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Create Long Beach, A Recap by Sander Wolff | Culture Agent | 03.30.09 | | Text Size: +
 Six confusing themes It was, fundamentally, a moderated brain-storming session about six pre-selected topics, each with several sub-topics. The topics were the basis of six break-out discussion groups. Each group had four 20 minute ‘sessions’ where different groups of people could speak to the topics while facilitators maintained focus, and others wrote feverishly, capturing ideas as they arose. Introductions were made by Robert Swayze, manager of the Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau, and Arts Council Board President Justin Hectus. Then Marc Goldring, a hired consultant from the Boston based Wolf Brown company, gave an overview of the process and topics. More on Marc a bit later. The six main topics were “Strengthening inclusive cultural leadership to identify, advocate for, and obtain the necessary financial and human resources,” “Encouraging more effective use of cultural assets, including venues, districts, organizations, and programs in support of economic development,” “Fostering a sustainable ecology of ‘creative individuals’ and collaborative, innovative cultural organizations of all sizes, ages, disciplines, and locations,” “Emphasizing a range of creative learning opportunities for residents of all ages to support a citywide culture of creativity,” “Improving communication and collaboration within the cultural/creative sector and between the cultural/creative sector and the larger community,” and “Building on Long Beach’s diversity to strengthen cultural/creative participation throughout the City and its neighborhoods.” All of these main topics had subtopics. I’m not going to list them all here but, just to help you grasp how things worked, here are the subtopics for ‘Cultural Leadership’: “Leadership roles for Arts Council for Long Beach and Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau,” “Stronger connections between arts and culture and local business,” “Ensure that arts and culture interests are ‘at the table’,” “Mix of earned and private sector contributed revenues,” and “Increased public sector support, both financial and in-kind.” There were lots of ideas that didn’t fit neatly into any of the main themes. For example, many people were talking about the role of government, and how it could modify existing municipal rules to foster the development of natural synergy amongst arts related activities and businesses. This relates to economic development, collaboration, neighborhoods, leadership, and… well, you get the idea. It would have been nice to have a specific ‘Government’ discussion. I would have also welcomed a specific forum to discuss alternatives to the existing municipal arts funding model. The Arts Council for Long Beach started a long time ago, and served a specific purpose. Now that resources are tight, we have an opportunity to explore other models that could better or more efficiently serve the needs of the City. When I last checked, about half of the funds committed to the Arts Council by the City are spent on staff and other operating expenses. I believe that a new model could lower, or even eliminate, that overhead. Back to Marc Goldring, the hired consultant. Wolf Brown has a who’s who of clients that goes on for pages, including the Public Corporation for the Arts, now the Arts Council. Marc is the one who, more than 10 years ago, helped formulate our last Cultural Master Plan. We paid his company lots of money to craft the document which, as soon as it was completed, was almost entirely ignored. It is likely that the City’s failure to implement it resulted from the PCA’s inability to adequately advocate for its implementation. Now, however, the Arts Council has a commitment from the City to include the updated Cultural Master Plan in the overarching 2030 Plan, under development by the Planning Department. This may be enough to ensure the new Cultural Master Plan finds broad support. Also, we are fortunate to benefit from a new crop of creative, intelligent, highly motivated volunteers serving on the Arts Council’s board. Their vision and hard work may be significant enough that, this time, when all is said and done, we’ll actually end up with meaningful and positive change. I’m really an optimist at heart, so why these feelings of melancholy? I’ve been doing this arts advocacy thing for a long time, and being in the room with the large post-its and the colored pens made me remember all the other times I’ve been in other rooms with the exact same group of people, more or less, with post-its and colored pens, writing down the exact same ideas, and hoping that, somehow, this time will be different. I sincerely hope that, this time, it will be. UPDATE: I contacted Justin Hectus, Board President of Arts Council for Long Beach, to answer some of the questions raised here. He said that the grant from the LACAC was for $24K. I got the number wrong. He said that WolfBrown was paid $32,000. When asked about the source of additional funds, he said "We have had to cobble those from a number of individual, corporate and foundation donors." Comments
