Urban V. Rural
This started out as a comment on Wright's post, but has grown into a legitimate post all it's own.I concur with Wright regarding the rural vs. urban debate, and for much the same reasons as he outlines. A quick recap as follows:
1)Land and living are cheaper in rural areas.
2)There is less competition for an audience or to be heard an seen among the arts scene.
3)It's ostensibly easier to connect with and make a positive impact on a rural community than in an urban environment.
4)Free from the competition inherent to a major metropolitan center, we would be freer to create unique artworks without having to separate ourselves as much from current trends.
5)Shows and works can always be brought to an urban area for a festival/exhibition etc.
6)With less going on in the immediate vicinity, I think that members of our community will be more likely to focus on their work and the arts community itself rather than the bustling environment just outside the door.
7)With undeveloped land as a potential, we have the opportunity for outside performances, installations, gardens, expansion, and metamorphic projects changing with time and the seasons.
8)There are numerous examples of communities making it in rural areas...Mass MOCA, Bread and Puppet, the Laboratory Theatre, the Chinati Foundation, Captain Beefheart, The early American disciples of Stanislavski including Odetts, Strasberg et. al, the list goes on. These would be great groups to investigate not only for inspiration and information, but also things to watch out for.
9)By keeping it close to an urban area, we can draw on the urban audience without having to suffer the urban plight. We can also continue to make pigrimmages to the urban area for stimulation and ideas or just observation with fresh eyes.
Shifting gears to potential downsides.
1)The inhabitants of a rural area may think we're weird and not be that interested in our project.
2)It may be more difficult to find employment allowing us to stay afloat in such an area though expenses will be less.
3)It MAY be more difficult to attract the attention of "people that matter," i.e. people that might donate money to perpetuate our project.
4)It might be more difficult to obtain the supplies necessary for our projects.
So far, none of these things is insurmountable, nor do any of them serve to outweigh the positive aspects of a rural setting in my mind.
Do you all have things to add/subtract to/from this list?
This appears as an important topic of consideration for our group. Hak-Narr...can you set up a link tied to location? This way we can continue this conversation there as we consider first what type of location, and later specific locations and the purchase/lease of land etc.
I think that both Wright and Becky posed some important questions with regard to community, both the definition of our community and who is included and how, and the idea of making a connection with our surrounding community and offering a genuine service.
I'm still mulling over the definition and membership/governance of our community, and I think that this is a topic of conversation worthy of its own link as well.
As far as making a connection with the community surrounding our area, I think this is very important to consider in creative, compassionate ways, though not entirely altruistic. By offering performances and classes, community support and discussion forums, we can truly make a connection with our respective communities, both our community by physical proximity, and our community by ideological affiliation. These are both important and positive things to accomplish, for they will contribute to our having an audience to keep us in existence, and our finding new artists to contribute to our projects.
On a more self-centered note, by diversifying our offerings, we can help to legitimate ourselves in the eyes of sponsors (either private or federal yeah right) make greater inroads with different communities, and help protect ourselves against financial ruin, should one area of our work not be as prosperous as another. Initially, diversification (thought not to too extreme a degree) will help us to feel out our market and our group itself to see what works for us.
So, there above is another core topic of conversation. What do we want to offer? I've shared some of my ideas in conversation with several of you already, so I will refrain my answering at present, and I do look forward to your thoughts.
To sift out the gold nuggets from the river rocks, the topics I present or address above are these.
1)Rural V.Urban and why, leading to discussions of actual places.
2)How do we define our community, what it stands for, the ideology governing it, and who is included?
3)Regardless the definition, what does can our community offer, how can we connect to other communities, and how can we finance our existence?
I'm so very excited that this is happening, and I look forward to hearing from each of you and continuing these conversations.
1)Land and living are cheaper in rural areas.
2)There is less competition for an audience or to be heard an seen among the arts scene.
3)It's ostensibly easier to connect with and make a positive impact on a rural community than in an urban environment.
4)Free from the competition inherent to a major metropolitan center, we would be freer to create unique artworks without having to separate ourselves as much from current trends.
5)Shows and works can always be brought to an urban area for a festival/exhibition etc.
6)With less going on in the immediate vicinity, I think that members of our community will be more likely to focus on their work and the arts community itself rather than the bustling environment just outside the door.
7)With undeveloped land as a potential, we have the opportunity for outside performances, installations, gardens, expansion, and metamorphic projects changing with time and the seasons.
8)There are numerous examples of communities making it in rural areas...Mass MOCA, Bread and Puppet, the Laboratory Theatre, the Chinati Foundation, Captain Beefheart, The early American disciples of Stanislavski including Odetts, Strasberg et. al, the list goes on. These would be great groups to investigate not only for inspiration and information, but also things to watch out for.
9)By keeping it close to an urban area, we can draw on the urban audience without having to suffer the urban plight. We can also continue to make pigrimmages to the urban area for stimulation and ideas or just observation with fresh eyes.
Shifting gears to potential downsides.
1)The inhabitants of a rural area may think we're weird and not be that interested in our project.
2)It may be more difficult to find employment allowing us to stay afloat in such an area though expenses will be less.
3)It MAY be more difficult to attract the attention of "people that matter," i.e. people that might donate money to perpetuate our project.
4)It might be more difficult to obtain the supplies necessary for our projects.
So far, none of these things is insurmountable, nor do any of them serve to outweigh the positive aspects of a rural setting in my mind.
Do you all have things to add/subtract to/from this list?
This appears as an important topic of consideration for our group. Hak-Narr...can you set up a link tied to location? This way we can continue this conversation there as we consider first what type of location, and later specific locations and the purchase/lease of land etc.
I think that both Wright and Becky posed some important questions with regard to community, both the definition of our community and who is included and how, and the idea of making a connection with our surrounding community and offering a genuine service.
I'm still mulling over the definition and membership/governance of our community, and I think that this is a topic of conversation worthy of its own link as well.
As far as making a connection with the community surrounding our area, I think this is very important to consider in creative, compassionate ways, though not entirely altruistic. By offering performances and classes, community support and discussion forums, we can truly make a connection with our respective communities, both our community by physical proximity, and our community by ideological affiliation. These are both important and positive things to accomplish, for they will contribute to our having an audience to keep us in existence, and our finding new artists to contribute to our projects.
On a more self-centered note, by diversifying our offerings, we can help to legitimate ourselves in the eyes of sponsors (either private or federal yeah right) make greater inroads with different communities, and help protect ourselves against financial ruin, should one area of our work not be as prosperous as another. Initially, diversification (thought not to too extreme a degree) will help us to feel out our market and our group itself to see what works for us.
So, there above is another core topic of conversation. What do we want to offer? I've shared some of my ideas in conversation with several of you already, so I will refrain my answering at present, and I do look forward to your thoughts.
To sift out the gold nuggets from the river rocks, the topics I present or address above are these.
1)Rural V.Urban and why, leading to discussions of actual places.
2)How do we define our community, what it stands for, the ideology governing it, and who is included?
3)Regardless the definition, what does can our community offer, how can we connect to other communities, and how can we finance our existence?
I'm so very excited that this is happening, and I look forward to hearing from each of you and continuing these conversations.
posted by Sinclair at 9:55 PM
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