On a recent visit, the pieces were hung in a non-traditional, salon-style format, but I agreed with graduate intern Sophie Buonomo who said the walls “don’t look cluttered” given how many pieces are on display. The level of care that had gone into this benefit was readily apparent. Furthermore, Monk noted how the raffle democratizes the process – each piece bears the same price, so “no one is disappointed.” I find this method particularly well-matched to Momenta’s mission of supporting emerging artists – a show in which neophytes and big names are equally likely to sell. Monk proudly described Momenta as a “springboard for careers,” indicating a Kiki Smith piece on display. In this light, one can see how the Momenta model furnishes an open environment for emerging artists, where one can gain attention and exposure amongst more established artists. Moreover, this popularizing effect does much to expand the community of visitors and supporters surrounding Momenta itself.

There are other art institutions in the building as well, and many residents of the immediate neighborhood are artists themselves. Some of Monk’s own works are on display – he has made floor plans of buildings and street routes in plaster and lit them on fire to create strikingly immediate three-dimensional pieces (seen below).

I was struck by a sense of community, that all-important element in fostering an open, popular process such as Monk and the staff at apexart stand so strongly behind. Momenta has been in operation for 25 years and its Benefit for 17, so their model must have its fans and proponents. Do any of our readers number among them?

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Have you been to Momenta recently? Are there any other spaces you feel are in keeping with their mission? How does a price-neutral show work out for the artists? For buyers? For casual viewers? Would you try to show or sell in this way?

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris (co-founders) who are both art historians with a lot of teaching experience, refer to Smarthistory as “multi-media web-book designed as a dynamic enhancement (or even substitute) for the traditional art history textbook” and that really is a great way to put it. It organizes the various periods chronologically, as well as by subject matter and there are links to each individual artist that is discussed, making it a technological textbook; however, because it includes other multi-media outlets and resources it’s offering what students and experts in the field receive, for the masses. Steven and Beth even include videos where they discuss works of art from New York museums, therefore going past classroom lessons about art by providing a dialogue with different viewpoints and backgrounds to make better sense of the work’s historical context and how it might relate to us now. For example, their conversation about Roy Lichtenstein, Judy Chicago, and Richard Serra.

Dr. Zucker has said that they are working to make art history not elitist by offering this kind of information freely, and you can really see the work and care that has gone into to that endeavor. He says, “In our field, we see a future where art museums, libraries, colleges and universities no longer produce content primarily for their own students and visitors but instead develop systems where resources are pooled to create more comprehensive resources for a larger audience of learners.” I think this ties directly into making the arts a more dynamic and inclusive environment, and just as others are working to eliminate the hierarchy of rewarding artistic creation, I haven’t found a place more open in taking apart the hierarchy of discussing art. Universities have even started to incorporate Smarthistory in their classrooms therefore transforming the way we understand art both inside and outside the classroom and how art fits into our rapidly changing technological world. Just as I mentioned how apexart is democratizing art, Smarthistory is essentially democratizing art history.

Thoughts? Would you use Smarthistory either for personal or professional reasons? Have you used their resources in the past?

I do have to add that they initiated their Kickstarter campaign last spring and reached their goal! They are also listed on the Open Educational Resources Commons and just joined forces with the Khan Academy. Through that, you can view their blog for more updates as their progress continues.

Their second issue looks at the idea of mapping in relation to photography. They see it as allowing one “to criss-cross the distances between our philosophical, physical, and cultural sensibilities.” The first series introduces the issue, with photographs by Alec Soth and an introduction by David Coggins, who has worked as a writer, editor and copywriter for publications such as Art in America, Interview and Modern Painters. Coggins writes about how maps have moved from being a political treasure to incredibly neutral objects, especially with the rise of Google Maps (which was the focus of a series in this issue as well). When was the last time you actually used a map, in the traditional sense? Therefore, mapping here is symbolically about finding one’s place in the world; even though our interests have become increasingly narrow and we can literally know where we are at anytime with the click of a button, that natural yearning to orient oneself in the world, beyond borders, persists. This section of Conveyor features Soth’s photos of the American Midwest. These photographs were recently on display at Sean Kelly Gallery.

Alec Soth’s Luxora, Arkansas (2002)

Alec Soth, who has made a name for himself photographing the seemingly ordinary and developing scenes to convey a sense of mystery, asks the viewer to contemplate the everyday world in an introspective manner.