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shiborigirl Just reading this article made my eyes glaze over but at the same time be thankful I wasn't in the room. Fortunately, I was busy this past weekend at a hands on workshop learning new creative skills which will be put to good use immediately-as in today when I submit new photography samples for an upcoming magazine article on my work. Like you, I am usually optimistic. But unlike you, I have given up hope that anything solid comes of these discussions. As a working "artist/maker" I feel that every time I join in discussion groups of this type a little part of me dies. Every time I see the Orange Twist I am reminded of the state of art in Long Beach. I wish I saw it differently. Lugene Thanks for the coverage Sander; glad you could join in. To clarify, the six "pre-selected topics" were called "emerging themes" because these are the general categories that comments we've been receiving from members of the community have been falling (not so neatly) into as we move through this cultural planning process. I agree there's a lot of overlap between these topic categories and certainly centralized leadership is crucial to our success, but really it is the passion, guidance and support of LB residents that will ensure that this process continues moving forward. MelissaB Sander, thank you so much for this recap. I so wanted to attend and sadly had another obligation. However, I did attend a smaller meeting with another two friends who are also publicists and we stressed to Marc and others how crucial a proactive public relations campaign is for the great programs and services already in place, and the vision for the future. You mention seeing many familiar faces, which is great, but one gets the feeling in Arts & Culture in LB it is the same small group of people who know all the details and control everything - we need to throw out a much broader net and have much public access to what is going on and available. Diane Your comment ... "When I last checked, about half of the funds committed to the Arts Council by the City are spent on staff and other operating expenses. I believe that a new model could lower, or even eliminate, that overhead." Please don't be so quick to eliminate the Arts Council. There are real people behind those jobs. And these people work very hard. Antonio Ruiz The “Create Long Beach, A Recap” posting was not an objective journalistic report so it could not have been a “recap”. It was a flawed subjective review based on a misperception of the goals of the forum and a misunderstanding about the process now underway. It is part of a process that began back in the nineties and was revived by The Creativity Network and other groups and individuals over the last several years. It’s part of a dialogue that has been ongoing on the Arts Council and off. This latest dialogue officially began in January with a meeting of over 60 community leaders who were invited to participate on a steering committee. Every effort was made to ensure that this group reflected as many constituencies as possible. Over the next two months, community based discussion groups were initiated to gather input. A FaceBook group was set up to solicit input. A second Steering Committee meeting was held last week to brainstorm some more. From these early meetings, a series of “Themes” have arisen; talking points about the important issues that need to be discussed as we plan the next Long Beach. The Saturday morning Community Forum had one major goal: meeting like this are not mechanisms to implement but to air and clarify ideas and key concepts. The Consultant, Marc Goldring, flatly stated to the assembled audience that the purpose of the forum was to review what has bubbled up to the surface and to tell us if there were other issues that needed to be added to the mix or that if those presented were even valid. As a facilitator, I reinforced that and invited more issues. I did not find any shrinking violets at my session. It was a positive and healthy dialogue where participants freely offered ideas, suggestions, new takes, and their viewpoints. All the while, note takers feverishly transcribed the essence and specifics. Participants filled out post its and 3x5 cards with additional comments. I did not see anyone being held back to express his or her viewpoint. I saw and heard a call for dialogue at that forum and a continuation of that dialogue during the rest of the process. There will be more community-based dialogue. In fact, from Robert Swayze to Justin Hectus to Marc Goldring to all the facilitators, I heard the message that this is an on-going process that will continue even after the Consultant leaves the scene. Saturday was about the “Whats”. What are the important issues? This was not the first, last, and only opportunity to address these issues. Before you can offer solutions and strategies for “How”, you must first be comfortable with those issues. Over the next several months and beyond, a framework will be developed around the primary issues and