Issue #26
Spring 2003
We invited artists, artist managers, presenters, advocates, funders and board members to examine operating structures both in the New York City dance and performance community and in the non-profit performing arts field in general. What are these structures? How do they work?
Do they work? What is actually happening? What could happen? Many of these thoughts are passed between us all the time, outside of theaters after shows, in hurried phone calls and emails, in program notes, and during rehearsals. It seems that we operate inside a complex web of systems that are out of balance, yet we cling to them out of complacency and habit.
We encouraged contributors to think creatively as well as critically; to propose and illustrate ways of engagement and action. A few contributors articulate individual, collaborative, cooperative, and collective structures to counterbalance the prevailing models.
Representatives of these models acknowledge the importance of balance in the industry and increased artist participation in institutional leadership. Other contributors point to the national culture wars that have eroded our community's resources over the years. Some voices call for leadership from both administrators and artists, and others propose specific projects as it becomes imperative that we turn our imaginations toward new processes and solutions.
One of the many threads that become clear is that money itself is not a structure; its absence demands that we examine much more carefully how things are done and how they might be done. It demands creativity.
Editorial team
Guest Editor
Guy Yarden - Miguel Gutierrez
Contributing Editor
Clarinda Mac Low - Joyce S. Lim - George Emilio Sanchez
Design
Ellen Fanning - Jana DeWitt
Articles
From the Editor’s
March 13, 2003 We invited artists, artist managers, presenters, advocates, funders and board members to examine operating structures both in the New York City dance and performance community and in...
Artists’ Congress
The Field, in association with New York Foundation for the Arts, proposes a pilot investigation towards the creation of an Artists' Congress, a forum where performing artists can speak freely...
Dancers Forum
MISSION & DESCRIPTION Dancers Forum meets to discuss issues dancers face on stage and off, as well as the state of the art of dance. Its aim is to heighten...
...in A Time of Deep-Freeze
Washington, DC - Winter 2003: cold days; a pending war; a tanking economy; Trent Lott; reality TV; instant messaging; orange alert: poets and the white house; rebuild/renew; and the list...
Structuring an Identity as a Performer
EIGHT QUESTIONS I 'VE HAD TO ASK MYSELF IN ORDER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS REALLY MEANS. WHEN DID I BEGIN TO STRUCTURE AN IDENTITY AS A PERFORMER?: SINCE THE...
An Email Interview with Loris Bradley & Kristy Edmunds
Do existing presenting models in the U.S. pose problems for you? If so, have you imagined different models? What are you trying to do differently that you feel other presenting...
Returning to the Core
I am thinking that the current eco-system in the dance field doesn't work. Most at risk are the artists and their support system for making work. I haven't figured it...
ABC No Rio
ABC No Rio is a four story building on the lower east side housing a myriad of programs which, fueled by an anarchistic spirit of autonomy and possibility, are committed...
A Modest Proposal: The Collaborative Fund for Dance in New York
I was talking with some colleagues who run arts organizations in New York City. The tone of our discussion was one of frustration, confusion and, ultimately, surrender as we shared...
NYSCA State and Local Partnership Retreat Harriman, NY, 3/11/01
Navigating and Netmaking: A Neo-Realist Approach to Art-Building
REALISM Dream big As artists, we dream big; we have big ideas and big ideals. This is as it should be, because from the initial fantasy comes the transforming power...
The Little Space That Could... A Model of Low-Fi Success
It's 2am. I should be in bed but I'm trying to respond to writings and images sent by my students from around the country. I work at home in San...
Excerpts from an Interview with Lucy Sexton
Whose Board have you on, on and for how many years? First I was on the Artists' Advisory Committee (AAC) of PS 122, probably around 1992. I was on that...
Interview with Ishmael Houston-Jones
What is the role of your Board in shaping or driving the organization's mission? The role of the Board is to help the executive director [currently Laurie Uprichard], who's a...
Winter/Spring 2003 Calendar
Interview with Barbara Bryan
When I first talked to you about this topic you wanted to be interviewed because you felt a certain resistance to writing down a particular mode for how you work,...
Proposal: a center for dance & performance artists
objective To build and manage a Center for Dance and Performance Artists - a nonprofit organization offering extensive residencies and significant fellowships to New York City dance and performance artists....
The People United?
“Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there is no education.” —Pedagogy of the Oppressed,...