With that, there was a section headed by Dominica Paige, a practicing artist and teacher of Art History, about the importance of photography in documenting the spaces we inhabit and experience, while at the same time questioning areas unknown to us. Again – trying to make sense of our space in time. Justin James King’s photograph And Still We Gather With Infinite Momentum 1 (2009) certainly grasps that sublime notion, as do other photographs in the series, some focusing on landscapes such as Soth’s and others abstracting objects in globe-like contortions or creating aerial photographs of sprawling landscapes.

Justin James King And Still We Gather With Infinite Momentum 1 (2009)

What is your take on the idea of narrowing interests? Coggins mentions how we control what information we choose to see, due to the rapid  proliferation and widespread availability of so many different information outlets. We customize the news and information we want to see, but do you only choose to explore what interests you? Or do you try to remain equally aware of issues and trends around the globe?

I also would love to hear about a time you felt that same urge to explore, or a time when you tried to grasp (or did discover) what it really means to be living in a world both so globalized, and so self-contained.

Enter apexart: a non-profit organization located in Soho, apexart strives to make the art world a truly democratic environment with both a unique outlook and program. Their Unsolicited Proposal Program is a curatorial call open to anyone, regardless of curatorial experience, and three applicants are selected to exhibit a show in apexart’s gallery space and are given funding to do so. apexart has been running this program for fifteen years along with their newer Franchise Program – a similar program offering the opportunity to curate a show outside the United States. The program focuses on countries with underrepresented artists in an attempt to breathe life into their arts communities and facilitate creative growth for those with limited opportunities.  On February 4^th in Johannesburg, apexart Franchise opened “Just do it! Creative Strategies of Survival,” curated by Katharina Rohde.  It showcases five local artists focusing on local small businesses and “the challenges as well as creative potential that exist for them within a global economy.” Currently, their gallery in Soho is showing “A Postcard from Afar: North Korea from a Distance”, curated by Mark Feary whose proposal won the Unsolicited Program Proposal for 2011. The Unsolicited Proposal Program is currently accepting applications, so if you or someone you know is interested, I suggest submitting your ideas!

Steven Rand (Founder and Executive Director) has made sure that no one at apexart decides the winners from the applications – he has designed a crowd-sourcing jury system whereby submissions are evaluated by a large international jury (up to 150 jurors) with whom apexart has no contact during the process. Furthermore, applications are stripped of the applicant’s name and any personal information, allowing the jury to evaluate based uniquely on the content of the proposal. Mr. Rand feels that complete anonymity cultivates fairness in the evaluation process. In fact, he is a self-proclaimed practicing agonist, falling right in line with his democratic approach.

Equally non-traditional is apexart’s Inbound Residency program, which I found remarkable as it aims to give residents a chance to understand a culture comprehensively. The program aims at individuals who have never been to New York City, where apexart invites residents from around the world – again, preferably from areas with fewer opportunities for artists. A particularly innovative feature of this residency is that one cannot actually apply to become a resident. apexart seeks out recommenders in various areas to suggest individuals for the program. Thus, the recommender is someone apexart has known and worked with before, and who knows more about the individual and the advantages they might reap from a stay in New York. Mr. Rand sees the residency program as increasing sensitivity to different cultures on both ends, and I can’t help but agree.

And what do the residents do? Pretty much everything you might think of. There is no specific list of events, and more times than not Julia Knight, Assistant Director of Programs, will plan certain events for the individual while still immersing him or her in the culture of New York City. Past residents’ activities have included tours of smaller art spaces around the city and classes in areas other than their own field. They also plan activities in non-art spaces, such as witnessing court proceedings, going to the opera, even visiting famous graveyards. Ms. Knight has also set up meetings for residents with organizations that might interest them. However, these are non-promotional meetings, sans portfolio and resume. Ms. Knight and Mr. Rand both feel that this facilitates an open conversation and allows the organization to get to know the individual more intimately, rather than solely by their work. Steven has said “the more we give up control, the more fun it is.” I’d love to hear your thoughts on that sentiment – have you had positive or negative experiences with putting your partners in the driver’s seat? What successes or disappointments have you had going shaking up a common practice?

What I’ve gathered from apexart is that it is a progressive and thoughtful organization, with a serious interest in meritocracy and strong interpersonal relationships between institution and artist. Mr. Rand truly believes in the importance of dialogue and creativity, especially in today’s art world. What do you think about apexart’s mission and approach? What does it say to you about how business and art come together? I look forward to your comments!

NYFABlog will be taking a brief hiatus, effective as of this clause, while we ready a new series of posts.

We look forward to coming back to you with ever more resources, discussion, commentary and exploration of how we can continue to support one another as artists, creators and individuals.