the strategies for implementing them. There will continue to be dialogue because that is how we believe it must happen. That’s where the really tough questions will be asked regarding money, models for change, the role of the city, the creative community, business, educational instructions, and all the other stakeholders. The Creativity Network and I personally have been advocating for a new look at the way Arts and Culture are viewed in this city. Anyone who has read my comments or heard me discuss the Arts Council and the way things have been done know where I stand. I would never be a part of a flawed process that was destined to keep the status quo. We are asking tough questions about the Council, the City, the Creative Community and the citizens as a whole. What do you want the new Creative Long Beach to look like? What should we tackle first, second, third and down the line? But talk is cheap. It’s action that’s very expensive. It takes time, energy, resources, and a commitment by all of us to continue the dialogue, the networking, the collaborations, the shared visions and the determination to make it happen. I am enthusiastic beyond words that we’ve made it this far and equally excited about the journey ahead. Tom Hayashi In participating as one of the facilitators to the session Saturday, I did feel a number of strong feelings, which also like Sander, predates the current effort...however, melancholy was not one of them, per se. What is clear though,is the two strategic themes which seems to be most critical this effort to have a fighting chance in supporting the arts in the community are: Leadership and Diversity. No amount of resources will every address these two issues without artist-leaders (not "arts administrators") with a clear vision, political skill, and a strong community building abilities. We also might start by, as its been pointed out by Antonio, having more artists on the Arts Council board and as I have also been insisting, getting someone on board who actually has a diverse knowledge and experience in the arts of all stripes which means with perspectives that may defy the conventional notions of humanities. Without tackling these two strategies first, I'm afraid my long-time friend Sander is right, it truly would be to our chagrin, all over again. Melissa R I think there is room in this "master plan" for the idea that private citizens or local businesses with desire, means and/or abilities may also come up with creative ways to highlight our diverse and creative community here in Long Beach. I am a partner in a Desin/Marketing firm here in Long Beach and have a BA in Film from CSULB. We have long wanted and are finally working on a couple of community driven, creative websites just for Long Beach. These are not commercial ventures for us but ones but would be considered passion projects. Our goals are to highlight the creative community here in Long Beach and to bring the people of Long Beach together. We love Long Beach and have a huge amount of admiration for our artistic community here. We understand the Arts Council and the official master plan are necessary to preserve our city's cultural being, however we also believe there are room for other ideas. Joe Weinstein I join shiborigirl in being glad I wasn't there - even tho I love MoLAA's collections. Unlike her, I am not much of a creative artist. (Albeit I do compose on the piano, write essays, and attempt elegant solutions of beautiful or anyhow compelling math problems.) However, like shiborigirl, I have better and more direct things to do than waste quality time unempoweredly giving 'input' to burocrats on what eventually they might or might not choose to do. Yes, high quality time, complete with spring sunshine, when one can directly experience the inherently artistic beauty of our beaches, home gardens, or (and especially) the magnificent mountains. I'll bet this event was meanwhile just another Lubianka confab: those Darkness-at-Noon indoor affairs (often lit just by slide projector lamp) that are so fashionable in Academia and Burocratia. Sandy I can understand the skepticism of long-time LB residents about the merits of participating in “yet another” planning session for arts & culture in LB, but I believe this process is valuable in providing the opportunity for people to share their ideas. As one of the small group facilitators, I heard repeatedly about the many unknown gems in this city offering music, art, dance, and many other forms of arts & cultural celebrations. What became evident to me is everyone needs to keep talking and making known what they are doing, so there is greater awareness of the options. Everyone can participate in that with no waiting for city officials or government to take action. Word-of-mouth PR is a great way to raise awareness, so here’s hoping everyone keeps talking – in public forums, schools, neighborhoods, within families, and among friends! Sander First, let me say that today's column was intended to be purely subjective. I sometimes write what I consider to be hard news. This was not a news piece. It was an opinion piece. I had hoped that the