Go Blue, Beat OSU

Oddly, I've done a lot more graphics work for U of M since I've left, than when I was in school there. Currently, I'm working on the design for the Go Blue, Beat OSU game t-shirts. The first design was a retro simple look, with a derived image of the Big House (Michigan stadium for you non-wolverines) that aimed to feel bold, intimidating, yet understated, not flashy, reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum. While they liked the retro look, the resounding feedback was that it did not reflect the rivalry enough. Very true. So I went back to the drawing board. Sometimes it takes seeing one design before you can figure out what's missing to make it your ideal design. I coaxed some commentary out of them, and compiled a list of things they wanted the design to accomplish:

• Clearly brings the rivalry to life
• Goes beyond the basic "college sweatshirt" look
• Feels timeless, sophisticated and/or retro
• Incorporates the "block M" prominently
• Can be printed in a monotone color and still look good
• Can effectively translate to other applications, such as a poster

Design 1 and design 2 are above. I think the group is very happy with the second one. The detailing around the edges is an impression of the frieze work from the arch of the law quad, (off of South U. street) that I extracted from a photo. I try to incorporate details like this into my designs that help them more authentically portray what/who they represent.

Fenix de los Ingenios gets a facelift

I've been putting in a lot of hours this week on a website job. I befriended the lovely directors of Fenix de los Ingenios, an early music ensemble out of Bloomington, Indiana, last year when I designed their season brochure and concert posters and postcards. They are ready to take the plunge of updating their old website, and I am delighted to be asked to do the project. Here is the old site: fenixdelosingenios.com. And below is a sneak peak at what the new design will look like. It's not all built yet, but hopefully within our three week timeline, I'll have it up. More to come!

The Torpedo Factory

There is an old torpedo factory on the waterfront in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. Now, pretend you're an arts administrator, and try to imagine what is the best possible re-purposing use of a building like this, provided there is no longer a market for that many torpedos. A non-profit arts center, of course, would be your answer. I visited last weekend, and though the idea was simple, I was really taken with the implementation of it. Its name and logo reflects its original use, and its interior structure has retained much of its original character, as well. The inside space has be split into smaller units that are usually shared by two artists, and used as both work studios and gallery sales spaces. On a Sunday afternoon when I was there, many of the artists were working or selling work in their space.

A few good things happening here:

• An opportunity is created for a conversation between artist and patron; many times a patron is more likely to purchase art, and it means more to them, when they develop a connection with the artist

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a nice community for the artists

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a fertile ground for idea exchange and artistic progress, many times resulting in higher quality work

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates a better sales opportunity, as patrons can go and find them all easily. If the artists were spread all over town, people would never make it to all of them in a day.

• Putting lots of artists in one space creates more possibility for exposure to art that a patron would not seek out on his own. Ex. You go to look at the oil paintings, and discover you like ceramic sculpture.

• Provides a lower-cost option for an artist than having his own studio

• Surrounding community probably benefits from having hip cool artists around - people are attracted to the area and generate economic activity in the coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores, etc. (Though, as a good student of Dr. Rushton, I have to disclaim about the ability to generate an exact price tag for the economic impact.)

• An old building was not torn down so a new one could go up - the old one, full of character, was used for a new purpose, retaining character in the neighborhood, but allowing for new activity to thrive

• Torpedo Factory does the marketing for the group, like an antique mall

• Torpedo Factory is in a prime location in Old Town, and on the Potomac River, that artists probably wouldn't have access to for work spaces otherwise (the views out some of the studio windows are breathtaking)

• Torpedo Factory uses the building for special event rentals, and has a gift shop, for ancillary income. (From this gift shop, I bought an embroidered patch for my backpack. I like souvenirs, and I like to show my support of places doing cool things.)


What are some other benefits we can think of? Or any major drawbacks?







I took these photos during my visit. Yes, I brightened them in Photoshop. Don't judge - I had to - it was dark in there.

Smithsonian packs a (free) party and brings home the bacon

The Smithsonian was a zoo this weekend! (The cultural activity of my Oct 17; I'm almost up to date.) It was rainy outside, the museum was free, and the people came. There were children and strollers and umbrellas and wheelchairs. I was trying to decide if the museum staff was elated or frustrated.



My friend Stacie, who was visiting from out of town, commented that she really appreciated that all the Smithsonian museums are free. I said I definitely agree, but was surprised they were not more aggressive in collecting donations at the door - usually people will give a small amount when enjoying something free (this is how all NCTA folk festivals operate - what we call the "bucket brigade" - where volunteers wander the grounds and collect money in buckets). Maybe wandering is less appropriate in a museum, but they could have large donation signage and containers at the entrances. It occurred to me that maybe they don't solicit individual donations, because they receive a dominant amount of money from the government -- but I checked and there's a donate option on the Smithsonian website. I don't know how much of their income comes from public money versus private contributions, so I looked it up on GuideStar (a great resource). Here's the rundown: Their revenue was just under $493.5 million in 2008. Of this, $129 million was from public support, $119 million was from government contributions, $74 million came from program service revenue, $50 million came from membership, $43 million came from sales of inventory (gift shop, cafe, maybe?), and the rest was mostly split between assets sold, interest on savings, and special events (remarkably small at $262 thousand - recalling to mind a valuable lesson that special events are not all they're cracked up to be, in terms of relative earning potential). Their expenses came in at $406 million, giving them a solid bottom line in the black of about $85 million. So what have we learned? The Smithsonian is financially responsible, and has amazing free museums, with really high attendance, especially on rainy days.