I have personally been inspired by the level of insight and feedback we have witnessed in this community over the past several months, and I could not be more excited for what the coming months will bring to this exchange.

When you think of a vibrant art center, what do you imagine? In the United States, you might think of large urban capitals that have been creative centers for the past two centuries, such as New York, Chicago or San Francisco. You might even think of vibrant mid-sized cities like Milwaukee, Portland, OR, or Santa Fe. But do you even think of any rural areas?

I grew up in suburban and rural Maine. Though we were only a 2-hour drive from Boston, I felt like I grew up in a place where the arts were under-recognized and underappreciated as a vital source for local culture. As soon as I could, I moved to recognized centers of artistic production: first Portland, Oregon and then New York City (specifically, Brooklyn), convinced that this was where I could build my life as an artist.

Thanks to my work at NYFA as the Program Officer for External Affairs I have had the opportunity to travel to art centers, both urban and rural, around the country. I have had the opportunity to learn about what artists and leaders in these organizations are doing to make their communities vital centers for the arts. I have also been able to share with them how they can utilize NYFA’s resources to help. Just as arts organizations in urban areas are seen as important drivers of economic development, leaders in rural areas are also working hard to make their organizations serve as catalysts for economic and cultural development within their local communities.  They are joining efforts to make their towns, counties and regions vibrant places for artists to make and sell their work.

The Rainbow Cafe on Main street in Pendleton, OR

Pendleton Blanket Handbag

This summer I traveled to the Pacific Northwest and visited arts organizations located both east and west of the Cascade Mountains.  In the middle of the rolling hills and fields of Pendleton in eastern Oregon, I was particularly inspired by the work of the Pendleton Center for the Arts. Located in an old Carnegie building on the town’s main street the center features a gallery, a showroom for local craft items where visitors can purchase handmade items from over one hundred local artists, as well as free access to the Internet and computer workstations. They offer regular teen programming and have recently launched a professional development program for artists. I found a beautiful handbag made out of a remnant of a vintage Pendleton blanket – that’s not something you can find in Soho, or even the regular Pendleton store. While I was there, they were gearing up for a week-long rock and roll camp for teens. All of the staff was energetic and excited about being in Pendleton and supporting artists in the region.

About 8 miles outside of Pendleton on the Umatilla reservation, nestled at the feet of the Blue Mountains, is Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts. A print shop, gallery, and residency, Crow’s Shadow invites Native artists to come to create prints with Master Printer Frank Janzen.  They also open up the residency to Native artists from other countries, such as New Zealand and China, and are working to expand both their national and international reach under Interim Executive Director (and future Master Printer) Melissa Bob.

Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts, Umatilla Reservation

My travels also took me to Missoula, Montana.  It’s no secret that Missoula is a cultural hub for the region, but there I found some especially interesting organizations that are community oriented, accessible, and contributing to making the city even more open to artists. One is the Missoula Art Museum, which is free, open daily, and features only contemporary art work. Some contemporary art museums might feel pretentious and obscure, but the Missoula Art Museum is welcoming, spirited, and open. With art classes for children and a focus on Montana and “inner northwest” artists, they do much to open community members up to the museum and contemporary art experience.

Welcome, Artspire!

Another organization in Missoula working to make art accessible is Zootown Arts Community Center. The ZACC offers art classes for children and adults, as well as studio space and print shop access. They also have a beautiful store that features handmade items from local artists. I found a pair of ‘oh so trendy’ feather earrings from “Not Your Father’s Feathers,” but with a western twist.

What these organizations showed me is that one does not have to live in a major metropolis to find a supportive community for professional artists. I think it’s important that artists realize that they don’t need to move to an urban center when deciding where they want to live and how they want to construct their lives. Rural areas can be cheaper for living, provide more space for working, and offer a slower pace to life and more time to devote to art. These organizations are working hard to demonstrate that rural areas and forward thinking contemporary art are not a contradiction in terms, but that the two can nurture and support each other and cultivate a vibrant, exciting community.

What are some dynamic arts organizations in your area, whether that’s urban, suburban, or rural? What are some other inspiring arts organizations in rural areas you know about?

Keep an eye out for my next entry on my travels to Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Northwoods of Wisconsin!

Eleanor Whitney

Eleanor Whitney is a writer, musician, and educator who grew up in Maine and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has contributed to a variety of publications and blogs about art, music, literature and culture. She received her BA from Eugene Lang College and is pursuing her Masters in Public Administration at Baruch College. She is currently the Program Officer for External Affairs and Fiscal Sponsorship at NYFA.

