Are you part of an arts organization? Need a grant? Three very important people in the national and state arts advocacy community recently talked about what they are looking for on “A Juneau Afternoon.”
As part of her visit to Alaska, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu visited Juneau on Tuesday. She met with staff and actors at Perseverance Theatre, visited the Sealaska Heritage Institute, and attended a reception at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.
She also joined Alaska State Council on the Arts Chairman Ben Brown and Executive Director Shannon Daut for an interview on A Juneau Afternoon. Here are some highlights:
- Jane Chu on her impression of the state’s arts scene: “The arts community is thriving in Alaska. And one of the things I’ve noted the most is they have a wonderful way, the Alaskan artists, have a wonderful way of honoring the long established traditions of Alaska and at the same time looking forward to the future as well.”
- Jane Chu on how the arts have impacted her: “It’s really been there for me, a gift to me for expressing my own self and really connecting to other people and understanding them too.”
- Ben Brown on what his organization looks for in potential grantees: “Collective impact is probably what we are all looking for. Which is, don’t just do something in isolation. Have a concert, have a play. OK, people went and enjoyed it and that’s the end beneficial result. And not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s possible to target resources, target artistic activity in collaboration with other agencies, other individuals that are trying to accomplish things—so whether that’s helping wounded servicemen recover from post-traumatic stress disorder—I think that’s something we’re looking at, and I think that’s something the NEA is looking at as well.”
- Jane Chu on what her organization looks for: “If we can show through hard evidence the connections of arts to our everyday lives, where it might be the beauty of art itself, or it might be the results of how the arts affect and help academic performance in our students and achievement as well as healing, and other aspects — economic, it’s s strong economic driver. … When we are able to send out the message that the arts belong to all of us, that they’re not a frill, and they’re not off in a corner, but they’re really for everybody in all kinds of different ways—that’s a measure of success.”
Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
