I was scanning my FB feed after the gym, and noticed that two pals had shared this article. The quote that accompanied the link grabbed my attention immediately.
Wow. That’s a headline, eh?
Gary Gutting talks about job satisfaction, something that SNAAP says that a large percentage of arts graduates rank highly in their post-graduate lives. He also talks about how difficult it is to make a living as an artist or writer, unless you reach a high level of success or have a partner who will help to support you.
It’s not news, the struggle to make it in our society if the things you care about aren’t moneymakers. It’s a damn shame, but it’s not news.
I’m totally intrigued, though, with his thoughts about re-imagining the landscape of the arts to more closely reflect that of professional athletics. Why can’t we also leverage the public/private partnerships that build stadiums and arenas? (It’s working fairly well for us.) I’ve had pals who have consistently spoke about creating a home-town opera company or orchestra, and it seems like Philly and Memphis and Forth Worth have been able to do just that.
What are some other ways that we could re-imagine the landscape? That we could collaborate in a large-scale (or small-scale) way to change the math a bit, so that careers in the arts aren’t thought of as “careers”?
Any and all ideas welcome.
Indirect Routes 