My earlier posts in this series have focused on new ways that artists are utilizing digital resources in order to network, collaborate, and fundraise. With the planning stages complete, the work done, and the objet d’art realized, many artists turn to traditional outlets for exhibition of their work. Whether that means submitting an updated portfolio to galleries, applying to competitions, or performing your work at a local venue, the primary goal is to get as many people as possible to engage with your art in a meaningful way.

The evolution of digital media has made it increasingly easy to broadcast your artistic message to anyone with internet access. Consequently it has also made it difficult to cut through the noise and generate significant, continued interest in any single event.

Below are some of the resources and trends that emerging artists are using to help promote themselves and their art.

Online Galleries

Initially optimistic given the plethora of search results for “online art gallery,” I quickly realized that most of these websites are little more than thumbnail warehouses. Little if any attention is paid to the display of the images and there is no sense of space or curatorial critique. The few innovative sites I came across represent early stages of what may well represent a unique opportunity at the intersection of digital media and art.

Culturehall, one of the more established online resources, is a “curated online resource for contemporary art where selected artists can share their work with curators, gallerists, collectors and other artists.” The site holds periodic juried applications where artists are asked to submit work for consideration in upcoming ‘issues.’ Once accepted, the artist is given web space as part of the online, curated exhibit where she can upload and display photographs of work. Fortunately, Culturehall has managed to cultivate a unique and consistent aesthetic, well-suited to online art exhibitions.

Light, Space & Time is another online gallery featuring rotating exhibitions of digital editions of works. This model differs slightly from Culturehall in that their exhibitions are billed as competitions with the winning works gaining more notable exposure and marketing. While this may be the case, the exhibition losses much of the curatorial interest since it results in a “Top 5” scenario rather than a carefully curated space.

Vimeo offers a freemium resource for video artists and musicians to upload and share high-quality digital video files. While the site is free to use for anyone, there is a weekly upload limit for free users. Last year, Vimeo hosted a two-day festival in New York featuring professional development programs, panel discussions, screenings, and awards. The site also attempts to foster an online community where video artists collaborate on projects and share information about upcoming events.

Despite the few spaces online dedicated to a provocative and informative exhibition of (pictures of) art, there appears to be significant room for improvement, With related projects like Google’s Art Project and the Smithsonian Institute’s virtual exhibitions, we can expect to see more ambitious and creative manifestations of online exhibitions in the near future.

Crowd Sourcing Shows

An interesting application of one of the tools mentioned in an earlier post is using crowd-funding platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo as tools for market research in planning a tour. This was one of the original uses of crowd funding platforms when the British rock band Marillion used crowd funding principles to finance and plan its 1996 US tour. More recently, Arianna Huffington used crowdsourcing to help plan and organize portions of her Third World America book tour. The crowdsourcing model can be used effectively to gauge interest in certain markets and to pre-sell records, tickets, prints, in order to raise money up front.

NeuvoStage is service built specifically for this purpose. Bands and performers are able to search for prospective venues and dates and propose potential shows. If the show gains enough pledged support through the site, the band is awarded the contract and books the gig. The site, still in its nascent stages, only offers a few venues in Boston but has intriguing potential for growth.

Embracing Piracy

Brian Newman had an interesting post on his blog about how the film industry in China has started adjusting to the rampant piracy of new films. Instead of relying only on sales from opening night tickets sales, filmmakers are increasingly using product placement in films as a means to finance production. Though this may help curb the profit losses from piracy, it remains to be seen whether this practice poses issues for the artistic integrity of new films.

Interestingly, it is precisely this artistic integrity that led the video artist Nina Paley to embrace ‘piracy’ as a distribution method for one of her films. The difficulties she faced in securing rights for music used in her 2008 film, Sita Sings the Blues, caused her to offer the movie as a free download. This unorthodox distribution method not only opens her film to a wider audience, but Paley has also managed to make money from donations.

Though there are hundreds of new resources for emerging artists to promote their work online, it appears that we have only begun to scrape the surface of the possibilities. Online exhibition gives us not only an opportunity to re-imagine our physical relationship to art but also poses fascinating and important questions about copyright, ownership, and artificial intelligence. Will there come a time when online exhibitions are competitive with live shows? What kinds of implications might this have for the art world? Do you use digital and online resources to share, promote, or exhibit your work?

In my next post, I will examine how emerging artists are using the internet and digital resources to sell their art…

Berlin boasts an international, cosmopolitan, and “multi-kulti” population. More creative artists and entrepreneurs are moving here from abroad every day. But even with Berlin’s historical struggle with topics of race and ethnicity, this so-called “multi-kulti modernization” does not mean that the people who live in Berlin are any more educated, tolerant, or culturally sensitive. While the city has a lot of opportunities for artists and creative people, the real disadvantage I face as a person of color is racism and, even more insidious, a gendered racism tied to my status or imagined position as an Asian woman.

