06
Jun
2001
At a forum May 24 at the Family Museum of Arts & Science, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Anita Walker made clear that those deflating practical considerations weren't welcome. No pesky questions about whether something can be done, or from where the money might come to pay for it. "These are your dreams," she said. "The fun part is we don't have to figure out how this is going to happen."
The forum was one of six regional events around the state to help craft "Imagine Iowa 2010: A Cultural Vision." Participants - mostly artists and representatives of cultural organizations - were asked to generate lists of what they'd like to see in the state of Iowa by the year 2010. At the Bettendorf forum, small groups brainstormed dozens of ideas and ideals.
But the time for pipe dreams is over. Imagine Iowa 2010 delegates (elected at the forums) convene in Des Moines on June 7 and 8 for the Iowa Cultural Caucus, to compile and consolidate suggestions from the six forums, to create timetables for accomplishing goals, and to figure out how to make the dreams realities. Delegates will attach to each goal a time frame - for instance, saying that something can be accomplished in three years.
In other words, the tone of the process has shifted. "We don't want pie in the sky," Walker told the River Cities' Reader last week. "We want each piece to be realistic. ... The hard work starts on June 8."
Delegates will sift through the data collected at the regional forums and identify and prioritize goals for the next nine years. Items will be divided into five categories: advocacy; youth and senior audience development; research; cultural workers as entrepreneurs; and publishing.
Those groupings were determined by the Imagine Iowa steering committee, and they've certainly played an active role in guiding results to this point. Even though the Imagine Iowa 2010 process has been open, the agenda to some degree was already set.
The steering committee, for instance, had already determined that it wanted the state to establish a $10 million "cultural trust" over the next decade. The interest income generated by the trust would be used to help fund the operating expenses of cultural organizations. "That was a number that seemed achievable to the steering committee," Walker said.
And even though delegates haven't yet met to comb through the data, "some broad overall goals are emerging," Walker said.
Among the goals that have ben raised at every forum is that all artists should be able to earn a living; many artists have difficulty making ends meet because they have no business skills or training, Walker said. Programs that might help accomplish that goal include required business classes within a fine-arts curriculum, and "incubators" for artists in different communities.
Already, Walker has initiated meetings with the University of Iowa about implementing business education into fine-arts degree programs through the school's Papa John Business College.
"We don't have to invent a lot of this," Walker said. "It's just a matter of finding where they exist already."
Other common goals include : promoting cultural assets to both Iowans and people outside the state; increasing arts and culture education through partnerships and in schools; using art and historic preservation as a driving force in economic development; and making arts and cultural organizations entrepreneurial and financially secure.
While many of the suggestions that came from the forums would cost little or no money and simply require more networking and better communication among arts groups, one common theme is a lack of state support for cultural organizations. For example, while on average states support 10 percent of cultural organizations' operating budgets, Iowa is presently at 2 percent. Iowa also ranks 40th among states in per-capital cultural funding.
"When it comes to funding, this is a long-standing issue in Iowa," Walker said.
One goal of the Imagine Iowa initiative is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural organizations, and through that process boost state funding. Walker argues that Iowa will be unable to accomplish some of its goals - improving education, creating economic development, attracting new workers - if it doesn't create a richer cultural environment to bring in new residents and businesses.
"We need to do a better job of making the case," Walker said.
That sentiment was echoed by two of the area's state senators, who said a movement for increased cultural funding will need a strong grassroots push before the legislature will pay attention.
"There needs to be a building of support from local people," said Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Davenport), who had not yet heard of Imagine Iowa 2010. "I don't think there's enough."
"You have to start with the people, and I think that's what this initiative is doing," said Senator Patrick Deluhery (D-Davenport). "This initiative helps lay the groundwork."
Walker said it's important to engage legislators in the process this summer, so that some Imagine Iowa initiatives can be included in the next state budget. "They need to tell us how to make this work," she said. "We want the legislators on board early."
One thing that's missing, though, is hard data. One way to convince legislators that cultural funding is important is attaching monetary value to the "creative economy"; if lawmakers see the economic impact of cultural organizations and workers, they might be more inclined to devote more state resources to them. A study in New England found that the culture industry was the fastest-growing sector in the local economy, Walker said.
Deluhery said that the legislature has typically been able to fund programs it feels are worthy, even when the state budget is tight, as it is now. "You have to be imaginative," he said. Yet the private sector and other governments will need to contribute, as well. "The state isn't going to do it itself."
Even though the Department of Cultural Affairs, which includes the Iowa Arts Council and the State Historical Society of Iowa, has no penalties hanging over its head if it does not accomplish Imagine Iowa goals, Walker said the stakes are high.