subjectivity was foregrounded by my opening sentence. To anyone who was confused about this, I sincerely apologize. - I feel that the piece I wrote was an honest and balanced recounting of the event. I sited lots of positive aspects, illustrated a few challenges, and made a few well-considered recommendations. - I value dialog, and understand the importance of participation. I've never been one of those people who sit on the sidelines and mock those in the trenches, doing the hard work. I do, however, feel an obligation to speak up when hard work is being misdirected and, thus, wasted. - My problems with the Arts Council are not about the people serving on the board, or the staff. My issue is with the institution, the mechanism by which it is funded, and the overhead inherent in its operation. My thoughts on this subject formed way back in 2000, when Rob Hankins was in charge, and continue to this day. - With limited resources, it is our obligation and responsibility to find the most efficient way to fund the arts, and to make best use of every available municipal dollar. Anything less is unacceptable. - Last year, before the dismissal of the Arts Council's Director of Marketing, exactly half of the City's $600,000 Arts Council funding was going to pay three salaries. That's a very high overhead. - Since the Marketing Director's layoff, and the subsequent retirement of the Executive Director, the Arts Council has been trying to reinvent itself while, at the same time, facing the hard fact that additional budget reductions are inevitable. I cannot conceive of a better time to rethink how we, as a City, manage our funding of arts and culture. - Even with the best of intentions, and with lots of hard work, individuals can succumb to the lure of institutional inertia. In fighting to save the sinking ship, we may sail past our salvation. Sometimes the best course of action is to let go of what we have so we can create something new. - At the event, I participated actively, and tried my best to work within the structure as it was outlined to us. I sincerely hope that my contributions were meaningful, and that the event will ultimately produce a set of meaningful recommendations and guidelines that can be implemented by the City. - I remain an optimist, and stand in solidarity with all who commit themselves to being tireless advocates for the rich cultural and artist tapestry that connects our fair City. KaRi from LBCTelevision I'll be blogging about this when I get a moment. My first thought was that the group did not appear to be culturally diverse - did anyone from MoLAA admin attend? My last thoughts were of Mr. Swayze's conclusion as he read many of the ideas collected during the sessions. The one question that was written everywhere before the session breakdown was "Who is in charge?" Swayze told us to look around the room. "YOU are the leaders." Sander, perhaps you weren't melancholy when you left, just a little confused, like me! BTW, if you want to check out diversity, visit "Save Cable Access TV" on ThePrimeSpot.com John Greet Sander: Nice bit of opinionating, this. Thanks! Can you or any of your reader/participants tell me how much Mr. Goldring and Wolf Brown were paid to consult on this project? Do you feel that paying a consultant based in Boston to facilitate arts funding discussions and planning in Long Beach is a sensible allocation of limited and, as you say, shrinking arts funding dollars? If a consultant was truly needed, could not one have been found in town, in county or in State? You mention that you saw many of the same folks in this session that participated so well in past sessions, could not any of them facilitated this discussion just as well if not better? I fully understand what you describe as your feelings of melancholy. Having participated on a voluntary basis in City strategic planning sessions I can tell you it is extremely disheartening to donate a lot of time and energy to brainstorming and making what our group felt were very valuable recommendations. Many charts were posted and many maps marked up. The final PowerPoint presentation alone was a joy to behold. But at the end of many weeks of “facilitated discussions” it was quite disheartening to realize that all we had really accomplished was to make recommendations nearly identical to those that had been made a decade prior by groups, like ours, that were anxious to help guide the City along in its strategic planning. Recommendations that, like ours were equally well documented, graphed and charted…but almost none of which were ever adopted. Once I came to that realization, I was feeling a lot more than just melancholy. shiborigirl Thanks for having this discussion here Sander. I will add this which is an excerpt from one of my blogs on the topic. I feel it really has to be said and since it doesn't appear to have made it to one of the colorful postit notes or 3x5 cards, I will say it again. In order to have art embraced throughout the city, we need to engage families and kids through regular hands on art education. "I recently was invited to and attended a meeting of a focus group called Create Long Beach!. We were asked “What do you think is the most pressing issue for arts and culture in Long Beach? What are our assets?”