I Attended a Meeting with the PACVB and Peoria Arts Community

I almost forgot to write about this, but last Thursday I attended a meeting at the Peoria Art Guild hosted by the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau with various members of the central Illinois arts community.  The PACVB was wanting to brainstorm with the arts organizations and local artists on how we can all work together to use the arts and arts attractions to help better promote tourism to the central Illinois area.  This is something I've been strongly advocating for a long time, and I'm encouraged by the new openness to making this happen.

As you'll know if you follow any of my work, I'm a huge proponent of both the arts and of leveraging the power of the arts to help drive the economy, tourism, education, and many other important areas of our society.  I truly believe the arts, culture, and yes, entertainment, are a driving force and a foundation of progress and vitality in all these areas.

So it's great to see this new opportunity in the Peoria area, and I'm looking forward to working with the rest of the arts community to take full advantage of it.

Here's a shot of me in a thoughtful moment at the meeting:

The Power of the Arts

For those of you who follow my posts, you'll know that I'm a huge advocate for the Arts. Studies show that the arts and creativity drive our economies and enhance education in profound and far reaching ways.  If you want to go a bit deeper, here's a great article on a conference held last fall on The Role of the Arts in Educating America for Great Leadership and Economic Strength.  There's even a link to the report that came out of the conference, which includes information on how the arts assist achievement and give a competitive edge in education, in the workplace, and even the global economy.

Business of Art Event

For my artist and "creatives" friends, here's a TEDx event coming up in Chicago on the business of the arts: Website.

You're Invited to a Party for the Arts at the Cornerstone!

Just over a year ago, Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, made a visit to Peoria to learn about our arts community. He was impressed with what a truly thriving arts community there is in Central Illinois, and when asked how we could influence those in power to see the arts community as a driving economic and political force well worth investing in, he laid down a challenge: come together to move forward the priorities of the arts, entertainment, and creative community. Work together to promote the arts as the truly valuable economic and social resource that they are.

I'm happy to say that we've risen to the occasion, and have accomplished a great deal in the last year. The arts are truly alive and thriving in Central Illinois. And a big part of that movement has been events called SHIFT, where a group of those interested in promoting the arts have met and discussed strategies and projects for furthering that aim.

As a member of the SHIFT planning committee, I invite you to join us as SHIFT celebrates the accomplishments of the past year, and looks forward to the future...

We're holding a holiday arts party at the beautiful, historic Cornerstone Building on December 12 from 1 to 3 pm.


There will be food, drinks, music, and fun, and you can learn more about the Cornerstone and the exciting arts events that are happening there as well. We'll be unveiling a community mosaic photo collage (which we'll be sending on to Rocco), and enjoying the music of folk/rock/acoustic guitarist Jared Bartman and singer Mary Greenhood, who will perform a variety of original and inspiring folk ballads.

You can also feel free to bring a treat or beverage if you like.

You can RSVP for the party by calling ArtsPartners at 309-676-2787 or by email at admin@artspartners.net.

If you love the arts and want to celebrate with us, I promise you'll have a great time and meet some truly inspiring people. Hope to see you there!

NEA Chair Plays in Peoria

This past Friday, I took part in a discussion that was part of a visit to Peoria by National Endowment for the Arts Chairman, Rocco Landesman. The visit came about as a result of comments that Chairman Landesman made several months ago, saying that he didn't know if Peoria had a theatre, but that if so, it probably wasn't as good as the Steppenwolf in Chicago. Suzette Boulais, Executive Director of ArtsPartners, and Kathy Chitwood, Executive Director of Eastlight Theatre each wrote to Rocco, saying he should come see for himself what Peoria has to offer. And he took them up on it, using his visit to Peoria as the kickoff for his Art Works tour, which will have him visiting cities throughout the country to learn how art shapes the economics, city revitalization, and social development of communities. He wrapped up his visit by attending a special performance of Rent at Eastlight.

The discussion I attended took place at WTVP studios and was taped for the NEA website, as well as a special edition of At Issue, a WTVP program with producer/host, H. Wayne Wilson. I was one of the audience members who posed questions to Chairman Landesman in both tapings.

I have a strong sense that those of us in the arts have a responsibility to make our voices heard, when it comes time to shape public policy that effects how the arts are funded and allowed to thrive. One of the interesting points that Chairman Landesman made is that even some Congress members have made comments about the (comparitively miniscule) amounts of the national budget directed to supporting the arts being frivolous, and that it could instead go to creating "real jobs". Rocco pointed out that someone who'd spent their life working to become the top violinist in a symphony orchestra would not think they didn't have a "real job". And he went on to note that the number of people who have full time jobs in the arts is actually greater than the number of people with jobs in the transportation sector and automobile manufacturing industries combined.

There was also discussion of the arts in education, how it's the first thing eliminated when budgets are tight. And yet it's been shown again and again that students who have the arts as a part of their curriculum achieve higher in all areas of academic pursuit, as well as at success in life and business after leaving school, than those who don't. We need the arts if we're to compete effectively on the world stage. Those who claim otherwise are simply ignorant of the facts.

So it's obvious that the arts play a major role in the economic, academic, and cultural health of our society, and it's time that those of us who have a stake in the arts step up and educate people on the realities of not only the part that art plays in our personal lives, but also of the value it has in our economic health as a nation.