Ironically, many German artists claim that Berlin is a tolerant and diverse city. I always agree but only in relationship to other German cities; it cannot compare to cities like Los Angeles or New York. If I end up moving back to the United States, this lack of real tolerance and understanding will, without a doubt, be my reason. I have had my fill of experiences with racism – from ignorant, foolish, “well-meaning” comments to a run-in with violent Nazis on public transportation where almost everyone looked away and did nothing.

In Germany, there was no civil rights movement, no identity politics in the 90’s, no proud to be “hyphenated-German” campaign. Either you are a German or you are a foreigner. It does not matter what passport you carry or where you were born. In order to be considered German, you must be ethnically German, i.e. 100% Caucasian-German. In addition, people like me don’t get to be both American and Korean; I can be only one or the other. This is symptomatic of the fact that many Germans make little distinction between an individual’s ethnic, racial, cultural, and national identities. I am forced into an easily understood category and am interrogated about this category at least every other day. Germans like order. Germans like reliability. Germans like to know where my parents are from.

Interestingly, of the huge numbers of Americans (of course here I mean the Americans of European descent, since the majority of Germans don’t consider me truly American) immigrating to Berlin, more than half of them do not learn to speak German. One would assume that this would be viewed, on a political level, as a failure to integrate. But this reluctance to assimilate is never discussed. What is discussed is the lack of German language proficiency in Arab and Turkish populations. What does this double standard say about German values?

In October 2010, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany’s attempts to create a multicultural society had “utterly failed.” This only added fuel to the already contentious debate started by the controversial book, “Germany Does Away With Itself,” written by the economist and politician Thilo Sarrazin.

I agree with Merkel that multiculturalism as an integration strategy or ideology has not succeeded in Germany (at least not yet), but I found her claims problematic and misleading because the term “multi-kulti,” as it is used in Germany, does not equate to multiculturalism as a political movement developed in the United States. The implication that Germany tried to create a multicultural society is deceptive. As migrant workers were called to work in Germany in the late 1950s, citizens of diverse cultures settled here and set up their own communities. Germany never “attempted” a multicultural society, it just happened. Where the German government failed though, was in its ability to create integration policies that would diminish ghettos and encourage native Germans to respect immigrants and accept their cultures as part of a shared cultural identity.

The current political reasoning places the entire responsibility of integration on the immigrants and rests the blame for a failed multicultural state on their so-called resistance to assimilate. Even the United States, with its long history of immigration, continues to struggle with multiculturalism as a political movement – minority ethnic groups, gays and lesbians, women, and religious groups are still discriminated against. Many of these conflicts have little or nothing to do with language. Yet the dominant culture can be intolerant of difference. The failure explanation – that because immigrants do not integrate and do not learn German, is too simple. What about the responsibility of the dominant cultural group – ethnic Germans – to ensure the success of multiculturalism?

One of the areas that can be improved is the education system. Students are never given the tools necessary to deal with issues of nationality and immigration. Leaving school, they lack the fundamental vocabulary used to discuss ethnicity, race, culture, and nationality. All they have are shady notions of what make us different and the dangerous stereotypes passed down from generation to generation.

For real multiculturalism to work, distinct ethnic or religious groups need to be treated as equals to the mainstream culture without promoting any specific groups as superior or inferior. Multiculturalism has failed in Germany because it was never given a chance. Though distinct ethnic communities may choose to stay in their separate ghettos, who can blame them? Immigrants can be harshly discriminated against in Germany and as an immigrant, albeit a very unconventional immigrant, I speak from personal experience.

Where can I begin with my encounters with racism? Rather than count the number of times people have yelled unintelligible sounds at me, which I can only assume the verbal assaulter thinks he is mimicking a tonal language like Chinese or Vietnamese or relate the numerous times I have had to explain where I am “really” from, I prefer to discuss the more treacherous, complicated, and remarkable incidents.

Nov. 2009 – While leaving Eberswälder subway station in Prenzlauer Berg with my half-Asian half-German partner, we unintentionally cut someone off while crossing the street. The so-called injured party got extremely angry and called us fidschis. A “fidschi” is a derogatory term used by Germans for an Asian person, typically used to describe those of Vietnamese descent who hang around certain subway stations selling illegal cigarettes. My German passport carrying companion turned and calmly told him in native accent-less German to piss off. Surprised the man proceeded to get irate, yelling more racial slurs as his friends held him back from attacking us. Evidently this fidschi slur first made its appearance in the GDR to discriminate against migrant workers from Vietnam. Ostensibly referencing the Fiji Islands, it is emblematic of how ignorant a large population of Germany is about the difference (never mind between single ethnicities) between Asia and the Pacific Islands.