. My thoughts went as follows: You want to talk about assets? How about the kids in LB? ALL the kids. The bottom line for me is that kids are going to need creative skills to get by in the future and they are simply not getting it. And by kids I don’t mean just the kids whose parents find it important or can afford to buy them access. ALL kids. That’s why it has to be done in the public schools. I don’t think any of us will be served by living in a world where people have lost their ability to create solutions because from what I can see, we’re gonna need LOTS of solutions in our future! I’m not interested in teaching art for the accolades, or to babysit someone’s kids on a Saturday morning. I am interested in building skills over time- teaching problem solving through art. Because that’s what art is (at least to me) - a method of creating by solving problems step by step. How can we engage the average person on the street and connect them to the “arts community” when they have no experience of it in the first place-nothing on which to base an understanding of it? It needs to start there. On the streets and in the schools. Enough of flashy websites, granted artists, neato slogans and taglines. Teach problem solving through the arts and connect it to everyday life. Teach artists how to make a living. Let artists teach art. steel parade status quo. same ol' stuff going on here. discussions and decisions by people who are not full time artist. Sander Steel Parade, it is an ironic fact that full time artists are seldom interested in participating in these processes. After all, they're doing what they need to do to be successful, and do not rely on, or feel hindered by, these issues. I don't fault them for that, but neither should we be surprised that more do not participate. On the other hand, there were a number of full time artists at the gathering on Saturday, who participated fully. Shiborigirl, you're absolutely right that early childhood arts education is a critical component to long-term success in advancing arts and culture in the City. Honestly, I doubt that you'll find many who feel otherwise. The painful reality, however, is that our City, for whatever reason, is faced with deficits and additional spending cuts. An expansion of any arts program seems unlikely right now. I do, however, believe that there are things our municipal leaders can do to advance arts and culture without spending a single penny. I'll be outlining some of these in the coming days and weeks. We should agree to advance these things first, because they may be the very things that can produce the economic stimulus we need to support all these other expenditure-based ideas. John, thanks for your validation, and for sharing your experiences. I believe the Cultural Master Plan update process was funded by a grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. They gave the Arts Council $35,000. I don't know how those funds are being spent, or if non-grant funds are being used to further fund the process. I'll try to find out. KaRi, I did notice that many of the major funding recipients were absent from the event. Perhaps they were involved in earlier processes and didn't feel the need to attend. I'll try to find out. 562CityLife-Matt I guess it's hard not to have an opinion and want to express it when you've been involved in this for as long as Sander has been. I appreciate you going and working hard to make us all think about this topic and gave a dam! My thoughts, as a new comer, on the event are: 1) It's VERY nice to see an effort being made. 2) I also would like to see a greater effort made at bringing in a wider range of diversity. I know that it was an open forum and all were invited, but more effort may have to be made at reaching a broader audience. 3) I hope the effort and energy does not go to waste... Let's keep working towards realizing the vision that we all want to see! :) Scott Blumenthal I got a lot out of the saturday meeting/event. It seems as if a nice movement is underway. Hopefully it won't be business as usual. Let's see what we can do. Antonio Ruiz I wonder why people stand on the sidelines and criticize instead of rolling up their sleeves and making change? Look, please add to the process by becoming involved. If you weren't there, please talk to MORE people who were there. More importantly, get involved. This is a movement of people volunteers, not bureaucrats. This was not a one meeting process nor will it be. Change will only come when ALL of us become committed to change. As for diversity, the last time I checked I was not Eurocentric. Every effort was made to reach out and it continues. From the composition of the Steering Committee to the volunteers, we (and I know I am) are committed to making sure this process is a reflection of the city in which we live. Get involved. Roll up your sleeves and help make us make this happen. Talk is cheap. It's the action that is very expensive. shiborigirl I knew I could count on Mr Ruiz to