OUTSOURCING.

Open Source: Networking Artists and Artists' Organizations

National Association of Artists' Organizations

12th National Conference

Brooklyn, New York 

June 22-26, 2000

The National Association of Artists' Organizations' (NAAO) annual conference provided an arena for a multitude of artists and arts workers to meet and discuss the process of both making work and running non-profit arts centers in today's technology-rich but funding-poor cultural climate. Given the exhaustive planning of organizers and the enthusiasm attendees brought to the event, it came as no surprise that the conference, charged with the theme "Open Source: Networking Artists and Artists' Organizations," succeeded in its mandate. Self-dubbed "the world's most fearless event dedicated to artist-centered culture and action," the conference tackled important issues, as well as offering casual, arts-centered networking activities.

Conference organizers made good use of the geography of the conference site. While the conference headquarters resided at the nonprofit space GAle GAtes in Brooklyn's revitalized DUMBO neighborhood, various presentations were a few short blocks away at such venues as Smack Mellon Studios and the Rotunda Gallery. There were a number of gallery walks led by local "art stars" through the quietly thriving Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. Here, even amid New York's claustrophobic rental arena, dedicated artists and volunteer curators sacrifice prime living space to create and maintain public gallery areas. This contrasted sharply with one of the themes that emerged from the conference discussions: the decreasing availability of affordable gallery and studio space, while complementing others: the issue of activism and the trend toward do-it-yourself.

The first plenary session, "Positive Epidemics," explored leveraging media in this age of information. Los Angeles-based artist Natalie Bookchin explained that while the critique of representation inherent in artwork of the 1980s and '90s was based on imagemaking, images were always co-opted. The current activist switch is toward actions, which cannot be co-opted, she claimed, but if they are, "all the better." Malcolm Gladwell expounded on ideas put forth in his book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference (2000). According to Gladwell, what is heard informally carries great weight. The Internet empowers non-traditional forms of communication and the use of cell phones also increases the variety and complexities of social interaction, and therefore ideas, he stated. He explained that word-of-mouth epidemics are sustained by a small majority, citing his theory that such epidemics are borne by a triumvirate consisting of "connectors" who know everyone, "mavens" who know everything, and "salesman" who are masters of persuasion. Ricardo Dominguez, cofounder of Electronic Disturbance Theater, spoke of his "hacktivism," which utilizes the Internet as an organizing tool. This has proven especially successful for those without access to the media, such as the rebels in Chiapas, Mexico. The second plenary session, "Transmission: Investigating the Migration of Visual Culture and Information Through Networked Systems," began by exploring how cultural workers can best utilize the benefits of current technologies while retaining the inherent power of human-based social networks but evolved into a debate about funding practices. New York sound artist Beth Coleman spoke of being "fearless" about "activating" corporate sponsorships. Kathy Brew, Director of Thundergulch, the new media arts initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, concurred, explaining how her organization has bartered with corporate entities for venues and advertising. Jasmine Delarosa of San Francisco's Third Eye Movement, who detailed her direct action organizing with youth, however, is determined to remain within the grassroots model and function with only earned income, avoiding dependence on government or corporate funding. "Breaking Ground," the third plenary session, brought together activist administrators who have discovered methods of working within the system, explaining that culture is a catalyst for economic development, and therefore community support. Tom Borrup demonstrated his success in commissioning "aerosol artists" to adorn Intermedia Arts' building in Minneapolis, while battling the community's initial distrust. Tyree Guyton and Jeannine Whitfield of the Heidelburg Project in Detroit have turned abandoned houses into tourist attractions and have seen neighborhood crime decrease dramatically. After explaining historic setbacks due to the local government's opposition to the project, Whitfield tellingly closed with, "Property is power--you must own."