Dec 2009 – I was at a café in Prenzlauer Berg with all Asian female friends, two from Korea and another who had grown up in Germany. A middle aged German man approached me while I was ordering cake. He asked me where I was from, to which I replied the United States. When he asked me the annoying question, “Where are you really from?” I sighed and said, “Where do you think, North Korea?” in a cheeky, sarcastic voice. His reaction was to grab my breasts. Shocked, I shouted obscenities to which he was surprised and he put his hands up to his face to protect himself. I regret that I did not call the police and press charges against him. At this moment, just having moved to Berlin two months earlier, I was feeling vulnerable and did not want to call attention to myself.

June 2011 – I was in Metro, a large wholesale market in Germany, like Costco or Sam’s Club, helping out a friend to promote his Chinese restaurant. Cooking live and giving out free samples of several items on his menu, my job was to inform the visiting customers that they could try the food out for free. A Metro worker announced to a customer, that there was free Asian food available that day. Then the customer laughed, “But if I eat the Asian food, will I get slanty eyes?” I rushed up to her to exclaim how offensive and racist her language was. This woman was surprised I found it offensive, and then asked how else could one describe Asian eyes, because they were really slanty! I controlled myself and informed her in my broken German that all eyes are shaped differently and why should Caucasians eyes be the standard shape to which all others should be compared. She was open enough to listen to my observations, but it was obvious she didn’t understand – she said it wasn’t meant to be taken in a mean way and that ‘slanty’ was the acceptable terminology for Asian people’s eyes in Germany, and is therefore not racist. After I found out she was of Arabic descent, I kind of just gave up. My belief that other people of color should be more sensitive to these issues has been proved wrong time and time again.

November 2010 –I was riding on the S-Bahn going a few stations north of Gesundbrunnen with a foreign female friend from Argentina. While buying tickets, we saw four men yelling at a man and his small son on the platform several meters from us. The man being verbally attacked was of Arabic descent and the four other men were Caucasian. One of the Caucasian men, who seemed to be leading the group, threw his beer bottle on the platform not far from where the Arabic man was standing. As the train entered the station, we ran to get on, being careful not to sit in the same car as these savage men. It didn’t matter. After we took our seats, they came into our car, intentionally sitting diagonally from us. We concentrated on our conversation, thinking it was better to ignore their presence. All of a sudden, a half-full beer bottle was thrown against the compartment glass wall next to my head. I screamed. The leader of the group started yelling at us. My friend bolted from her seat and I followed her. He started to chase us through the cars, shouting about foreigners and communists. At the end of the train, we cowered next to two young men not knowing what to do, hoping their presence would protect us. The perpetrator kept ranting and raving and coming closer until he was standing a few feet from us. Finally, a middle-aged man spoke up and told him to stop. The neo-Nazi spat on him and left. This experience is the most horrifying and shocking to Germans, many who ignorantly believe Asians are not discriminated against or experience little racism because we are the model minority (a “positive” myth that is similarly perpetuated in the United States).

(I refer to these men as neo-Nazis based on their behavior, not necessarily based on what they look like since they were not of the skinhead variety. Rather, these men looked preppy. According to reports, neo-Nazis have changed their style to fit into the mainstream.)

What kind of backlash can we expect after politicians have made declarations about the ‘costs’ of multiculturalism? Not surprisingly, my dreadful neo-Nazi encounter took place in November of 2010, just two months after the publication of Sarrazin’s book. To be sure, Berlin, the artist’s paradise, has its darker side, especially if you are non-white or you come from an undesired country. I want nothing more than to see a thriving, diverse Germany that embraces and utilizes the cultural capital of all its citizens and residents, regardless of the color of their passport or their skin. In the meantime, it is best to be informed and on guard. ♦

kate hers is an American visual artist who has lived in Berlin for 2 years and has integrated as much as she can. She speaks German, likes currywurst, organically composts and is always on time. However, she doesn’t like to follow the rules and gets reprimanded routinely by the natives for jaywalking. Her new work, Dr. Rhee’s Kimtschi Shop seeks to dismantle outdated and essentialist notions of a fixed cultural identity – while celebrating cultural tolerance and engaging conversations of multiculturalism in Berlin. She is also a founding member of usartberlin, a creative networking organization for Americans living in Berlin.

