Americans for the Arts

I count myself incredibly lucky to have been able to tour to Burning Man thanks to the good graces and coordination of the Reno Arts Commission, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Burning Man itself. I was part of a group that primarily consisted of mayors and their staffs from across the country, as well as Nora Halpern, my colleague here at Americans for the Arts, and Mary Anne Carter and Tom Simplot from the National Endowment for the Arts. We were there to experience first-hand the deep community nature of Burning Man; the ways that art, creativity, expression, and culture are solidly integrated into every aspect of the event; and the complex undergirding that makes it all possible. There is freedom in coming to a temporary city to transform yourself into a different, freer version of you. That freedom exists in the way people dress, the way they act, the art they make. It is creativity untethered—70,000 people rolling back all of the strictures that keep us who we are in the day-to-day. 

One-third of the children in Burlington and Winooski public schools are students of color, including new Americans who are English language learners. With the demographics in our region shifting so dramatically, government agencies, educational institutions, businesses, and nonprofits are grappling with inadequate cultural competency in trying to serve these myriad populations.

Yesterday, the Flynn Center, along with Burlington City Arts, the Vermont Arts Council, and the Vermont Community Foundation, hosted a forum in Burlington called New Community Visions with Americans for the Arts. The initiative’s goal was to explore the role that the arts play in pursuing a healthy, vibrant, and cohesive community, and how individuals, arts institutions, and support organizations can help achieve that.

What makes a “healthy, vibrant, equitable community” healthy, vibrant, or equitable? As time marches on, what challenges will be presented to that community—to the millions of different communities that exist and overlap in every part of our lives? And how can the arts be a part of pushing past those challenges, empowering change, and creating a brighter future?

At the moment I’m getting my hands on everything Seth Godin has written. There’s something magical about having someone tell you to be an artist, do your art and, if it’s not being appreciated, do it better. It’s simple, concise, and easy to follow.

In Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Mr. Godin explains that a linchpin is someone in the workplace “who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced – her role is just far too unique and valuable.” He asserts that we’re all capable of being a linchpin; that we’re all brilliant and can create art. Mr. Godin’s definition of art is not resigned to the brush and canvas. Rather, it is you rising to the level of excellence that you are capable of.

This year, Arlington Public Art received our seventh PAN Year in Review Award since the award program began in 2000.  We feel honored to be so distinguished. Christian Moeller’s Quill (2014) joins Liquid Pixels by Ned Kahn (2002); Memory Bricks by Winnie Owens-Hart (2005); Cultivus Loci: Suckahanna by Jann Rosen-Queralt (2006);  Flame by Ray King (2007); CO2LED by Jack Sanders, Robert Gay and Butch Anthony (2008); and Echo by Richard Deutsch (2012), our other Year in Review Award winners.

So how did we do it?

It's almost Labor Day and in my family, growing up, that meant vacation. It was always the time for travel and discovering new places, which of course is now an activity we call tourism. It is still the time I choose for getting away and as I write this, I am on my way to Morocco. I'm looking forward to many new arts, music, culture, craft, architecture and people discoveries.