lead me into my next comment. I know that the "stand on the sidelines and criticize comment was directed towards people like myself and steelparade for expressing a critical opinion of the process but I think that is exactly what is needed here if there EVER is going to be a solution reached. I will point out that I have never just sat on the sidelines and just criticized the process. In fact, I have been active on a weekly basis near to ten years giving FREE art lessons to elementary aged children in a LBUSD school. My time and my dime. I know you are aware of this. As for steelparade, he can speak for himself, but I do know that he spends much time giving free lessons & rehearsals to aspiring musicians both privately and at LBCC. Just because we choose to use our time "on the street" instead of in board rooms or community meetings (BTW- I have attended a few of them) doesn't mean our opinions don't matter and that we are on the sidelines criticizing without acting or participating in the solution. As full time artists/musicians it behooves us to stay connected to society and our communities at this level in order to maintain a relevance to our work. Sander is absolutely correct. It is very difficult for full time artists/musicians to be inspired to participate in these sorts of seemingly never ending discussions. We are inclined to do, not to talk about doing. It is in our nature since we survive (ie pay the bills) with our work and really can't afford otherwise. We ARE volunteers of another sort and hopefully there are some who are interested in our ideas too. Marc Goldring I have read Sander’s article and the many comments that follow. It doesn’t surprise me that there is skepticism about this planning process, given the history in Long Beach. There are reasonable concerns about the fate of the earlier cultural plan (which I understand to have had a somewhat more positive impact than Sander suggests) as well as disappointment with the role and effectiveness of the Arts Council in the past few years. But for all of the complaints about the Arts Council, I think it should be given some credit for taking a very difficult position. From the beginning, the Arts Council leadership made it very clear that it would let go of control of the planning process and would consider restructuring itself in response to this plan. That decision creates an environment in which new thinking can flourish. It should be acknowledged and honored. It wasn’t as though we didn’t anticipate the concern about the Arts Council. That’s why we made sure that it was co-sponsored by the City’s Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau; that’s why the Steering Committee has been assembled rather than using the Arts Council’s board as the oversight group; that’s why the Project Manager is not an Arts Council staff member. Support for arts and culture in Long Beach has been up and down over the years and these times are incredibly difficult for everyone, not least Long Beach’s artists or cultural organizations. So having an opportunity to jointly focus on the future of arts and culture ought to be an opportunity that concerned residents applaud – and participate in. It is still quite early in the process and the opportunities for input still remain. The more people who speak about the full range of issues – whether or not they fit neatly into six or eight or ten themes – the greater the likelihood we’ll come up with consensus around important issues and new approaches. Our goal is to have the FRAMEWORK of a plan by the end of June, with the details (specific strategies and action steps) being worked out within the context of the City’s 2030 Plan. You can add your voice to this on-going conversation through comments on this and other blogs, to us directly at info@createlongbeach.com, or by joining our Facebook group, Create Long Beach. Sander Marc, thank you for sharing your insights. The original Cultural Master Plan has not, I believe, been made widely available and I've not ever heard anyone share a careful analysis of its short or long term impact. Perhaps the Arts Council might have more support if it shared this via the internet. Also, in my training as a brainstorming facilitator, I was taught that limiting discussion was inherently problematic, and tends to impede the free flow of ideas. I spoke with many people who were frustrated with the 'what' focus, and with the avoidance of the 'how' debate. Most people who attended the event know much of the 'what', and have real-world 'how' solutions. To quell that is, in my opinion, ill-advised. Lastly, economic realities will force significant change upon the Arts Council, whether they're open to it or not. This process has been under way for a long time. It was a mistake to dodge this during the meeting, and should have been addressed directly, so that the community can begin to rally its collective intelligence and creativity to formulate alternate models, something that's long overdue. steel parade the comment posted by Mr. Ruiz are a perfect example of what is wrong with this situation. the confusion of attending meetings as opposed to