We also ventured into the East building of the National Gallery of Art and perused the contemporary art floor. My favorite viewing was Matisse's Paper Cutouts, on special exhibit, the bright colors of which covered entire walls. He began to make them when he was recovering from surgery and painting was physically difficult.

Photos are of the main hall of the Natural History Museum, and an overhead shot of the Sea Life wing. I took both of these. The one below is me in front of the Smithsonian Castle, taken by Stacie.

Richmond Folk Festival and School Outreach Performances

From October 5-12, I spent a week in Richmond, Virginia working on site at the Richmond Folk Festival. What I had the privilege of coordinating was the school outreach program - for which we sent 6 bands of musicians into 16 elementary, middle, and high schools in the Richmond Public School district. Participants included Debashish Bhattacharya (Indian slide guitar), Jorge Negron's Master Bomba Ensemble (Puerto Rican Bomba Percussion and Dance Ensemble), Khogzhumchu (Tuvan throat-singing), Phil Wiggins and Corey Harris (acoustic blues), North Bear (Northern Plains drum), and Min Ji Kim and Bora Ju (Korean music and dance). It was a fantastic program - the principals all expressed to me how much they value having the musicians come perform for the students. Some crammed their entire school population into the auditorium for the shows - as large as 700 students at one school.

The best I heard back from the musicians were these 3 things:

1. When Debashish came back to the hotel, I asked, "Did the kids seem to enjoy it?" to which he responded in his thick Indian accent "Oh, I had more fun than kids!!" (He good heartedly endured a 6:45 AM lobby call for that performance.)

2. The artist buddy said that the gym/auditorium in which Phil and Corey played had historic hardwood floors, and when Phil made the rich sound of a train chugging on his harmonica, all the kids enthusiastically thump-thumped their feet on the floor in the same rhythm, resonating the feel of a train through the whole room.

3. When we showed the non-English-speaking member of Khogzhumchu that he was on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch newspaper the morning following his school performance, he put both hands in the air rock-star style, and said "SUPA-STAH!"

Huge thanks owed to Tim Timberlake and his non-profit JamInc for providing sound and transportation support.

It was a great festival week. And with a heavy heart, my last with the NCTA this season.




Photo at top is of the Virginia Intertribal Drum and Dance group, whose performance I coordinated on Sunday. Second photo directly above is of me and Max, delivering sound equipment in a golf cart.

The Dinner Party

While in New York City over October 3-4, Stephanie and Salina and I went to see Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. A feminist piece from the 1970's that has had difficulty finding a museum home in the past, it was something I didn't know a lot about. Stephanie had done ample research on it previously (I believe in grad school under Dr. Michelle Facos - one of our favorites - at IU). The exhibit space was really well put together; it created an experience that was quiet and reflective, and dark, as you can see from the picture, with the lighting focused on the place settings. And what I thought was unusual for an art museum and contributed particularly to my appreciation and understanding was the contextual information provided. First, to carry around with you, there was a laminate-cards flip book with a brief summary of the accomplishments of each woman whose place-setting graced the table (Virginia Woolf, one of my favorites, was chosen, but many names I did not know. Woolf's place is the pale green one, second on the left in the photo). Second, beside the exhibit room, there were large panels detailing all the research of women's history done to complete the piece. There were benches in front of these, and we sat and read for a long time. Judy Chicago did her job, because I left thinking about my identity as a woman (which I do not often do) and how fortunate I was to have been born in a time period after all the brave women who fought for civility toward and equality for women for so many centuries. Also of note, the Brooklyn Museum of Art's lobby signage reads with specific admission prices. But when you go to pay, they reveal it's a "suggested" donation - and you can pay what you wish or are able. I think there's value to a pay-what-you-can pricing structure, and also a "suggested price" when accepting donations but I'm wondering about the type of research they did to conclude it was the most beneficial structure to maximize patronage. We were there on a Sunday and it seemed quiet.

Working Waterfront Festival

On September 25-27, I traveled with an NCTA co-worker to help out at the Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was sunny Saturday and rained hard on Sunday (part of reporting the how-it-went of any outdoor festival inevitably includes a weather report). During the very last dreary hours on Sunday, there was scheduled to be the second performance of the New Bedford Harbor Sea Chanty Chorus. They already had one performance earlier in the day, the festival was nearly empty of its visitors, and the rain location for the concert was in a building a bit off the beaten path; suffice it to say I had low expectations for the turnout. Assigned to serve as the coordinator and presenter, I showed up half hour before the start of the set, prepared to say, "You know, you guys don't have to perform; I'm so sorry to say there may not be an audience to appreciate your songs." I didn't get a couple words into this sentence when they said, "Oh, not to worry! We're used to singing for ourselves! It'll be fine! And someone might show up to listen - you never know!" So they went on, and slowly but surely, people started to trickle in the warehouse. They pulled up chairs and the singers circled around them; an inverted and encompassing experience for listeners. Grandchildren showed up with bright eyes; neighbors came. I sat and listened quietly. They sang about their town, their traditions, the sea, the fishermen, and the Schooner Ernestina that they all volunteer and raise money to restore. They forgot some of the words to their songs, but the inside of the warehouse glowed with their spirit. And this is what it reminded me: festivals have different purposes. The NCTA folk festivals serve to bring artists and types of music to towns that otherise wouldn't be exposed to them; they focus on access and exposure; they bring in something new. The Working Waterfront Festival serves to encourage a community to come together and discuss its working culture, political issues related to commercial fishing, and celebrate its unique identity; it relishes and renews something old. So this is what all people who work in events, festivals, and arts orgs should ask themselves: what is the purpose of this event, who is it really for, and measure its success by how well it serves that purpose and those people. The Working Waterfront Festival left me feeling very satisfied. And I'm not even from New Bedford.