When the decision is made after all the options are weighed, it is relatively easy to get a plan and work the plan. A background in interdisciplinary art was my strange kind of useful tool box. If there is the need to build networks that is what collaborators do (done), if there is the need to direct people specifically then being a choreographer worked well (done) but if the goal was to adjust legislative policy then I met my Waterloo. Individual artists are collectively a teaming financial force for any urban city so when I met with powerful people who planned never to do anything except lip service for artists, it was a tad discouraging. Fast forward to 2014, NYC Council is now developing a city wide cultural plan. Wow and wow….many people advocated for this idea in 1994! I suppose those at the forefront are hoping to pass this law by 2016 and see a plan for implementation in 2017. As I attended the announcement meeting at NYU with a diverse group of interested players, one by one by one artists expressed that their personal/professional needs were dire. Since bureaucratic wheels turn very very slowly in the big city I, for one hope artists can hold on because NYC is a very sad place without them. As LES art meccas like ABC NO RIO gets better facilities, there is hope for the city’s cultural institutional fortitude but individual artists are still very vulnerable. Micro Museum has made it our mission to create a tribe of achieving artists. So when they step out and present new works in NYC locations it is more than hopeful, it is soul replenishing because their generous sweat-equity is also on display. Recently watched BANKSY DOES NEW YORK – a documentary about Banksy’s residency in NYC last October. Banksy’s 31 days of art initiatives became an internet sensation and therefore became a form of virtual graffiti. The filmmakers followed the art journey by turning NYC into a progressive art buffet. The residency explored the human condition when it collides with something new and relatively unbound by ownership. I am further impressed by Banksy’s ability to remain unidentified, although my sense is that these art actions might not be one person. The works are quite brilliant and accentuate the complexities of life in the 21st Century for artists and others. The works frequently spoke to and brought out the deep agonizing desire to “get rich quick” by exploiting another person’s talents. All in all the 5 borough art residency was a great experience as a citizen of NYC and as a film directed by Chris Maukarbel for HBO. While the theme of “artist as hero” is still in my mind plus feeling that truth, justice and the American way are still good reasons to seek happiness and commerce in the pursuit of art. I, however regret that individual artists are considering leaving their chosen NYC neighborhoods. We will have to import visiting artists to rock our worlds because as a city we cannot implement social policy fast enough with issues surrounding artist housing and fair employment. For many years we watched Micro Museum’s accomplished artists make money for lots of people but not overwhelmingly for themselves. They have always been entrepreneurial because there were no other options. If only there was a faster way for say “thank-you” because 2017 is a long time from now.
Hopscotch Anyone?
Micro Museum 