doing the real work is what i question. Mr. Ruiz blatantly stole images from Shiborigirls blog, and used them for his own purpose under the guise that her work was being done by the "arts council". when it was brought to his attention, a small blurb was posted on how the image was removed and how great all the work the "arts council" was doing in Long Beach.....not much of an apology, and the many full time international artists that frequent Shiborigirls blog expressed their disbelief with Mr. Ruiz's conduct. Now this same person is implying that Shiborigirl and myself are on "the sidelines" and to "roll up our sleeves"? Mr. Ruiz, did you even read Shiborigirls blog while you were stealing images of her volunteering her time with the LBUSD? if you did, you would see that Shiborigirl has volunteered her time for over ten years in this city by going into the classrooms on a weekly basis and teaching art. as for me, i was born and have lived in Long Beach all of my life. i am a full time musician of 20 years....this means i have no other source of income other than creating music. i have been volunteering my time to real LBCC students who are looking for assistance, but can not afford or qualify for state funded lessons. after a few years of volunteering my time weekly at LBCC, i was given the title of "artist in residence" by the music department. i served this position for two years, and now have gone back to volunteering my time to aspiring students as to allow the "artist in residence" position to be filled by another artist.....as to help the progression of the students and the college. so here is the question i have for Mr. Ruiz? who are you? what is your formal arts education? please let all of us reading LB Post know of your background. i tried to engage Mr. Ruiz in dialogue via his YouTube site. i felt he had an excellent video from another full time artist expressing his views on the "arts council". when i emailed Mr. Ruiz for information to contact this featured artist, i got no response. i wanted to "meet" with the artist featured in this video, but i got no contact information or response after several attempts. in the end, i managed to contact the artist on my own. i also asked a few simple questions in regards to funding, monies, and other featured videos. not only did i not get a response, but my posted comments were erased. i asked if my comments had been erased in error, but i never received a reply. and now this same person is implying that Shiborigirl and myself should "roll up our sleeves"? it sounds like were not communicating effectively. so, im "over it" and promise i will not post anymore. im a bit too busy surviving as a full time artist to engage in such nonsense. but i will ask the question again: Mr. Ruiz, what is your formal arts education? once i understand your background, it may give me an insight as to why you took images from Shiborigirls volunteer blog, didnt respond to a full time musicians requests, and are now implying that we need to "roll up our sleeves" and participate. i thank you for the opportunity to express my ideas, and respect the ideas of others as well. steel parade although i was not at the meeting, i agree with Sander's last post. how is this to be a grass-roots-movement when it seems like many of us are alienated for not behaving a certain way. i could not be there on Saturday because i was actually DOING my artform for a living. thank you for allowing us to express our ideas. p.s. there is a YouTube video response to the LBPOST.com article by Mr. Ruiz himself. simply search "The creativity network supports create long beach" on YouTube to view. i believe it speaks for itself. steel parade i would like to clarify my earlier post. i stated that Mr. Ruiz had "lifted" Shiborigirls images from her blog for the Arts Council. this is incorrect. the images were taken and used for a mass mailing by the Creativity Network, as to give the idea that the image was the work of the Creativity Network. my apologies to the Arts Council for the incorrect listing. thank you. Sander Dear Steel Parade, I cannot and will not besmirch Antonio's motivations, or his long-standing commitment to advocacy. Also, I really do believe that everyone has the ability to contribute meaningfully, even if they don't have an academic background, or even an arts background. After all, one of the key issues to remember is that it isn't the needs of the artists that are in question here. It is the 'quality of life' issues that result from an unfettered and dynamic cultural landscape from which all residents benefit. The other issue I'll address is something you said at the end of your comment, about shutting up. Truthfully, that is a certain path to catastrophe. Even if it feels futile, we must stay engaged, and continue talking because, once we fall silent, other will step in and make decisions for us. We, each of us, would prefer to let others do this hard work, and those that do it would prefer for everyone else to shut up and let them get on with it. Neither works. dear Sanders, thank you for your input. 