Afternoon "breakout sessions," with panelists leading smaller participatory discussions, were held in various locations. In "More Than Lip Service: Community Based Public Art Projects," Anne Pasternak of New York's Creative Time projected images of projects sponsored by her organization to confront new challenges such as visibility. Artist-in-residence Shimon Attie's outdoor laser installation of texts he recorded in conversation with community members, written out in script in their original languages, is a testament to what Pasternak referred to as "being honest" about who one's audience is. During "Activating Radicalism" Barbara Hunt, Director of Artist Space in New York, and formerly of Visual AIDS, explained that the culture is moving toward "stay-at-home" activism. Because of the ability to act through the Internet, more activists now fall into a middle class demographic. Greg Sholette, a founder of New York's RepoHistory, characterized the tradition of radicalism as diverse and combatant, demonstratin g this through a slide show of anti-gentrification activist art (of mostly New York's East Side) of recent years. In "Curating the 21st Century," Stephen Rand, founder of Apex Gallery in New York, put starkly what many have feared: that entrepeneurship has hit the artworld. Moderator Hamza Walker of The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago expanded on the effects of this trend, saying that he used to believe globalism was a positive thing, but now is skeptical. A serious crowd packed "Cultural Policy: Debates, Implications, Limits, Possibilities." Kathy DeNobriga of Atlanta claimed that cultural workers must overcome "decades of elitist behavior" through democratic participation. Holly Sidford, a consultant for the Ford Foundation, called for funders to work collaboratively to create more long-lasting projects, stating that the ever-increasing collection of data does influence funding. Further issues of concern raised by audience members included cultural tourism, arts education and the dichotomy between practitioners and theorists. More than one participant referenced keynote speaker Ruby Lerner's call for a "do tank, not a think tank." Additional breakout sessions included "DJ Culture/Visual Culture"; "DYI: The Possibilities and Limits of Doing It Yourself"; "Digitexture: Working the Web"; "Wired?: Know What You Want and Then Go and Get It"; and "Service Learning." Additional offerings included individual consultations with financial experts and with a program director at the NEA, as well as regional NAAO meetings.

NAAO Director Roberto Bedoya, in the "National Meeting," noted that NAAO is continuing its work with such initiatives as The Co-Generate Project, which brought together young arts leaders from around the country and led to the publication of a Field Guide in early 2000; the Peer Arts Service Organization Project, which focuses on increasing the stabilization of organizations and on the betterment of working conditions; the National Arts Mentorship Program; and the State Project for Artists with AIDS, which will culminate in the next Field Guide. Bedoya also reported on NAAO's new monthly e-newsletter, its recent arrangement to provide arts information to the Gay Financial Network and its steady membership of 300 organizations and 300 individuals. Regional reports addressed concerns beyond the obvious ongoing financial challenges: leadership, regional isolation, staff burnout, information sharing, collective organizing, new technologies, renting vs. buying, generating feedback and building audiences. The incr eased role that NAAO, especially through its Web site (www.naao.org), could play in assisting its constituency was a prevalent point. A "consensus of crisis" was reached in the western group in regard to space issues, especially a problem in the saturated real estate markets of Los Angeles and San Francisco (see report in the forthcoming November/December 2000 issue of Afterimage), resulting in a call for NAAO to fight for the preservation of arts spaces through such means as mandated hotel taxes.

Closing remarks were given by National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Bill Ivey and filmmaker Gregg Bordowitz. Ivey provided an update on the financial and programmatic status of the NEA, citing the ongoing political battles being fought at the congressional level. He revealed that the latest NEA report shows that arts workers earn 12-23% less than the average income and engage in 40% more moonlighting and stated that the NEA must rely more on such statistics and research to discover what individual artists need, which he vowed remains a priority for the NEA. Ivey claimed that the United States "has never had a clear sense of itself as a creative society," and that we are in the midst of a domestic cultural war and part of a "perpetual border culture" imposed by governments. Bordowitz concurred that the borders are imposed, saying that democracy is "a commitment to difference," and the only thing all Americans share. He called impassionedly for adoption of "radical democracy," a movement to assert our freedom of assembly "on any topic, in any language."

Aside from the extensive conference panels and discussions, five "Hot Stuff" programs were offered. Hot Tours, bus trips conducted by local artists and arts workers, visited such destinations as Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens and Harlem, as well as the city's publicly-funded subway art scene. Hot Cam provided numerous venues from GAle GAtes to the tour buses for five curated screenings of several dozen contemporary short videos from around the country. Hot Match paired slides of artists' work with those of empty exhibition spaces. Unfortunately, the location for this program, on the second floor of Smack Mellon, was not ideal for encouraging actual networking toward implementation of these potential match-ups. Hot Web at Smack Mellon's Cyber Cafe provided browsers an opportunity to explore the latest on-line art projects and Web sites. Hot House, which ran throughout each lunch break, provided a venue for over three dozen NAAO organizations to present five-minute slide shows highlighting recent exhibitions , moves and renovations. These ranged from established sites such as SPACES in Cleveland to organizations currently without spaces such as Bad Girrls Studios in Boston.

It is a hopeful sign that such funders as the NEA, the Jerome Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation supported this endeavor. With continued dedication, communication and shrewd use of resources by the artists and arts workers in attendance and others, the ideas shared at this event will no doubt bear further creative fruit.