"The consequence of not doing it is that we'll continue to see the erosion of energy and confidence of the cultural organizations," she said. "We're making a big deal out of this. ... If we don't do it, it doesn't speak well of our leadership."
The forum was one of six regional events around the state to help craft "Imagine Iowa 2010: A Cultural Vision." Participants - mostly artists and representatives of cultural organizations - were asked to generate lists of what they'd like to see in the state of Iowa by the year 2010. At the Bettendorf forum, small groups brainstormed dozens of ideas and ideals.
But the time for pipe dreams is over. Imagine Iowa 2010 delegates (elected at the forums) convene in Des Moines on June 7 and 8 for the Iowa Cultural Caucus, to compile and consolidate suggestions from the six forums, to create timetables for accomplishing goals, and to figure out how to make the dreams realities. Delegates will attach to each goal a time frame - for instance, saying that something can be accomplished in three years.
In other words, the tone of the process has shifted. "We don't want pie in the sky," Walker told the River Cities' Reader last week. "We want each piece to be realistic. ... The hard work starts on June 8."
Delegates will sift through the data collected at the regional forums and identify and prioritize goals for the next nine years. Items will be divided into five categories: advocacy; youth and senior audience development; research; cultural workers as entrepreneurs; and publishing.
Those groupings were determined by the Imagine Iowa steering committee, and they've certainly played an active role in guiding results to this point. Even though the Imagine Iowa 2010 process has been open, the agenda to some degree was already set.
The steering committee, for instance, had already determined that it wanted the state to establish a $10 million "cultural trust" over the next decade. The interest income generated by the trust would be used to help fund the operating expenses of cultural organizations. "That was a number that seemed achievable to the steering committee," Walker said.
And even though delegates haven't yet met to comb through the data, "some broad overall goals are emerging," Walker said.
Among the goals that have ben raised at every forum is that all artists should be able to earn a living; many artists have difficulty making ends meet because they have no business skills or training, Walker said. Programs that might help accomplish that goal include required business classes within a fine-arts curriculum, and "incubators" for artists in different communities.
Already, Walker has initiated meetings with the University of Iowa about implementing business education into fine-arts degree programs through the school's Papa John Business College.
"We don't have to invent a lot of this," Walker said. "It's just a matter of finding where they exist already."
Other common goals include : promoting cultural assets to both Iowans and people outside the state; increasing arts and culture education through partnerships and in schools; using art and historic preservation as a driving force in economic development; and making arts and cultural organizations entrepreneurial and financially secure.
While many of the suggestions that came from the forums would cost little or no money and simply require more networking and better communication among arts groups, one common theme is a lack of state support for cultural organizations. For example, while on average states support 10 percent of cultural organizations' operating budgets, Iowa is presently at 2 percent. Iowa also ranks 40th among states in per-capital cultural funding.
"When it comes to funding, this is a long-standing issue in Iowa," Walker said.
One goal of the Imagine Iowa initiative is to raise awareness of the importance of cultural organizations, and through that process boost state funding. Walker argues that Iowa will be unable to accomplish some of its goals - improving education, creating economic development, attracting new workers - if it doesn't create a richer cultural environment to bring in new residents and businesses.
"We need to do a better job of making the case," Walker said.
That sentiment was echoed by two of the area's state senators, who said a movement for increased cultural funding will need a strong grassroots push before the legislature will pay attention.
"There needs to be a building of support from local people," said Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Davenport), who had not yet heard of Imagine Iowa 2010. "I don't think there's enough."
"You have to start with the people, and I think that's what this initiative is doing," said Senator Patrick Deluhery (D-Davenport). "This initiative helps lay the groundwork."
Walker said it's important to engage legislators in the process this summer, so that some Imagine Iowa initiatives can be included in the next state budget. "They need to tell us how to make this work," she said. "We want the legislators on board early."
One thing that's missing, though, is hard data. One way to convince legislators that cultural funding is important is attaching monetary value to the "creative economy"; if lawmakers see the economic impact of cultural organizations and workers, they might be more inclined to devote more state resources to them. A study in New England found that the culture industry was the fastest-growing sector in the local economy, Walker said.
Deluhery said that the legislature has typically been able to fund programs it feels are worthy, even when the state budget is tight, as it is now. "You have to be imaginative," he said. Yet the private sector and other governments will need to contribute, as well. "The state isn't going to do it itself."
Even though the Department of Cultural Affairs, which includes the Iowa Arts Council and the State Historical Society of Iowa, has no penalties hanging over its head if it does not accomplish Imagine Iowa goals, Walker said the stakes are high.
"The consequence of not doing it is that we'll continue to see the erosion of energy and confidence of the cultural organizations," she said. "We're making a big deal out of this. ... If we don't do it, it doesn't speak well of our leadership."