1. i agree with you in regards to academic background and arts background. everyone can contribute, etc. i simply want the question answered. 2. it is my choice to speak when necessary, and to be quiet when necessary. i would have no issues with anyone dissecting my life history, and seeing if i have "spoken up" when appropriate. given this ability to choose, i also know that my life is not about "talking to a wall". i simply want to know who im speaking to. steel parade oops! that last comment was left by me, steel parade. Antonio Ruiz In response to recent postings: In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. It is often, but not always, a requirement that this claim be false, and, or alternatively, that the publication is made to someone other than the person defamed. In common law jurisdictions, slander refers to a malicious, false and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts, which arises where one person reveals information that is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person. "Unlike [with] libel, truth is not a defense for invasion of privacy." Sander Where are you going with this, Antonio? I thought you wanted to encourage dialog, not quell it. From this last post, it seems to me that you're trying to make people afraid to speak their minds lest legal action be taken against them. Is that what you're doing? Are you suggesting that any factual criticism of the Arts Council, a publicly funded entity, can be viewed as illegal speech? If so, I'd really like to know that. I'm no lawyer, so perhaps I'll call Heather Mahood tomorrow and ask her. steel parade hehehehe......and you wonder why we dont participate? Antonio Ruiz I wonder why people stand on the sidelines and criticize instead of rolling up their sleeves and making change? Look, please add to the process by becoming involved. If you weren't there, please talk to MORE people who were there. More importantly, get involved. This is a movement of people volunteers, not bureaucrats. This was not a one meeting process nor will it be. Change will only come when ALL of us become committed to change. As for diversity, the last time I checked I was not Eurocentric. Every effort was made to reach out and it continues. From the composition of the Steering Committee to the volunteers, we (and I know I am) are committed to making sure this process is a reflection of the city in which we live. Get involved. Roll up your sleeves and help make us make this happen. Talk is cheap. It's the action that is very expensive. Sander Who gets to decide where the "sidelines" are, or what the "process" is? Involvement takes many forms, not just that which is legitimized by City-sanctioned organizations. The action I'm taking is to remind people that their individual voices need not be redirected through some third party entity in order to be heard. Residents can and should speak directly to their elected representatives about their views on the Arts, it's funding, and management. That is the only way they can be sure their views are being accurately represented. Se Reed Who are the steering committee members? And who assembled it?
Culture Agent
Sander lives with his wife, step-daughter, two dogs, two cats, two fish, and two aquatic frogs. He's an avid nature photographer, and enjoys creating close-up images of flowers and plants.
Sander Roscoe Wolff is a musician, artist, and was co-founder and Executive Director of LongBeachCulture.org, the City's first comprehensive, and free, arts portal. He has served on the boards of the 2nd City Council Art Gallery + Performance Space and the East Village Arts District, curated a 6 month gallery exhibition in the Long Beach World Trade Center, and produced Songs For Bethune, a CD of original and traditional holiday songs by local artists, to raise funds for the Arts Council's Passport to the Arts program. His work has been featured in local gallery exhibitions, in SoundWalk, and L.A. Siggraph's Photon Ballet. His current music project is Ain Soph Aur, a systems based improvisational duo.
Sander's Community
 
Sander's Favorite Links
2ndcitycouncil.org calrep.org csulb.edu/org/uam/ foundtheatre.org ictlongbeach.org lbma.org lbph.com lbso.org LongBeachCulture.org longbeachopera.org molaa.org musical.org SanderIs.com thecreativitynetwork.org/ thegaragetheatre.org
Sander's Archives
March, 2010 03.12.10 The Verbs of Art: A Conversation With Eric Booth03.10.10 Art In Context - Students Curate At UAM03.09.10 Tonight At The Puka!03.03.10 A Momentous Night At City Hall03.02.10 Arts Supporters Rally At Council Meeting Tonight 03.02.10 PHOTO ESSAY: Carnival De CorazonFebruary, 2010 02.25.10 Artists Rally To Help Haiti02.15.10 Creative Parking Solutions On 4th StreetJanuary, 2010 01.15.10 Shared Experience: A Conversation With caryn desai01.14.10 Podcast: Symphony Director Discusses Power Of Music01.14.10 Fiscal Crisis May Make Saturday Symphony\'s Last Performance 01.01.10 2009: A Cultural RetrospectiveDecember, 2009 12.28.09 Awakening Enthusiasm: Performing in The Limitless Light12.14.09 A Conversation With LBCreative! Co-founder Tanya QuinnShow All Archives |
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