David Nevala
Photo by David Nevala, for Getty, via National Geographic
Artists tend to be masters at multitasking and "can't afford to be ivory tower," according to Stephanie Jutt, the moderator of a lively discussion Thursday night titled "Arts in Madison: An Economic Engine," co-sponsored by the Advocacy Consortium for Entrepreneurs and the Wisconsin Arts Institute.
Jutt herself is an accomplished performer and professor of flute at the UW School of Music, principal flute in the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the co-artistic director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.
"The arts create a sense of place that attracts new people to our city," said keynote speaker Karin Wolf, arts program administrator for the city of Madison. Wolf is a tireless cheerleader for art and beauty in Madison, and in a striking visual example, showed a photo from National Geographic's list of the "Top 10 Happiest Cities." The Madison image features two ice skaters on a sparkly Lake Monona with the Capitol and Monona Terrace's arched windows in the background. Next she showed a doctoring of the photo with the same lake and skaters, but the backdrop was the boxy and uninspiring old central library. Which Madison attracts talent?
Artists are naturally entrepreneurs, Wolf explained, but her definition of creativity includes those who teach and care for our city's young people. In addition to improving our city's competitive edge, the arts can help reduce racial and economic disparities and "contribute to a skilled workforce."
"We live in a city where 50% of African American males do not graduate from high school," said Wolf. "We need to do more."
Wolf boiled down the numerous recommendations from the Madison Cultural Plan (adopted by the Common Council in 2013) to three essential elements: affordable spaces, and investment in people and education.
Cities that provide these elements nurture artists, which in turn bolster local economies. Wolf pointed out examples of artists who have tapped into their entrepreneurial potential: Romano Johnson, a successful painter launched at Artworking, a business incubator for adults with developmental disabilities; poet Fabu, writer and teacher; and Alisa Toninato, a Madison-based sculptor whose conceptual art piece made up of skillets in the shape of the 48 contiguous states led to her founding the wildly successful American Skillet Company.
Panelist Ben Reiser, coordinator of the Wisconsin Film Festival, moved to Madison in 1997 after receiving royalties from a song he wrote in a "terrible rock band." Madison is a place where artist entrepreneurs can take risks, Reiser said, sharing his story of purchasing high-definition video equipment when he was out of a job. He began posting videos to Isthmus' website, then made trailers for the film festival, and now he coordinates the film festival.
Paula McCarthy Panczenko, director of UW's Tandem Press, says artists have a very hard time getting resources. "We all need to help Karin [Wolf] secure funding for individual artists," Panczenko said.
Kurt Squire, the dynamic professor at the UW School of Education and vice president of research at the UW Learning Games Network, says collaborating with private entities helped when he was "looking to buy creative freedom." A number of successful gaming companies, including Filament Games, have spun off from the UW's efforts to merge gaming and education. Aspiring arts entrepreneurs need to find people who ask "Why not?" Squires said.
And panelist Christopher Taylor, who said he lives a "triple life" as performer, teacher and inventor, has put considerable effort into building what he calls "a successor instrument" to the piano -- a two-keyboard controller that broadcasts sound to two separate instruments, creating the ability for a person to play a stereo duet with themselves. Now that's thinking outside the box.
