A mural of Angelina and Maddox in Cambodia

Hey, I admit it, I enjoy celebrity gossip just as much as the next guy (well, maybe more.) But, the celeb news never really has any relevance to our work in museums. However, this week is different because Angelina and Brad visited a museum in Canada! And get this…My celebrity insider Jeff Hnilicka whispered to me that Brad had actually called the museum to ask about accessibility. See! See! Even celebrities need strollers. I bring this up because at the new Walker, we’ve been working to make the Walker ultra welcoming for all. Hey, its an ultra po-mo marvel that can be a little challenging for some people and we tend to get a little clogged on days when we’re hosting 200 or 300 families with strollers. But, we’re working hard to address all these issues. During the Peace Games Cultural Festival in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on August 11th, over 1500 youth…I mean kids got to visit the galleries. Groups of twenty arrived every 20 minutes with the requisite number of chaperones, guides and staff escorts. Tour guides were stationed at key works throughout the galleries to meet the kids as they arrived with their escort. It was a fantastic experience to introduce all of these kids to the joys of art and creativity. Our traffic control grid held up and all were served wonderfully. And then we topped it off with a youth spoken word, dance and music showcase in the McGuire Theater! So, in anticipation of their visit, we can assure Brad and Angelina that they will have no trouble getting around the Walker with little Maddox and Zahara. Our only request is that they let us know in advance if they will be attending Free First Saturday…We’ll want to warn the Chief Guard about the possible crowds of onlookers. However, I’m sure we will be just as polite and non-interfering as the Canadians were.

Speak for yourself…

The Walker’s 4C Model for Art and Civic Engagement

The visionaries who brought us Burning Man are reaching out to fund what they describe as “art that generates social participation.” Sounds like civic engagement to me. The work this new foundation will fund should, in their words, ‘inspire immediate actions that connect people to one another in a larger communal context.”

The Walker’s recent publication/process map Art and Civic Engagement: Mapping the Connections identifies a “spectrum of civic engagement activities” that range from commentary (activating people’s voices and opinion) to action and leadership. We have noticed that most artist residencies, if they have a community component, tend to remain in the range of commentary and dialogue. So, its great that the Black Rock Arts Foundation has recognized the need to support community-based arts programs that engender civic action and most importantly, are willing to write a check to make it happen. Bravo.

from Community Arts Network

Pioneer 1: Your friendly robot tour guide

An article in the Chicago Tribune today got me thinking, ”Will there always be flesh and blood museum guides?” So, I put the question to Lara Roy, the Walker’s tour guide guru, and she assured me yes. But, maybe fewer if this pod cast thing really takes off for walking tours, garden tours and gallery tours (see the article link for more details.) Lara made the point that there will always be kids groups, the elderly and those who want to have a social experience that will need a person to guide them through the hallowed halls of cultural institutions. But, for those solitary types who dislike a human presence interfering with their communion with taxidermy and/or art will, in the future, always be able to choose the electronic guide. How will you choose? Post your comment on the question…Will live folks always be needed in the galleries as guides? Or, why you prefer live over Memorex or vice versa.

News Article Link:

Will MP3 players replace the tour guide with the red umbrella?

Random Weird Art Link:

The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists

A not-so-great example of camera phone art. Spooky, yes. But is it art?

So, you’ve been snapping mini-masterpieces on your cell phone and itching to let the world see your genius at work. Maybe you weren’t invited to participate in SENT: America’s First Phonecam Art Show and felt, frankly, a little left out. Well, you’re day has come to shine. Your genius will be recognized. Artphoto, the UK based photography mag and website wants your submissions now! I mean, they sent me an “International Press Release” today that was all in CAPS! They must be serious. Anyway, if you don’t believe me, they also have a contact number in the release. Go forth cell phone photogeniuses! The future belongs to you.

Here’s an excerpt (all in caps):

“ARE YOU CRAZY ABOUT YOUR MOBILE CAMERA PHONE? (Yes, you are….admit it.) DO YOU TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, (You know you do.) MAYBE YOU HAVE A COLLECTION OF RELATED PICTURES, (Hmmm) SOMETHING FUN, SOMETHING QUIRKY? (Quirky, for sure) NO PORNOGRAPHY THANK YOU. (Darn!)