My previous posts in this series looked at new ways that artists are incorporating digital resources into networking and collaboration. The next step in many artists’ creative processes is finding the money to fund projects. With the steady decline of public support for the arts, and existing grants becoming increasingly competitive, artists are seeking new financial resources to fund their work.

Crowd-Funding

One of the fastest-growing markets in arts support is crowd-funding. Websites like Kickstarter, ArtistShare, and Emphas.is, help artists and entrepreneurs raise money for projects by soliciting donations directly from their fans. Though still in its infancy, crowd-funding has produced two distinct models for the platform, each with its own benefits and drawbacks.

The first, and most popular, model of crowd-funding is the general-use website for all types of projects. General crowd-funding platforms, such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and Invested.in, are open to just about everyone and projects range from independent films to 3D printers. While these sites tend to be the most well-known and established forms of crowd-funding, the quantity and diversity of projects can make it difficult for someone browsing the site to happen upon your fundraising campaign and decide to invest. Of course, these high-traffic sites also have the benefit of occasionally going viral.

Kickstarter, an all-or-nothing fundraising platform, allows artists and entrepreneurs to raise money for specific projects. Like many of the crowd funding sites, Kickstarter encourages members to offer rewards to participants who donate at various levels.

IndieGoGo, a similar fundraising platform, allows all types of projects from all over the world (Kickstarter is US only). Also, IndieGoGo allows users to keep donations they receive even if they don’t reach their fundraising goal (the catch being that Indiegogo takes a bigger cut of those donations).

Recently, new crowd-funding websites have narrowed their focus to appeal to smaller communities with shared interests. For example, the Japanese site Green Girl specializes in promoting female artists and entrepreneurs; Emphas.is is dedicated solely to photojournalism projects; Ideame (launching soon) aims to help Latinos realize their projects through community funding. Appealing to a smaller group with shared interests allows greater potential for creating and fostering an active online community.

Another benefit of boutique crowd-funding sites is that they can offer users services that apply directly to their community or field. For example, Green Girl regularly features project creators on its Facebook page and curates a quarterly digital magazine with articles on their artists. Emphas.is gives media organizations added incentive to invest in exciting projects by offering first publication rights for funding at least 50% of a project’s budget. These small features strive towards the foundation of a community centered on funding and engaging with community-related projects. It will be interesting to see how these specialized organizations evolve in the coming years.

Of course, creating a compelling project proposal isn’t the end of fundraising; that’s where the work really begins. Once artists have their campaign underway, they need to engage as many dedicated fans as possible. One of the easiest ways to do this is through social networking sites. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ are all excellent resources for organizing a network of donors, while Twitter serves as a way to provide committed funders with information and project updates. Often, the success or failure of a campaign will depend on how well an artist has cultivated and engaged his audience. Networking, collaborating, and connecting are often essential for laying the groundwork for fundraising.

Grants

Another vital source of funding for artists is grant writing. While the process of finding, researching, and applying for grants can be arduous and discouraging, several online resources have made the process faster and easier.

Foundation Grants to Individuals Online offers a searchable database of grant opportunities available to individuals. Check your local library for free access to their online database.

NYFA Source provides a powerful tool for finding grants and award opportunities nationwide. With listings for over 4,500 arts organizations, 3,600 award programs, 4,700 service programs, and 900 publications for individual artists NYFA Source is an invaluable resource for discovering funding opportunities.

Organizations like Grantspace offer classroom and online courses and grant writing workshops. Additionally, many local arts organizations offer information sessions and workshops to help artists prepare successful grant applications.

Fiscal Sponsorship

Another important resource for individual artists and emerging arts organizations is fiscal sponsorship. Fiscal sponsorship allows individuals and groups to ‘borrow’ an organization’s tax-exempt status for a limited duration or scope project. This means the sponsored individual or group can gain access to grants requiring 501(c)(3) status and also accept tax-deductible donations. Sponsorship can also lend more credibility to artists and projects.

There are hundreds of organizations that offer fiscal sponsorship including Artspire, Fractured Atlas, and the Brooklyn Arts Council. When applying for sponsorship, you may want to choose an organization whose goals align with your goals as an artist or entrepreneur. Additionally, some non-profits offer different services and charge different fees, so it’s worthwhile to do some research before applying.

A more complete list of organizations that offer fiscal sponsorship can be found here.

