On Relevancy
In a culture obsessed with rapid technological advancement that deifies the “genius developer” and worships innovation, I think the arts have been left reeling in many ways. We have seen Silicon Valley “coop” terms and concepts we have considered to be our own. The lone, creative disruptor has been elevated to superstar status while the arts have seen a decline in funding and criticisms against its staunch traditionalism, lack of representation and exclusionary elitism. The historical disruptors have found themselves….well, disrupted and struggling to remain relevant.
I want to take a moment to address this concept of relevancy because I think it is a faulty premise. The definition itself is always in relation to something, mainly the pertinent culture or matter at hand. This typically elicits a defensive response to jockey for position in the subjective, elusive realms of worthiness and to constantly be striving to justify our existence in a society constantly redefining what relevancy is with dizzying speed. I think the problem is more that the arts have tried too hard to remain relevant, ignoring the fact that their very existence, stemming from the innate human need to create new interpretations and perspectives on present day life is always relevant. I also believe some larger art institutions and the art market itself has been so busy defending its rigid allegiance to elitism, it has missed the opportunity to make genuine and necessary change.
We hear the word “reckoning” multiple times a day but very few of us stop to think – is it really a reckoning if nothing changes?
I believe that when it comes to matters of diversity, inclusion and innovation, the arts are responsible for leading the conversation and we should be eagerly adopting and pioneering new technology for the purpose of pushing our own creative and artistic practice. The greatest value of the arts, after all, is its ability to provide possibility, beauty, and new ways of seeing. The unfortunate reality is we have failed in many respects to articulate and explain our value and critical position in society and the result has been brutal cuts to arts education and access.
So, what do I see as the purpose of RiNo Art District? As an organization facing seemingly impossible or overly complex problems, we need to be guiding people back to basics. We need to express and tell the story of the value of art. The influx of investments and developments in our area speak to the incredible significance artists and creatives bring but this story typically ends with the artists being pushed out of the very place they created and then being accused of gentrifying the next, best affordable area. We see this cycle play out time and time again around the world. The argument is not hard to make – if you protect the very people who gave the area value in the first place, you help your bottom line as an investor. RiNo Art District needs to be the bridge that connects what our society has considered disparate priorities and rewrite this story.
Pondering these realities has required that I investigate how these same defenses and faulty ideas play out in my own mind. I have seen my identity as a leader transform to one of empowerment, placemaking and opening doors. My personal passion and purpose have always been related to access to the arts and opportunity. As stated above, I think the purpose of the arts is the opportunity to dream, to imagine, to see possibilities where there are none. The arts provide us with the gift of curiosity, critical thinking, escape, empathy, and questioning. It is not surprising our country has seen a precipitous decline in these things after slashing arts funding and education. As a leader, I do not consider these things to be my responsibility to solve. I believe my charge is to continue moving the needle forward each day on access and creating brave, welcoming spaces where the solutions can be found through creative collaboration. Myopically
My purpose as a leader is to be courageous in building more “on ramps” to progress. What I mean by that is meeting people where they are, not speeding by them - focused on how we as an art world can progress faster, better, or more efficiently. We need to be changing minds and bringing people along on this journey to a more adaptive, curious and inclusive world because we cannot do it as an insular community or exclusive entity. Meaningful progress and change require a transformation in societal thought and understanding.
