenzontles.
Throw me the lemon
Throw me the lime
Throw me the key
To your heart.
You are my dear
You are my love
You are my dove
That sings at sunrise.
Here’s something Linda Ronstadt said at the closing of the conference:
Mexican audiences know just when to howl and they know when to be quiet.
Hwaet everybody!
About the Author: Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer writes about how to be a nimble nonprofit, make life creative and make a difference at www.hoongyee.com.
She is also the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts. Hoong Yee can be found surfing in the Rockaways whenever there are waves.
Do you want to know the fears, visions of perfect worlds and world changing advice of your peers and keynote speakers?
I have a special bonus post for you of interviews I conducted with people during the conference. Just leave me a comment with your email or better still, subscribe at www.hoongyee.com and get my interview post and new style notes for people who change the world delivered to your inbox.
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
How do you listen to a whirlwind?
If the whirlwind has a name, such as Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and he is before you – natty, smart, hey let me check you out stylish with a sharp lid tossed casually to the side as he picks up speed and lets the words fly -
- you sit back. Now.
As a conference blogger, I sat at Marc’s Keynote Performance at the Plenary Breakfast Session on Monday at the Grantmakers for the Arts 2011 Conference, confident in capturing the essence of the experience while having my morning coffee with a ballroom full of my colleagues.
It became very clear that Marc operates at speeds unfamiliar to most people and I was left both delighted and bewildered by his message.
So in the spirit of capturing the wind, here is what I caught from that performance:
If you can’t outrun it, get out in front of it and figure out where we’re going
Let’s transform the iconography of an environment
Practice the art of believing that these things, dance, buildings, art, have redemptive quality
Here’s a recipe for a creative ecosystem of critical adjacencies -
Take equal parts revenue potential, artistic presence and invested audience consistency.
Mix well.
Let rise.
Voila! A localized interdisiplinary network.
No amount of Facebook contact can compete with public proximity and investment
Art happens everywhere for anyone
Art is not and object or an outcome only
Art is a process and an opportunity for community
It is hard for grantmakers to track outcomes and creative stimulus but perhaps we should be looking at metrics to measure the scale and health of creative partnerships in our ecosystems
Success is tied to the growth of others
Good changes in structure focus on interdependence, not products
Invest in artists who create contextual work within communities
Let’s shift nonprofit practice and structure to value accumulated surpluses
Formula for changing the world -
Audience development + good fiscal health = healthy arts field
Whew! If you want to get closer to the wind and get more of Marc, check out http://www.lifeisliving.org/
Let me leave you with my favorite piece of current wisdom from Marc:
If you can’t outrun it, get out in front of it and figure out where it’s going.
About the Author: Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer writes about how to be a nimble nonprofit, make life creative and make a difference at www.hoongyee.com.
She is also the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts. Hoong Yee can be found surfing in the Rockaways whenever there are waves.
Do you want to know the fears, visions of perfect worlds and world changing advice of your peers and keynote speakers? I have a special bonus post for you of interviews I conducted with people during the conference. Just leave me a comment with your email or better still, subscribe and get new style notes for people who change the world at www.hoongyee.com.
I like to think I am a better person, smarter, my head filled with new ways of thinking, and ready to rock and roll after being surrounded by people who love and respect the power of the arts to change the world.
The truth is, I am probably heavier after all of the dine-arounds and dinners out. My card case will explode with all of the business cards I collected. My eyes glaze over thinking about where to start first.
My mother, the evolved Buddhist from Bayside, did not achieve her state of grace without believing in some basic universal truths. She would say,
“Get over yourself. You are just a speck in the grand scheme of things so relax. Take one step at a time.”
Thanks, mom. I know she meant to say something like “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” but after living in Queens you start to sound like a local. Anyway, here are some of my impressions and images from this year’s American For The Arts Convention in San Diego:
Come hungry for ideas and inspiration
Any vestiges of plane fatigue vanished the minute we stepped into the room for dinner with the oh-my-god amazing Ovation crew. I have been following their programming over the years and truly appreciate their commitment to capturing the stories of this arts landscape we are all part of.
So smart to be reaching out to the field to build local viewerships that will grow, as Elizabeth Streb, my dear friend and awesome dancer likes to describe this as, “like rhizomes”. Talk about grass roots with grip!
I will also be getting a better camera or phone with a better camera so my shots come out clear.
me, nancy glaze and sonia tower
Wear comfortable shoes
This is a big hotel. To do your best in dashing from one session to another you must be able to explode from the starting gate, leap over buildings in a single bound and look fabulous. Make sure you have the right shoes. Like my friend Naj. Now here’s a man whose shoes scream comfort.
barbara schaffer bacon and naj wikoff
What’s your story
Caught Dinah walking out of a workshop on storytelling.
“Anything worth blogging about?” I asked.
She smiled and said, “Couple of things. For me as a funder hearing from groups in the field, I would suggest they pay attention to really communicating the story of what they do beyond the field so other people get it, and use normal words, no jargon.”
Wise words to remember, everybody!
dinah walls and mitch menchaca
Ladies who laugh too much
Beware! You could be fired for laughing too much. Or much worse.
Obviously that doesn’t bother either Danielle or her sidekick, Ramona, who have made laughter a prerequisite for entering their circle. I am so thrilled to have shared a chuckle with these ladies. Check us out on AFTA’s Facebook page.
danielle brazell and ramona baker
How to say stuff in Arabic
Shannon wore a T shirt with something written in Arabic. It is part of a project her partner is involved with to make this language more visible graphically, on T shirts and cards. Shannon has kindly shared two of these notecards with me that each display a beautifully written word in Arabic. One that says, “artist” and one that says, “designer”. It makes me want to learn more. Seth too. He wants to know how to say, “Frosted Flakes” in Arabic.
shannon daut and seth, my conference eye candy
As a speck in the universe, I have decided to follow up on just three things today:
1. Write this blog post for you
2. Get a comfortable pair of shoes
3. Call my mother
I am so looking forward to seeing how everyone is doing at next year’s convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer is a surfer from Rockaway Beach who blogs at www.hoongyee.com about how to live artfully. By day, she is the Executive Director of the Queens Council on the Arts.
I write about the art of happiness with style notes for creative people who want to make life their everyday passion. What's yours? 