Effects of New Markets

Tanja Aitamurto’s case study from last year highlights several interesting ways that crowd-funding has impacted journalism. The notions of ‘cause marketing’ and ‘pitching in public’ are perhaps most applicable as these issues have the potential to influence significant changes in the arts world. Though these new markets present exciting opportunities for individual artists, they also pose provocative questions about our notion of culture. Does crowd-funding the arts stifle creativity in the name of mass appeal? Or does it encourage innovation, experimentation, and social criticism? What long-term effects might we expect from the reduction or elimination of public funding for the arts? What art is worth funding?

Additional Links: More info on designing a successful crowd-funding campaign; RocketHub.com; Spot.us; Sellaband; Grantseeking for Individuals Webinar

In my previous post, I examined some of the resources available online for artists to build and engage their creative communities. The growth and development within these networks is indicative of an emerging generation of artists rethinking the way they incorporate technology into their creative process.

Another rapidly evolving element of the creative process is the means by which artists collaborate on projects. Social networking has made it possible for artists all over the world to work together easily; web 2.0 has expanded the ways in which we interact with our physical world; and participatory culture has placed an increasing emphasis on the role of the audience and redefined the boundaries of collaborative art.

Increasingly, art is not only made by an artist for an audience but also as a collaboration between the artist and audience. The increasing prevalence of participatory culture has prompted new design strategies for creative organizations and propagated a new generation of arts collaboration websites.

Wreckamovie provides a platform for creating and executing collaborative projects over the internet. Artists upload tasks (e.g. writing a scene for a screen play, composing music for an opera, or designing animations for a film) that community members complete and submit for review. This Wiki inspired approach to collaboration empowers community members to engage in art projects. Though originally created as a resource for independent filmmakers, artists have used Wreckamovie to create visual art, web-comics, and even a full-scale opera production.

Kompoz, a site dedicated to collaborative music projects, allows users to upload audio files of works in progress which other users can then add to or modify. The site features musicians from around the world working in dozens of genres. Some collaborations have resulted in virtual bands that record ‘together’ regularly. Kompoz has fostered a vibrant community of musicians with songwriting contests, regular podcasts, and even an internet radio station dedicated to the music of Kompoz musicians.

Sites like Wreckamovie and Kompoz not only facilitate artists by connecting them to free professional resources, but they also permit audience members to engage in the creative process and collaborate on projects. While this model can’t replace entirely the traditional models of supporting artists through funding, crowd-sourced projects can result in an audience that is intimately invested in the artist’s work and career; that is priceless.

The Freelancers Union and Craigslist offer more traditional methods of artistic collaboration. The Freelancer’s Union “promote[s] the interests of independent workers through advocacy, education, and service,” and provides a database where anyone can search for, contact, and employ union members. This database makes it easy to access a wide range of artistic expertise and facilitates creative collaboration throughout the arts community.

While not the most sophisticated resource for collaboration, Craigslist provides a free and simple method for finding artists and craftspeople for hire. One notable advantage of Craigslist is that postings are categorized by location making it easier to establish face-to-face partnerships.

Artists have also utilized extant web platforms for collaboration and the creation of participatory art. Eric Whitacre, an American composer and conductor, used YouTube to create a virtual choir to perform his pieces. By soliciting performances from the YouTube community Whitacre was able to engage a large community in his creative process and generate a wider audience for his music.

Traditional arts organizations are also embracing the tenets of participatory culture by encouraging active participation in the artistic and curatorial processes. In 2008, Brooklyn Museum’s exhibit Click! invited the public to submit photographs on the theme “Changing Faces of Brooklyn.” The ‘crowd’ was then asked to evaluate each photograph. The project culminated in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and an online interactive feature.

Split Second: Indian Paintings, also at the Brooklyn Museum, asked participants to compare paintings from part of the museum’s permanent collection and make split second decisions about their preferences. The results are used to select works for exhibition scheduled to open next week.

These exhibitions not only engage communities in the artistic process and cultivate new interest in the arts.  They also force us to reconsider many of our beliefs about the art world:  art as necessarily elitist, the curator as gatekeeper, the specialist as expert, and the very essence of ownership are all called into question by these exhibits. Regardless of where we come down on these issues, the conversation itself can be an energizing force within the arts community.  Furthermore, these and other programs can serve as models for arts organizations and individual artists interested in participatory art making.

As always, I am interested to hear your reaction to the issues raised above. Are you an artist who has a lot of experience collaborating with some of these resources? Do you use other means to participate in group art projects? What do you think about the rise of participatory culture and the issues this raises?

In my next post, I will take a look at some of the digital resources available to artists for fundraising…

Additional links: Broadcastr, San Francisco Symphony: Community of Music Makers, Talent House, YouTube Symphony Orchestra