PLEASE SUBMIT 9-12 RELATED IMAGES AND UP TO 50 WORDS EXPLAINING YOUR COLLECTION, DON’T FORGET TO ALSO INCLUDE NAME, CAMERA PHONE DETAILS, CONTACT DETAILS AND HOW YOU HEARD ABOUT US. SEND JPEGS TO pix@emergingart.co.uk CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS DECEMBER 23TH 05.

Oh, and if you have any quirky, detailed, non-pornographic questions about this project you can deliver those to:

Angie Patchell

(publisher)

www.emergingart.co.uk

Tel: 0044+(0)207 6221660

Random Funny Link:

UFO Captured On Cellphone Camera In UK (Makes we wonder about this Angie Patchell lady…hmm. UFO’s, Cellphones, UK…Something don’t seem just right.)

Eight hang outs © Gilbert and George / Musée d’art moderne Saint-Etienne

The Community Arts Network hits us with some more partnering tools/wisdom. I’m so busy today trying to get ready for our big community event, the Peace Games Showcase, tommorow at 7PM in the McGuire Theater, I haven’t had time to post. I will make time this weekend to tell you all about the results of our current partnerships. Until then, check this out from CAN

Repost from CAN Network

CAN is excited to present Cross-Sector Resources, a new list of organizations that make good partners for community arts.Cross-Sector Resources is an annotated directory of organizations that are based outside the arts, but have developed resources and strategies that can be useful or instructive in community-based arts practice. Many of them have already devised working methods that address problems that confront — and sometimes confound — community arts practitioners. So far the list includes organizations that have made remarkable headway into such issues as sustainable community development, economic revitalization, international communication, placemaking and youth services. This idea emerged from the 2004 CAN Gathering and the CAN Report. If you would like to recommend a resource for this list, visit the page for instructions and a form.

Go to this entry:

Cross-Sector Resources

Yesterday, sitting outside the Walker, I had a passionate conversation with one of my colleagues about partnerships. I heard him loud and clear when he said, “I don’t want any more partners…I wish we were more interior and I could just get my programs done.” I understood where the emotion was coming from… We’ve, all of us at large arts institutions and small, suffered through the nightmare partnership and vowed (like addicts) never to do that again. And then we do. What’s the deal?

Well, we just can’t get it all done on our own… That’s the deal. We need each other’s organizational strengths, resources, and competencies to fulfill our lofty missions…and, of course, to accomplish something worthwhile and lasting. It’s that bit about sustaining/sustainability of our programs and partnerships that is one of the most important issues for me right now.

I think it’s really important now for all of us working in the arts to think long and hard (and with an open heart) about what we want to accomplish and can contribute through our partnerships. Is it enough anymore for large arts organizations to graze liberally in their communities for the partner du jour and then bolt when that New York or London-based artist flies home–never to be heard from again? Is it enough for community-based organizations to show up at the beginning of each fiscal year with hand out and expect the vault to the endowment to be thrown open? Or, are we to link and sustain connections (as we attempt to do in person-to-person partnerships) where values and mission overlap; where complimentary and extending capacities can be matched; where long and abiding results can be created; where we can do no harm–either to community-based partners or to initiatives and programs already in place.

And given that all this has been rattling around in my brain…I found it synchronistic that CAN Network (Yodaspeak insert: “Always on time…those dudes are.”) has just posted an update on their site–an essay excerpted from “Exploring Partership Development & Evaluation: Inside Three Arts Organizations,” by Takiyah Nur Amin. I’ve also included a couple of links below for some other resources and texts. We need each other as organizations, people and communities… None of us are solo climbers and we can’t make it to the Promised Land without the safety and support of the whole caravan.

Resources:

Urban Network: Museums Embracing Communities

Spitz, Jennifer Amdur and Margaret Thom, editors

Arts and Non-Arts Partnerships by Chris Walker/Wallace Foundation

Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory – An online tool that helps assess partnerships and collaborations